Greetings from Houston, TX

[Jetexas]

Hello, everyone. I live in Houston and my 1984 Starwind 27 currently resides in a slip at Marina Del Sol in Kemah, TX.

This is my first boat, and she's definitely a project. The previous owners had lost interest, and a leaky cockpit drain seems to have kept the cabin full of water for at least a couple of years at this point. My brother and I have spent the past two weekends cleaning and pulling out the rotten cushions, flooring, and particle board. New outlets got the AC power going again, and I'll be working through the DC systems this weekend.

Hopefully by labor day weekend she'll be ready for at least a floating cookout.

If there's any diesel gurus in the forum, I'll definitely be tapping your knowledge as the Westerbeke Two-10 hasn't been running in at least ten years. It's not siezed though, so that's a good start. I've rebuilt a couple Ford V8s and done quite a bit of work on water-cooled Porsches, but the diesel world is foreign to me. By early September we plan to start looking at that to take stock whether it's more cost effective to repair or replace.

Then once we have a running motor, all we need to do is replace the running rigging to be ready to hit the water.

Oh wait, we also need sailing lessons because the extent my sailing experience is my Small Boat Sailing merit badge that I earned when I was about 14.

I'm enjoying the forum and learning a lot by searching and reading old threads. If anyone's in the Houston area, drop me a note. I'm looking for good local resources for affordable parts and the sailing lessons.

[NW Craig]

I've got two books I refer to all the time.

Troubleshooting Marine Diesels by Peter Compton and Marine Diesel Engines: Maintaince and Repair Manual by Jean-luc Pallas.

Not to say we haven't had to call in the mechanic on occassions but feel like I've saved a lot of $$ with the information here. One of my hopes is to take a basic class at the community college one of these days and learn in a more controlled setting rather than the usual way of learning on an as needed basis.

Diesels are a lot simpler than a Porche engine, so my guess is you'll be able to figure it out with a little help. Hopefully it's salvagable!

On another note, how are things in the Kemah / Galveston area doing with rebuilding?

all the best and welcome,
craig

[Jetexas]

Thanks for the book references, Craig. Galveston and Kemah are doing very well. Most of the damaged areas were at least cleared if not rebuilt by early spring. Most of the piers off of the seawall were damaged or destroyed though including the one supporting the Flagship Hotel. It's not clear if any of those are going to be rebuilt or not.The Flagship is just sitting there cracked and condemned. There's also a big debate over whether the Shriners will keep the burn hospital open or not. Other than that, it seems to be business as usual down there.

[Ocean Girl]

Welcome Jetexas,
We have a Texas group here that can be a great source of info, I hope you join There is a great marine resale shop across from west marine (next to Legend Point marina).
Cheers,
Erika

[Jetexas]

Thanks Erika, I knew there had to be something bigger and better for those of us in Texas. lol

I've drive by that resale shop constantly. Guess I'll go in this weekend.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Jetexas,
Welcome aboard! Good luck on your boat project. Somewhat similar to what I got hold of. The diesel is much simpler in that you don't have to worry about any electrical ignition. Timing though is critical for the fuel injection pump. Before spinning the engine with the starter, make certain everything is lubricated very well, even the fuel injection pump, according to an engine manual and make certain you have nothing but extremely clean fuel going into the injection pump and the injectors. You might get really lucky and have a running engine.
P. S. Also do not run the engine without cooling water.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[SouthernComfort]

Welcome aboard

[Jetexas]

I completed the ASA Basic Keel Boat course over the weekend. It was great weather to be out on Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. We sailed a Hunter 25.5 the first day and a Chrysler 22 the second day due to the fact that the starter hung up and burned out on the Hunter Sunday morning. The key didn't have a return spring, nobody got warned, lots of smoke ... you know how it goes.

We learned quite a bit that helps us with putting the Starwind 27 back together. We spent Saturday night and Sunday afternoon after class at Marina Del Sol sorting out how to run our rigging. If we can get the Westerbeke running, we're in business.

[JEFFREY20]

Your in good company Jetexas. These guys will keep you right. I sail around Scotland , Western Isles and Ireland in my Jeanneau SO 37. The weather is pretty unpredictable at times but the standard of seamanship here is excellent with many excellent schools and locals to learn from. Although I had done some sailing when I served in the Royal Air Force (ok guys, jet fighters don't sail too well on a close haul lol) I only started sailing weekends about five years ago and the odd two weeks here and there. The scenery here is stunning (with many bolt holes if the weather turns but it's all part of the enjoyment) sort of Hawaii albeit with less heat and humidity.

Buenas Suerte with the new yacht. I'm sure you'll have hours of fun and at the risk of sounding cheesy God Bless America!!!

If you ever make it to Scotland, we'll go sailingl (Mar-Oct.)!!

[Jetexas]

Reinstalled the cleaned diesel tank, changed out all our fuel filters, changed the oil in the Westerbeke, and installed a new impeller over the weekend. Headed back to Marina Del Sol tonight to put some antifreeze in the freshwater coolant tank and find out if she runs. Fingers crossed.

[Jetexas]

I spent all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the belly of the beast getting our new Kubota inboard installed in the Starwind 27. We had a slight setback Friday when I attempted to fiberglass over the new oak stringers I had fabricated to raise the motor. I went too heavy on the hardener on my first batch of resin. The little bit of it that I did get painted onto the wood was hard within 30 seconds, and then I noticed the bowl of resin itself was smoking. I got it out of the cabin and into to the cockpit, worried that it might burst into flames. I watched it pop and sizzle for about a minute before it turned into a brick. My second attempt resulted in a lack of hardener, and a day later the fiberglass was still sticky, which made it ever so fun to peel off before we decided to forego fiberglass and to just coat the wood in urethane. My brother also pointed out on Saturday that I was using Bondo hardener instead of fiberglass hardener. That could have been a problem.



