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Maintenance Log

2K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  colemj 
#1 ·
My wife and I and two kids have been living aboard sailboats going on six years now. We just upgraded to a 1999 Beneteau 50 last month; our last boat was a Catalina 42, which we owned for five years. One my my regrets about owning this boat was that I never kept a good record of the maintenance and improvements that I made to the boat over the years. I think this would have been useful information for prospective owners. And so I would like to keep a log of the work done on our new boat..... we're still deciding on a name. It will either be Gus or Chubby Bunny. I think for now, I'll refer to him as Gus, since it's easier to type.

Funny how when looking at the boat, I wasn't able to find much wrong with her and now I have a list over over thirty items, most of which are small repairs, many of which we've started on but are waiting on some part, a haul out, or more diagnosis.

6.26.20 - Replaced primary fuel filter for delivery back to Bremerton. Old filter appeared to be serviceable.

7.4.20 - Replaced missing fastener in l.f. stateroom door handle at the request of my son. Some of these repairs may seem small but I'm writing them down anyways; will we ever get to a point where no repairs are needed?

7.8.20 - Flushed cooling system twice per survey recommendation. Coolant sample said there was some oil in the coolant. Coolant still appears yellowish. Will flush 1 - 2 more time.s There are three draincocks on the engine; one on either side and one under the front crossover pipe.

Also completed drinking water purge. Drained all 4 tanks and added 1.5 cups of bleach to each tank. Filled all 4 tanks . Let bleach solution sit overnight to kill bacteria. Drained. Refilled. Drained. Refilled. Freshwater pump is too smart for its own good. It has a leak detection function that shuts the pump off if water flows for too long. This can be overidden by cycling the power 4 times. Pump is also really noisy. Seems like the board it is mounted to was not well insulated... another project. Water seems to taste a little better but not as good as our last boat. Not all of the water level meters give accurate readings. I'm also not clear about whether the 4 tanks drain sequentially, or all at the same time.

7.10.20 - Tightened battery hold downs per survey recommendation.

7.11.20 - Removed loose deck caulking. Eventually, teak will need to be replaced or maybe recaulked. I told my wife that we should replace it with Astroturf.

7.13.20 - There is a puddle of 90 weight under the bow thruster gear housing in what we call the 'hell hole' aka crew quarters. The reservoir was also low. I removed the inspection cover from the drive belt that connects the thruster to the motor and there was 90 weight inside the housing as well. I think there must be a bad seal. I will hold on this project until the boat is out of the water. I drained out all of the gear oil and topped off the reservoir. As long as I use the thruster sparingly, I think it will be OK. Just another on-hold project.

8.1.20 - One of the rear davit bolts was loose and so there was a gap between the mounting flange and the transom. I climbed into the rear lazarette and removed an unidentified piece of hardware from the backside of the transom to get at the end of the bolt - there was nothing on it but the lock nut and washer were just sitting there. I installed and tightened them down after clearancing the a dremel. I'm still not satisfied with the davit mounts but this should keep it in place for a while at least. They were definitely an afterthought.

Finally figured out how to power up electric winches. The circuit breakers have a red button but also a black reset button that is really difficult to see. I just had to push up on the reset buttons and they all work now. It's really difficult to get winch handles to stay in the primary winches. I know this is partly a safety feature but the force of the spring wont allow them to stay seated even when locked.

Troubleshot the electric windlass which so far has only operated in the up direction. I opened up back of the Lewmar windlass to look at the relay / solonoid, which is used to reverse the direction of the motor. At first glance, the solenoid looked ok but when I removed the three electrical connectors, all three male ends from the solenoid broke away. It looks like they were corroded. I'm assuming that was why it would only operate in one direction. I ordered a replacement from Amazon for $170 with tax. Also a little annoyed that there doesn't seem a way to manually lower the chain in an emergency. Being able to quickly drop an anchor is an important emergency feature based on past experience.

