The Blue View - Refrigeration Redo pt.1

In a previous blog, I talked about how inefficient our refrigerator/freezer is. Marcie has been asking about new countertops in the galley as well. It seemed like a good opportunity to tackle both projects while she is away.

On most sailboats, the refrigerator is built in. Much like the Franken-mattress project of a couple of months ago, you can't just go down to the nearest kitchen appliance store, buy a new fridge and slide it into place. On Nine of Cups, we have a 12-volt system. The condenser unit sits under the settee, copper tubing runs behind the galley sink and stove, then through the refrigerator to an evaporator in the freezer and this part of the system is working fine. It's the insulation that is the problem.

Our system has 2” to 3” of foam insulation surrounding it. When new, it was pretty marginal – now after 27 years it is pretty much useless. So all I have to do is remove the old countertop, remove the old fridge/freezer compartments and all the old insulation, re-insulate, build a new fridge/freezer compartment, and fabricate a new countertop.

I have Don Casey's book "This Old Boat" for guidance. What could possibly go wrong?

This is a project that has required demolishing the better part of the galley and covering every remaining horizontal surface on the boat with tools, supplies, refrigerator parts, insulation and everything that used to reside in the galley. I literally have two feet of one settee left to sit on and each night I'm able to clear enough of the bed to sleep on. I've been without a refrigerator for the duration, but I also had to disconnect the stove for a couple of days while I re-routed propane lines. I'll also have to remove the sink for a day or two while I build the new countertop. Did I mention this is a project best done while Marcie is away?

The first phase is the demolition part. In his book, Don devotes twelve words to this part of the project - “...extract the old ice chest. Remove all traces of the old insulation...”. It took me three days, but it is now done. A large cavern sits where the old refrigerator box was. The insulation was dripping water, and there were gaps between the foam sections. The insulation in an old Coleman cooler was more effective. There were only a couple of glitches. I wasn't able to extract the copper tubing without kinking it, so I had to cut it. I'll have to repair it with new couplings when I put it back together. And although I tried very hard, I wasn't able to remove all the teak trim pieces without cracking a couple of sections. Hopefully, I'll be able to repair them as well.

For me, this is the worst point in a project. I look at that big cavern and all that self doubt starts creeping in. What the hell was I thinking? I'll never get it all back together and working, and even if I do, it will look like crap. I'm sure I smell the scent of a big dragon lurking outside. Thoughts of burning Cups to the waterline to destroy the evidence start cropping up.

In the old days before Cups, I used to watch those home improvement shows like This Old House, and be amazed at how easy they made every project look. My projects usually turned out more like Tim Allen's in Home Improvement.

Stay tuned...

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Ides of March

The day Marcus Brutus et all assassinated Julius Caesar. "Beware the Ides of March". Unless you're an Imperator, you probably don't need to worry, but it might be good to review your Roman history.

Buzzard Day

Well, Capistrano has its swallows and many cities celebrate the return of sandhill cranes. There are hummingbird festivals and bluebirds fests. Hinckley, Ohio celebrates the return of its buzzards (turkey vultures actually). They come back around this time every year and the folks in Hinckley thought it was worth a celebration. Learn more about buzzards through the Turkey Vulture Society (I kid you not!)

The Blue View: Recycling Old Line into Ocean Plait Mats

 

On Nine of Cups, there is not a single piece of rope that is actually called rope. We have halyards, sheets, outhauls, vangs, preventers, reefing pendants, dock lines, snubbers, anchor rode, painters and lanyards, but no rope. Even a coiled, spare section of rope is called “line” and not rope.

Some mariners will say rope becomes line as soon as it is brought aboard a boat. Others say it is rope until it is cut from the spool. I've also seen a definition that states that it is only called rope if it is greater than a given diameter, otherwise it is generically called line. By any of these definitions, we have no rope aboard Cups. I couldn't always make this claim. A few years ago we had an outhaul made of stainless wire that is called wire rope. So we did have some “rope” aboard, even though it was made of stainless, but even this “rope” has now been replaced with synthetic line.

While we may not have any rope aboard, we do have many hundreds of feet of line on Cups, and all this line is constantly wearing out, due to chafe, UV, fatigue and old age. We probably replace two hundred feet of line a year. So what do we do with all the old line that is no longer usable? It seems a shame to just throw it away.

One of the uses for old lines is to make Ocean Plait mats or rugs. Traditionally these mats were used aboard ships as chafing gear. We sometimes use them for the same purpose, to protect the deck from being damaged when setting a propane tank on it, for example. They also make nice welcome mats on the dock to wipe our feet before coming aboard and they're are easy on the feet when we have to stand at the helm for long periods. They are very nautical and quite attractive, and make great gifts. You can use small line, 1/8” diameter or so to make coaster sized mats, or large line, 3/4” or so to make rugs.

