Projects List

April 23, 1998

Home port, Peninsula Marina, Redwood City, US
37N29.55' 122W15.98'

Projects Completed

Removed Davits. The debate still rages on about davits. I don't think we'll be pooped by a rogue wave in the Bay, and the added weight in the stern should be manageable. Suzy hates them and will do anything to prevent me from putting them back on. (See our For Sale page)
Modify preventers for control in cockpit. Cam cleats on the blocks bite toes and other bits of flesh. Not to mention a trip on deck to pop them free before each tack.
New jib sheets. The old ones were pretty chaffed and ready for recycling.
New sanitation hose. One of those yucky maintenance items. Beats rebuilding a macerater, though, I've heard.
Repair basin drain leak. Drip, drip, drip no more.
New head faucet/nozzle. We got a snazzy faucet/shower fixture for the head.
Replace filter in galley hand pump. We're pretty sure a 1µ filter is not the right size (too fine). The fresh water pump will be plumbed to the water maker anyway (see below), and then it is extreme overkill.
Modify shelf in refrigerator. A couple extra pieces of teak go a long way.
Re-plumb Bar-B-Que for it's own propane tank. The main tank used to have a tee to the Magma. It made it very hard to change the tank in and out and we wanted a redundant tank. Now we have a small 6 pound tank attached to the grill, but in emergencies (when you need coffee!), we can attach it to the house system.
Turks head on steering wheel. Decorative and functional.
Lifeline netting. We don't want our cat taking a swim.
Nav & salon table non-skid.
Modify traveler to line-control system. The old pin-stop system worked, but was difficult under load. Now we have a 4:1 purchase to move the traveler car port or starboard. It is a big win for ease of use and enhancing sail performance.
Rig block & tackle for bosun's chair. Twice.
Winch handle pockets at wheel. This was about the only thing we found at the used stuff store that was usable. A couple of long cable ties and we were in business.
Modify main propane system. (see above)
Clean & service propane jets at stove.
Decorative wrap on backstay adjuster.
Design & install shelf under galley sink.
Design & Install shelves under head basin.
Change out & relocate house batteries. The old house bank was in fine condition, but they were 2 heavy 8D's, stacked one on top another in the lazarette. They took up space, the weight was too far aft, and maintenance was a pain. We swapped them out for 4 GC2's and moved them under one of the settees in the salon. We went from 440A-hours to 372A-hours, but reduced total volume by half and weight by a third. GC2's also have a better output/discharge profile than marine 8D's, so it is a win.
Relocate starting batteries. Part of the same major project as the house bank. The starter battery was tucked underneath the chart table. A nice, dry interior storage space that could well be used for much more important things (like our tool bags!). The starter battery is now in the lazarette where the house bank used to be. And now there are 2 battery switches in the design so we can isolate or join the banks as necessary.
Adjust spreaders. It is common mistake for spreaders to be sticking straight out from the mast at 90°. They should bisect the angle of the shrouds, incident at the spreaders. This balances vertical load components so the force vector points straight down the length of the spreader; the strongest configuration. Also Ken's first trip up the mast!
Install spreader boots. Cute little booties.
New flag halyard. To fly Suzy's colors ;-)
Mount radar reflector.
Repair solar vent.
Relocate vent for holding tank. What were the builders thinking? They put the vent upwind of the cockpit! It probably saved them 50¢. Suzy spliced in and ran a 1 inch hose to the aft cockpit combing. The only trouble is at the marina, when the wind can come from the stern. Oh well, yet another reason to go cruising!
Relocate fire extinguisher in galley.
Make rope mats. Ken's first experience at decorative marlinespike. And not a "Welcome Aboard!" in sight.
Galley eyes, hooks, & bungees. You can never have enough places to attach things.
Design & install microwave shelf. This was yet another major project. We removed the tilt-out dish drawer, then experimented for weeks to make a slide out shelf that would still prevent the microwave from turning into a dangerous projectile. We're pretty happy with the full scale model. Next step is to replace the white pine for a nice piece of mahogany to match the rest of the cabinetry.
Additional electric outlet for microwave.
Run telephone line. How else could Suzy send me e-mail?
New folding latex v-berth mattress. Not a major project, but certainly a major purchase. Worth every penny! The new mattress is 6 inches of latex foam and very comfortable to sleep on. It is split down the centerline and hinged. You can't feel the hinge while sleeping on it, but you can get access to the v-berth stowage very easily.
Re-cut access to v-berth storage area. The access hatches now match the mattress.
Make rope/chain splice for primary anchor. The old splice was just a bowline, I think. That's a single point of failure at a chafe point. See your nearest marlinespike book for the right way.
Separate storage area for rope rode. Rope stays wet and gets stinky under the chain, but the rope has to go first right? Not with the proper set up. The rode stays on deck until it is dry, while the chain is fed into the anchor locker. Later, you can flake the rode into its own compartment.
Mark anchor chain with color-coded cable ties. The old depth markers had worn off.
Secure attachment point for bitter ends. I'm sorry to say that the previous owner had pulled a Gilligan. What with 250 feet of chain, he probably never need the rope rode!
Foam luff added to jib. We don't have roller reefing, but adding foam is the next best thing for a fraction of the cost.
Repair sacrificial canvas on jib.
Modify snuffer & remake lines on spinnaker. We took our inspiration from a picture in the Sail-Rite catalog.
Modify furling line with stanchion blocks. It used to run under the stanchions, which worked, but didn't lead very fair.
Make awning. Typical Suzy. This was another major project. The awning design comes from years of experimentation, trial and error. It is truly magnificent and puts all of those blue tarp contraptions to shame. We need a picture!
Clean oily residue from bilge & clean pump intake. We did the green thing and pumped the sludge into a bucket, then over to the oil recycling tank on the hard.
Engine repairs professionally done by Peninsula Marine. We had a busted oil line and a very corroded exhaust manifold. Also, one of our engine mounts had worked loose and the anti-siphon loop on the raw water outlet needed re-plumbing. A very major project. This time in "plan" since the initial survey.
Adjust packing gland. Yet another regular maintenance item. Nothing like getting up close and personal with your prop shaft to make you hate small spaces.
Connect water heater. There is a shore power/engine heated water heater. The shore power side was never hooked up. (Why bother when you're on the hook in tropical waters anyway?) Since we're living in Northern California...
Repair lifeline gate eye. Kerplunk!
Enlarge hawse hole. Part of the anchor locker project.
Clean anchor rode
Modify drainage in stern anchor locker. The hatch channels were draining into the locker instead of out the small drain tube and overboard. Rain water was making lots of things grow.
Modify outboard mount
Remove old boat name. See the log books for stories about acetone hangovers and pizza flambé.
Apply new boat name. Style counts for something. 22K gold film letters on boat sides of the boat.
Cut additional finger holes in various lockers. Suzy loves our new cordless drill!
Modify reef lines, aft. The reef lines ran around a turning block, under the boom, up to the cringle, then back to an eye on the turning block. It actually wore grooves in the wooden boom. We tied a stopper knot onto a stainless steel ring, then down through the turning block. Much less friction!
New retaining ring at steering wheel. Finding the right part was the worst.
Remove original equipment dorade boxes. They look pretty, and pretty nautical, but they got in the way of jib sheets, deck storage, etc.
Install Nicro solar vents. The low profile solution.
New floorboards in starboard lazarette. The old boards had rotten almost away. The new 3/4 inch marine plywood with several coats of epoxy should keep for awhile.
Pattern for dinghy's custom cruising cover. Another Suzy O'Keefe original.
Design & install lazarette shelf. The lazarette is cavernous. Installing a reinforced shelf high and outboard reclaimed dead space for stowing small, light objects.