We spent most of Saturday situating and aligning the inboard. Once we set it in the engine compartment, we found we had to saw out some of the wood to give our shifter and bellhousing enough clearance. Then, once we had the left and right of things under control, we started on the feet. As most of you know, the motor sits on four adjustable feet that control the tilt and alignment. The coupling of the output shaft and the prop shaft requires a tolerance of .05 mm. The lower you can sit on the adjustable feet, the less vibration you get. Our stringer height ended up being perfect because we could adjust the rear feet all the way down, and the fronts are only about half an inch up.

It wasn't until Sunday about 4 p.m. that we were finally satisfied with the alignment and had finished bolting everything down. That's when we turned our attention to the outboard mount. After failing to sell the decrepit Westerbeke 10-Two that we'd spent way too many hours and way too much money on, I finally gave in to a guy in diesel mechanic school on Craigslist who had been offering to barter for it with guns, radios or an outboard. I went for the outboard, and it turned out to be a beat-up but running 1962 British Seagull Century 100 Plus Longshaft.



I went by the sailboat salvage yard Friday morning, which is actually near IAH--not anywhere near Clear Lake, and procured a light-duty outboard mount for $50. It was missing the mounting pad, but we fabbed one up out of the same oak we were using for the stringers Saturday. You wouldn't believe how long it takes to drill four holes in the back of a boat, but when it finally came time the thought of it was making me so sick to my stomach that we spent almost an hour measuring, remeasuring and debating before finally drilling the first hole. However, we ended up in the correct spot and have no extra holes. That was a victory.

When we clamped on the British Seagull, we were a little disappointed that despite all our measuring, it didn't extend as deep into the water as we'd planned. However, it seemed deep enough for a quick attempt to make it to the bay, so we loaded everyone onto the boat and cast off for the first time.

At full throttle we were making a loud, smoky 2 knots in the calm marina. It was slow but steady progress until we approached the main channel in Clear Lake. The wind and boat wakes made the water considerably choppier, so we were losing thrust. We weren't being blown backwards, but we weren't going forward. Under full throttle we were literally stationary except for the current carrying us sideways out of the channel. We bobbed for a while with the Seagull churning as hard as it could to hold us in the channel, and the decision was made to hoist the main sail in an effort to get unstuck. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet sorted out all the sheets and my brother and I were the only ones who seemed motivated to take any action before we washed into the shallows, but I was stuck holding the tiller of the outboard.

Apparently spending $300 each on the girlfriends to go through sailing lessons with us was money completely wasted because we really needed someone to release the main sheet, which they were both sitting right beside. All they had to do was yank it loose, but after four requests they were still sitting with beers in their hands giving me blank stares. I finally sternly yelled at my girlfriend to pull it because she was literally sitting on it. That still resulted in no productive action but did result in her yelling that "I don't have to yell at her." At that point my brother finally got the halyard secure and was able to come pull the main sheet, and I got the silent treatment for the rest of the evening.

With the main up, we caught the wind and motor-sailed back down the channel and into the marina at a good pace. We even managed to dock without ramming anything.

After that little adventure, we then realized that the outboard mount had not been extended all the way down. A clamp had caught on a little peg, so the outboard did indeed sink another six inches down into the water. We also realized that the Seagull's bracket was adjustable, so that we could adjust the trim down another inch as well. Despite this revelation, our crew was not keen to take another test ride with us, but it did make my brother and I feel so much better about our measuring, calculations and mounting job.

This week I've got to hook up the diesel fuel lines, coolant lines, and figure out how we're going to hook up the exhaust system. The new engine's exhaust is on the opposite side, so we have to move our muffler and relocate some bilge pump hoses that were sitting where the muffler now needs to sit. Our alternator should also be ready this week. I thought we'd save time and money having someone rebuild it versus ordering a new one. I was wrong on both counts. The only shop in our area is up in Tomball, and it turns out he just takes the alternators to some supplier, which then tests them, sources parts, and rebuilds them. The status of the alternator was lost in limbo for two weeks, and now that the supplier has finally said it will be ready Tuesday afternoon, I still haven't been able to get an actual price out of the guy -- who says he forgot to ask the supplier.

Along with all the motor activity we sanded and stained the exterior wood. The wood itself looks so much better, but working on a bobbing boat is not without its challenges, so we have a few stained spots on deck as well as some extra stain along the rail areas. We had taped everything off, but I can put that down as a lesson learned that it's worth the effort to remove the deck hardware and to stain and refinish it off of the boat. From 10 feet away, it looks great though. Hopefully I can get some sealant on it Memorial Day weekend before we get any rain.

Perhaps the nicest comment of the weekend was when my brother's friend said that his buddy lives on a boat kind of like ours, but that the inside of ours was WAY nicer. I can't even fathom how bad this guy's boat must be.

It's taken 10 months, but it's all finally coming together.

[Sailmonkey]

Still laughing about the resin........

[Jetexas]

This is nothing to laugh about!



I was washing my hands for an hour trying to get all the fiberglass off of me. The skin of my arm kept sticking together everytime I bent my elbow for another day. lol

[Sailmonkey]

I've got little puddles of resin holding paintbrushes all over the place........they speak to me, and I can't stand to get rid of a perfectly good mixing pot.

[Fishman_Tx]

Jet, I need the info on that salvage yard, please sir. Out Airline/IAH ?