My old friend, The Ashley Book of Knots, describes how to make the Ocean Plait mat (“Ocean Plat” knot #2243). I started with his directions to make the pattern shown below.

I make so many, I drew the pattern onto plywood, and drove finishing nails into the plywood to help hold the line in place. You could also put nails or tacks into a piece of cardboard, or just print out the pattern on paper.

You will need about 45 feet of line for a reasonable sized mat made of 1/2” to 3/4” line. Find the middle of the line and start on the left side of the pattern as shown.

Follow the pattern, paying close attention at each intersection as to whether the line passes over or under itself.

After you complete the first pass of the pattern, check to make sure your mat is correct. It's much easier to undo it and correct a mistake at this stage than it will be later.

When you are happy with the first pass, take the end of line A and follow line B as shown in Figure 5, doubling the knot.

Depending on the line size, you will make 3-5 passes to complete the mat. You want the ends to meet in the middle of the mat.

You will have to tighten and loosen some of the loops until the rug looks even and symmetrical, then cut and whip the ends. Stitch the ends to the adjoining line segments and you are done.

Patience is key. My first mat took hours and I pulled it back apart several times because of mistakes. Now I can make a mat in about 30 minutes.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Mardi Gras

Christians celebrate Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, before the austere Lenten season begins. Wear beads and masks of traditional gold, purple and green. It's Carnival...live it up.

Abraham Lincoln's (real) Birthday

He is one of our most honored and brilliant Presidents. From the penny to Lincoln Memorial, we've immortalized our 16th president for his contribution to the country. So lift a toast to Honest Abe tonight and maybe read a little more about him.

International Darwin Day

It's Charles Darwin's birthday, too! Think evolutionary theory and natural selection. Check out our visit to the Galapagos Islands.

Blue View: Refitting in Exotic Places

 

Our sailing and passage making pattern over the years usually involves most months of each year cruising. We sail someplace, stay for a short time while exploring, sightseeing and repairing things, then move on. After doing this for 8 or 10 or even 12 months, however, we like to find a place to light for awhile.

For Marcie, this fulfills a need to “nest”. She needs to lay down roots for awhile – a couple of months or so usually does it. I don't mind these respites at all. Constantly moving on, always on your guard for weather changes, hazards, ships and all the other things that can ruin your day is tiring. It's nice to relax in a safe haven somewhere. We take advantage of these breaks to do some inland travel, and from the “Blue” point of view, these nesting times are a good opportunity to start a refit project.

The definition of “refit” is to “replace or repair machinery, equipment and fittings in a ship”. In my mind, however, a refit project is different from a repair project, the difference being in the magnitude and cost of the project. For example, if the bilge pump quits and I repair or replace it, that's a repair project by my definition. The cost would be under $100 and it would take a few hours to complete. If the water tanks start leaking and I have to replace them, that's a refit project. Now we're talking weeks and more than a thousand dollars. I have no exact definition of when the crossover occurs between a repair and refit, but I have no difficulty categorizing a project as one or the other.

So not only have we had the opportunity to make repairs in exotic places, we've done some major refit projects in exotic places. As a few examples, in Trinidad, our beautiful teak deck boxes were starting to show their age, and I dismantled and rebuilt them. We replaced the standing rigging in Colombia, installed a new chartplotter and radar in Panama, and installed a daytank in Chile. We stopped three times in Ecuador and did a lot of refitting there, including new fuel tanks and a new autopilot. We also removed the teak decks in Ecuador. We really liked the look of our teak decks, but each strip of wood was secured with dozens of screws. Many of the 3000 or so screws began to leak over time, causing problems in the underlying fiberglass decks. After removing the teak, all the holes were filled, the damage was repaired and the decks repainted.

Likewise, we stopped three times in Opua, New Zealand. The first time we removed and replaced our 26 year old engine from its location under the cockpit. This entailed removing the steering mechanism and hydraulics, as well as the cockpit floor and hoisting all 1000 lbs up and out of the boat while sitting at the dock, then reversing the process for installation of the new engine. Definitely in the refit category. The second time, we replaced our sails; and the third time, we unstepped the mast, replaced the fittings, rewired it, then sanded and repainted it.

I've found the key to successfully starting and completing a refit project is to make sure Marcie is either involved (not usually preferred by either of us) or has projects of her own to complete. We break up the refit and repair projects with inland travel, whether it be by “chicken bus” in Ecuador, car hire in New Zealand or dugout canoe in Panama. Usually by the time I've finished my refit project and we've done a bit of inland travel, we're both ready to move on.

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Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

“Just Do It” Day

You don't even have to get out your Nikes for this one. Think of something you've been meaning to do for a long time and JUST DO IT.