In Progress

Scuba tank mounts. Storing two steel 60's is a challenge.
Modify salon back-rest storage. The salon converts into a double bed by lifting the hinged back-rest. There is yet more unused space back there. We're going to put a shelf in, and then modify the back-rest for easier access to the stowage. Either cut the thing in half, or add access holes.
Design & make fiberglass bins for beneath cabin sole. This boat is huge.
Solve charging issues. Latest theory is a confused regulator. Anyone seen my notes lately?
Repair/strengthen port gate stanchion. The stanchions need reinforcements at all of the places were the lower lifeline goes through them. The port gate was just the first to fail.

Still on the List

Stainless arch for stern. A project for '99 or 2000.
Seat across stern rails.
Stowage under seat for emergency tiller
Modify anchor locker & install new vertical windlass. A project for '99 or 2000.
PUR 80 water-maker Installation
Install rigid vang. Maybe.
Replace sun-roof gasket. In fact, check all of the ports' gaskets.
Remove/replace thru bolt in port grab-rail (forward). There's a leak that needs fixing.
Install additional electric outlets under the nav-station for the computer and in the v-berth for the alarm clock (while in live-aboard mode).
Change out reading lights in v-berth (gooseneck halogen type)
Make weather clothes for privacy and less wind chill.
Make lifeline storage bag for awning and other odds and ends.
Install cockpit & anchor washdown system. A project for '99 or 2000.
Install foot pumps. A project for '99 or 2000.
Re-install stanchion set screws. OYRC rules and good sense requires that stanchions be fixed to the deck somehow.
Install shower curtain.
Modify stove locking system. A gimbaled stove is good, but sometimes there's too much gimbaling ;-)
Install secure closures for aft lockers.
Replace frayed spinnaker line. All of our halyards are due for replacement before 2000.
Repair small leak in anchor locker hinge.
Repair leak at aft port toe rail, by the port aft cleat.
Touch up interior varnish. Normal maintenance issues.
New cockpit cushions.
Fair-leads to prevent chafe at radar mount. A wooden spar is quite nostalgic, and a pain in the you know what. All the rigging has to have a fair lead up and down. Where the down lead goes past the radar mount is a major chafe point. The running back stay tangs are always hungry and like to snag things,too.
Re-make ropework at stanchion.
Make dinghy cover.
Clean up Gel coat where the old dorades used to be.