Removed and cleaned the engine intake silencer screen. It has a turbocharged Yanmar engine with just over 5K hours on it. The screen was almost plugged with oily soot, which is kind of surprising. There is a PVC hose that goes into the silencer; perhaps that is where the oil is coming from. The air horn also had a coating of oil on it. I used up all of my brake parts cleaner on it, and it still could use a little more cleaning. So another work in progress.

Started systematically replacing the cheap one-plug french outlets with cheap Lowes outlets, albiet with USB adapters. I started with the one in our room because it wasn't working. I used ring terminals according to ABYC code. It's very difficult to install ring terminals on household outlets because the screws are made to not come out all of the way. You have to be very careful not to strip the heads as you remote them but it can be done. I put it all back together along with an 'old work' conduit box. I tested the outlet on a lamp before tightening everything down. The lamp worked fine so I screwed the outlet along with the cover into place. I plugged in a mini 7.8 amp shop vac to clean up the mess from enlarging the hold. It stopped working after about a second of use. Now the outlet doesn't work at all.

I'm not very smart about AC but it seems like I might have what is called an 'open neutral'. I get 120 volts from both hot to ground and neutral to ground. I guess that's bad. It's very difficult to troubleshoot because although the boat came with all kinds of manuals, there is no complete wiring schematic for the boat that includes the AC system. The wires are very difficult to trace. I suspect that there is a simple solution but I will try to have a marine electrician look at it. I'm a DIY kind of person but I just don't have the time to troubleshoot.

My wife and daughter pulled out all of the anchor chain..... all 100 feet of it, that is and 200 feet of rode. The chain and rode was marked so they took notes on the color coding and they will write down the legend to the color codes on the underside of the chainlocker door. Eventually, I'd like to get more chain and less rode but 100 feet of chain should be adequate for this trip at least.

We're planning to take a week off next week so there are many projects need to be completed before I'm comfortable leaving. A few others include:

  • Tighten loose stanchions.
  • Mount life-sling to rail.
 
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#2 ·
8.3.20

- Drained the engine coolant one last time and filled with NAPA antifreeze. I went with the cheap stuff because I suspect that the next coolant sample will come back with the same results. But this should be adequate for now. I used a 50/50 antifreeze / water mixture. I think its silly how stores will sell you pre-mixed coolant for just a little less than the same gallon of concentrate. There are actually two draincocks on the port side of the engine but the higher one is for the fresh water that runs through the heat exchanger. Found a pair of my underwear under the engine. I guess it fell down there when I had the panels off. I used it to soak up some of the coolant that leaked into the bilge under the engine.

- Finished cleaning what I thought was the wire mesh to to the intake silencer with brakleen. It was actually a plastic mesh but it was so dirty that it looked like wire.

- Pulled out the windlass switch at the helm and tested. Seems to only work in one direction and I couldn't get voltage. I'll need a long jumper wire to really test it and again, no wiring schematic. There is a black, red, and green wire going into it.

- Storage is my biggest frustration about this boat. It's roomier and more luxurious, but harder to store our possessions, which are few. In the Catalina we had the Pullman berth which was perfect. Now our kids have the Pullmans and we took one of the aft quarterbirths and the clothes storage options are a downgrade. I have to find a solution - can't life this way too much longer.
 
#3 ·
Today was the first day of our week-long shake-down cruise.

The windlass solenoid came in yesterday and I replaced it this morning before we departed. In my zeal to remove the old solenoid last week, I failed to take a photo of the writing or even draw a diagram of the wiring. What was worse is that the replacement came with an extra lug in the upper right corner so I really had to take my time thinking through how it all went back together. But we do have power in both directions now which makes me feel much better. I also think I know why the chain can't be lowered manually. It seems like the cone is frozen into the sprocket, so when I release outer nut, nothing happens. I will try spraying it with WD-40 and tapping it tomorrow, to see if it will come loose. We're also going to experiment with lowering the anchor and switching over from chain to rode..... and back...... while still at the dock. We traveled a whole two miles today, to Port Orchard.

