We Are Getting Started

[scallywag]

Welcome Clausont--My battery selector switch shorted out internally. The switch allowed current to flow in the off position. I figured this one out when I turned the switch on and I could hear pieces of the switch moving about. This cost me a new starting battery and of course a new selector switch. Good luck in identifying the wires in your rats nest. It just takes time and patience.
John

[Weyalan]

Looks like you got yourself a great little (or not so little, depending how look at it) boat there! Good luck with the refit and the adventure. It certainly seem slike you are going about it the right way. just remember not to run your engine for too long if it is out of the water unless you rig up a system for getting cooling water into it (don't use a hose shoved into the water inlet).

Cheers

Weyalan

[clausont]

Well, It has been a few days since I posted any progress reports on our boat. I now have the bottom nearly completely stripped to the gelcoat. I abandoned the idea of using chemical stripper of any kind, bought a 7" variable speed sander, polisher and armed with 36 grit discs went to work.
Most of you probably know what a messy, dirty job this is and I am glad that the worst is done. Now I will also sand the topsides with 80 grit using the random orbital sander and prep it for paint also.
I was pleased to find only about 10 blisters that really required some significant attention (grind out and repair). There were numerous small gelcoat "bb's" that need attention but not serious.

Weyalan - I did run the engine for about 3 or 4 minutes but not without proper cooling. I disconnected the coolant intake line from the through hull and dropped it into a 5 gallon bucket of fresh water. After starting the engine, I kept the bucket replenished with the garden hose while watching the temperature and the exhaust to be sure that it was pumping water correctly. Worked great. I don't know how long it had been since the engine has run, but it seemed a good thing to give it a few minutes run time.