[SeaChanger]

Given that she had the dreaded head stink, I ripped out all of the interior cushions and set my sites on removing the holding tank. I knew it would get ugly, just didn't think it would get THIS ugly. Couldn't pump her out because of brittle lines and shoddy PO plumbing work. The bottom line? 10 or so gallons of PO poop at the bottom of my vberth owing to a fractured T at the base of the tank. Thankfully, I intended to remove the transducer under the vberth anyway. I ended up popping the transducer up from the bottom and let her pee all over my brother's lawn.

I then took a garden hose to the Vberth and washed most of it out. The bad news is that a lot of it found it's way down into the bilge. And of course, the manual pump failed. Heading back tomorrow with a sump pump, simple green and bleach.

Somebody remind me - Why did I take this project on?

 

[manatee]

Somebody remind me - Why did I take this project on?

...because the wall against which you usually pound your head was fully occupied?
...because you lost the hammer with which you usually beat delicate body bits?

Hang in there -- the payoff will be worth it. Have fun!

 

[kwaltersmi]

Reminder:

The troubles melt away when the you're "out there".

 

[weinie]

Think of the scent flower gardens and beautiful meadows as you wade waste deep into the sludge.

 

[jimgo]

I hope you were able to leave hatches or ports open so you get some air flow.

Good luck cleaning everything out! As to the "why did I start this" question, I've been facing that a lot lately, too. I REALLY hope KWalters is right.

 

[djodenda]

Febreeze is your friend. Seriously. It works.

 

[Cruiser2B]

Lots of hard wok will go into your boat but that quiet anchorage or perfect beam reach will remind you it's all worth it...

 

[desert rat]

You are "crazy" take no foffense, and the pain will more than be abrogated by the end result. I hope to soon be facing the same or simliar problems.

 

[SeaChanger]

All great points! I'm trying to stay focused on the end game. It was hard when I was literally ankle deep in someone else's.. .well, you know.

Quick update: I spent a few hours today disinfecting the boat. I went through 2 2 gallons of bleach, 2 bottles of simple green and 3.5 rolls of paper towels. It was actually pretty satisfying leaving her stinking of bleach and Simple Green! A much improved smell over the last time I left her!

One of the problems I had was that my bilge was full of holding tank remnants. Of course, my manual bilge had failed and the local West Marine didn't have the replacement part. The solution: Went to WalMart and bought a $39.00 Attwood Waterbuster Portable Power Pump. What a life saver. It runs on three D batteries and was able to pump the bilge down in about 5 minutes. I ended up flushing out the bilge 3 or 4 times and filled it with 50% bleach on the last flush.

Next step: Removing all of the interior woodwork!

 

[jimgo]

Good luck with the woodwork project! Be sure to take lots of pictures!

 

[SeaChanger]

Will do. I'm excited for this phase of the restoration as this is the beginning of the phase where things start to look better.

 

[SeaChanger]

Great idea, Jimgo. I think I will do just that! Work-wise (I own a small yacht brokerage) I'm one busy mo-fo. However, I've decided to take advantage of the impending three day weekend. Look for before and after pictures of the Catalina interior by Sunday night!

 

[Kyhillbilly]

Looking forward to the updates! Currently have a Cat22 with plans for a Cat27 in the near future.

 

[SeaChanger]

Finally got some of the heavy lifting done today. With the help of my brother and nephew, I was fable to get the mast down off the boat and onto saw horses. Moving around the deck is now much safer and easier. While I wanted to remove all of the interior woodwork, time only allowed for about half of it. I think I removed about a hundred screws and now have an SUV full of wood to refinish.

The next step is to remove the remainder of the head, hanging locker and galley. Oh, and to watch a lot of how to YouTube videos on refinishing wood!

I wanted to post some before and after pics but can't seem to figure out how. Any clues?

 

[SeaChanger]

Hard to believe it's been a week since I've been to the boat but between the business and "life," I just couldn't get there any sooner. I spent about 3 hours today scrubbing the decks, cockpit and cabin top. I had planned on doing some other things but needed to get her cleaned up for motivation. I'm glad I did. She looks fantastic. Next up: cleaning the interior.