Tomorrow should be good sailing. Sunny skies and good wind.

This boat also seems to get a lot of cobwebs on the outside, which is something I've never seen before on a boat. Not a huge thing but I definitely don't want those critters to grow, or move inside during the colder months.
 
#4 ·
We just returned from our shake-down voyage yesterday filled with many happy memories and some lessons learned. We spent a few nights in Gig Harbor, Jarrel Cove, and McMicken Island in the South Sound. We had a nice downwind sail from Bremerton to Gig Harbor through Colvos Passage, on the 9th. The boat has an optional high-aspect three-spreader mast, with a removable stay (and a baby stay permanently attached). We kept the stay attached on this passage though it mostly got in the way while jibing. I think this setup probably makes sense for ocean passages but not for racing, or in the Puget Sound. Our 100 feet of chain was barely adequate for Gig Harbor and switching over to rode while anchoring a 30,000 boat, we agree, is just not worth the hassle. We will probably replace it with an extra 200 feet of chain. We also made a snubber line to take tension off the windlass. I noticed that some boats use the rubber shock absorbers for their anchor chains.... made me wonder if such a device could be fitted to a main sheet, to act as a brake when jibing. I still can't figure out how to make our Raymarine chartplotter center itself on us, but I actually prefer paper charts. The tach never worked and at times, the neutral safety switch needed coaxing to get the engine to turn over. I feel like I need to take a marine electrical course to better understand all of the systems on this boat, and how they interact, for instance, the six batteries. Two of them are dedicated for the winches. We sailed again on the 12th in very light winds. The boat can reach in about 3 knots of wind. We used the electric winches exclusively for trimming, even in light air, because the winches have a safety device that disables the electric drives when the handles are in place. However, the spring mechanisms are so strong that the handles don't stay in place at all. I'd like to see if lighter springs could be used so that the handles could stay in place. Those winches use up a good bit of energy that I'd rather save. We sailed again yesterday on our way back from Tacoma to Blake Island against 20 knots of apparent wind. It seems to sail efficiently up to 30 degrees off the wind, and the headsail seems happier when sheeted out more than I would have expected. We decided to reef, to make things more comfortable on the crew. The single-line reefing system didn't work as I had hoped. It pulled down the tack but not the clew, and so the main was not doing much work at all for us. I will have to practice this more back at the dock. If reefing's what it takes for my wife to somewhat enjoy sailing, than it's important to me. Otherwise, it's a compromise between speed, stability, and nerves. In twenty knots close hauled under full sail, I'm constantly pinching to avoid excessive heel. Alternatively, if I allow the boat to more than 20 degrees, I will get the stink eye from my wife. In stonger winds, we found that four wraps were needed on the primary winches. Our punch list of repairs and enhancements keeps on growing. Most of the items are inexpensive but just require an investment in time.I think we will take a few short day sails before Fall, and maybe a few races. Hopefully I will be able to report more progress on my next post.
 
#5 ·
I noticed that some boats use the rubber shock absorbers for their anchor chains.... made me wonder if such a device could be fitted to a main sheet, to act as a brake when jibing.
If you did this, you'd never be able to get proper shape in the main, and it would always be twisting off and pumping. There are systems specifically made to prevent or ease the boom when jibing. Look for "boom brake".

The tach never worked and at times, the neutral safety switch needed coaxing to get the engine to turn over.
If your batteries are full, the tach will often stop working because the alternator isn't charging. If you have a problem with the alternator, this will also happen. The neutral safety switch is located on the shifter and is a small microswitch. You can jump it if it is a problem. The engine could start in gear, but that isn't really bad for it.

We used the electric winches exclusively for trimming, even in light air, because the winches have a safety device that disables the electric drives when the handles are in place. However, the spring mechanisms are so strong that the handles don't stay in place at all.
Only locking winch handles can be used in electric winches. They won't come out under the spring pressure.

The single-line reefing system didn't work as I had hoped. It pulled down the tack but not the clew, and so the main was not doing much work at all for us.
If it isn't pulling down the clew, then something isn't rigged correctly or something is caught. Otherwise, I don't see how a single line could not pull down everything.

Mark
 
#6 ·
8.17.20

I hired the only ABYC certified electrician to troubleshoot the mysterious loss of AC power to one of our outlets. I posted about this earlier. In addition, I had him check the tachometer circuit, which stopped working after we bought the boat. I feel much more comfortable about troubleshooting DC, but since there are so many other projects needing attention, I thought this would free me to focus elsewhere and make the call more worthwhile for the electrician. Below is his write-up.

Troubleshoot Port Outlets. Found outlets circuit splitter melted in Port midship closet. Splitter was replaced with butt connectors supplied by customer. Checked all outlets found for polarity and only one, in the Galley, had reverse polarity. Swapped wires to correct polarity issue at galley outlet. All breakers are a double pole breaker, meaning grounded conductor as well as ungrounded conductors are broke at every main and branch breaker. Boat is equipped with a Inverter charger. All outlets on the output side of inverter should have gfci protection on every outlets, and does not. AC input and output neutral should be separate to prevent back feed from shore power. Entire AC service panel is ran first through the 2500w inverter therefor reducing entire boats capacity by almost 1/3 form the 30 amp shore inlet. Inspect tac circut. Found corrosion on sender unit on port side bellhousing cleaned wire ends and prongs on sender but wire ends should be replaced and possibly entire sending unit. Boat does not have a reverse polarity indicator that is required by ABYC guidelines.
 
#7 ·
He is wrong about all outlets requiring a GFCI, unless each outlet is on a different circuit. Only the first outlet in each circuit requires one, and it will protect the others downstream. Won't hurt to have all of them GFCI, but isn't necessary. Easier to just replace the panel breaker with a GFCI version. Same with the shorepower breaker.

Running the low load side of the AC panel through the inverter is common, otherwise it is more tricky to choose between the inverter and shorepower, and the inverter transfer switch isn't useful. He is wrong about the inverter reducing the boat's capacity because the transfer switch in it will just transfer the entire 30A capacity to the boat, assuming it is a 30A transfer switch (most are 30 or 50). When under inverter power, the boat capacity is limited to 2500W (20A), but this has nothing to do with limiting mains power.

Mark
 
#8 · (Edited)
deleted my suggestion and unfollowing this thread
 
#9 ·
I created an excel workbook for all things boat. I create a new tab as needed.
I can email or take the spread sheet on a USB drive and work on it onboard

The tabs are:
maintenance log
oldest entries on bottom, eng hrs, fuel diary, data, projects to do, location, weather etc. sailing/notes
equipment list
stuff added to boat, some OEM most after purchase, electronics, rigging, plumbing etc.
eerial #s
stats
measurements, hull, rig, sails
electric calculator
used to calculate wire size/length and load
yearly tabs for winter storage
mini log with winter projects, materials, purchases etc, contact info...
N2K upgrade
equipment and cabling needed
Watch schedules
Offshore check list
running rigging
all lines in use.... should include spares
spares list
all manner of spare things carried... never complete or up to date
mooring
parts for my mooring
espar parts list
cockpit teak project cut list
abandon ship list
canvas shops list
08 dink loss Insurance claim
 
#11 ·
It was my thought to just keep a running log but not to solicit input. I like the idea of posting it to a forum because frankly, there's less chance of it being lost or overwritten, etc, and its more of a living document for down the road. On the other hand, I know it's not quite what the forum was intended for. If it creates a problem, I suppose I could take this elsewhere.
 
#13 ·
If your computer hygiene and competence are such that you are often losing or over-writing your own files, then a cloud service would be a help. Or setup a website like suggested. Personally, I don't have a problem with what you are doing, even though that isn't the purpose of a forum like this, but I do see how it would be very problematic if everyone did so.

It is an odd choice to use a forum as a maintenance log. You are also missing valuable input when you make it public domain, yet ignore the public.

Mark
 
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