Custom Aluminum Valencin 39 Refit

[witzgall]

I think the 90s has a variable output, not just low or high? If that is the case, it would make sense to go with that, if it will fit. The low out put on tis is lower than the other, smaller units.

Chris

Originally Posted by xslim

Well i calculated 6000 BTU for main cabin or around 10000 BTU for all boat.
I'm looking on Webasto Thermo Top C/E or 90S. Any recommendation?



Taras

[xslim]

Originally Posted by Pinical

Nice boat! Before lying in Compagnieshaven Enkhuizen?

In 35-45 ft boat an EVO top etc is most cost efficiënt and easy to mount. And safe to use. Even in Holland it's enough for the coldest nights. And you already have the fueltank. Once underway you don't want to lose valuable space. And, it can double as a vent in hot climates! We used that a lot.
Power in A'dam Marina is new and hasslefree: you can leave it on (on thermostat) for weeks.

Dashew has 3 very informative books on cruising, with lots of info on alu boats and technical issues. Onmisbaar! I might have a digital copy.

Hey Jan!
Nice meeting you! I would love to speak to you more, as it seems you have a similar boat in a same country )

Yes, it was in Enkhuizen, but not in Compagnieshaven. It was in inner canal.

About the EVO Top - what kind of radiators do you use?
And about the book - which one you liked the most? I would like to get a digital copy if you have one

[xslim]

So here in Holland the usual winter temperature is not lower than -3C (26F), but still I decided to winterize the engine. Or at least partially.

Her's what I did for old Perkins 4108:
- start it, and warm it up, shut it down
- turn off raw water input seacock
- disconnect the hose from engine raw water intake (in my case the raw water filter is mounted in a way I don't have easy access to it's hoses)
- attach 1m / 3ft hose to it
- put it in a bucket with 8-10l of red antifreeze (-45C)
- start the engine, check that the red fluid is going from exhaust
- have it drink the bucket and shut it down
- re-connect the original hose but don't open the seacock
- take out impeller for inspection

I hope I did it right

[Pinical]

I'll search my old HD tomorrow. I've read the cruising encyclopedia a lot during my night watches when the Windpilot steered us.
Of you have an adress in the States you can buy all four books from the author for almost nothing: http://www.setsail.com/shop/

You don't need radiators, hot air is enough. Radiators takes lots of piping and so liters (=kilo's!) of water. You don't want all that wheight carrying around! Even in -15 Celsius and 7 bft outside our Airtop 3500 didn't need full power to get the boat comfy.


Jan Gerrit
s/y Pinical
NL

[xslim]

So i found a leak. Its on a starbord near chart table. Stantion bended a bit and there is a crack in the stantion support. Second photo shows light outside from the torch shining into the crack.

The best is to weld it. But what to do now? Epoxy? Cold weld solution?
And when the real welding comes, how to properly reinforce it?

Her's another problem.
The bilges are dirty. Seems some years ago the PO had a leak of diesel, and the bilges on the side are quite dirty and oily. Any suggestions how to clean?
Shuld I use some special washing liquid?

Thx guys!

[xslim]

Time consideration
I'm working on the boat almost every day - full weekends and most evenings after my day job. It takes on average 40 minutes to get there door-to-door: 15 minutes biking, 5 waiting for the ferry, 15 on the ferry and the rest is biking towards the marina. On average, I work 2 hours on the boat during the evening and 4-6 hours weekend days. So in a week, I spend 9 hours traveling and 20 hours working. If I would do freelancing in that time, it would be cheaper and easier to pay someone to do all the boat work. Would I swap boat work for sitting near my laptop an additional 30 hours a week? No! For what my plan is - preparing the boat in 4 years and circumnavigating for 5 - I want to be 100% sure that the work on the boat is done right. If something happens, I want to know where and how to fix it. Thus, I consider the time and sweat spent now as an investment for a problem-free future.*

What did I do in last few weeks? Mostly - cleaning. And by that I mean not only cleaning the bilges and engine but also cleaning the electrical installation - pulled few miles of wire that goes no-where, pulled out some equipment that is obsolete / not working, finding places that leak, trashing kilograms of piled crap, etc.

Bilge cleaning is not easy. Already scrubbed it 3 times - but still can't clean some of the oil / diesel marks. Because the way how the hull is reinforced - with the "T" frames, after some leaks, the water was trapped on the top of the "T", causing the plywood that covers the hull to mold. So now I'm tearing apart internal lining of all lockers to check all the frames.

What would you advice to prevent this problem in future? make easy-removable liners? Drill holes in the "T" frames so the water can run lower?

[xslim]

Some pics of water trapped in the T reinforcement and still dirty bilges





Taras

[xslim]

Some updates

Lot of small things. It just moves quite slow, and one thing leads to the other.
But I'm not in rush )

Mostly I'm still cleaning up the bilges and a all the internal places - lot of mess from PO diesel leak.
I have a second tank in the bilge, not integral, and a lot of dirt under it. Trying to figure out how to properly lift it.
Next is electrical - changed the AC, still in process of rewiring the DC.
Instruments - got rid of some ancient things that did not work.
Plumbing - in progress for full replumbing.

Also changing the insulation and headliner. Still question on what to use for replacement of old ply headliner. Thinking about white plastic sheets.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Thanks for the update Slim !

Yea.... It's often a long road of hard work, but I promise it will pay off...

Sounds like you are going the right way about it by ripping out all the wire and plumbing...

SIMPLE-SIMPLE-SIMPLE... Makes life grand...

[xslim]

Well I'm trying to simplify a lot of things - no water pump, only manual; only 12v wires. Manual windlass, tiller pilot & windvane, only the required electronics - GPS, Wind & Depth.

Not sure even if I need a speed / log meter - GPS works better and I have a lot of backup units (handheld, 2 phones, 2 tablets, 2 in VHF, etc.)

[JPA Cate]

Have you tried using spray degreaser to saponify the old diesel deposits you still have? We have done that, then garden sprayer with hot water to rinse it off, then vacuum up with little wet or dry vacuum cleaner.

Good luck, lots of problems to solve, and great on your good progress.

Here's a question for you: is it only the one stanchion that is leaking or is the one on the other side also in need of a backing plate? Maybe that one took a large impact at one time, and there will be no bilateral symmetry, but on the other hand, you may want to take a really close look at all of them.

Ann

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by xslim

So i found a leak. Its on a starbord near chart table. Stantion bended a bit and there is a crack in the stantion support. Second photo shows light outside from the torch shining into the crack.

The best is to weld it. But what to do now? Epoxy? Cold weld solution?
And when the real welding comes, how to properly reinforce it?

Her's another problem.
The bilges are dirty. Seems some years ago the PO had a leak of diesel, and the bilges on the side are quite dirty and oily. Any suggestions how to clean?
Shuld I use some special washing liquid?

Thx guys!

We've used West System G-flex epoxy to fill on deck (non critical) holes....like where the previous owner ripped out the life raft cradle. But, the crack in a stanchion would be a priority to fix by welding to me asap.

Like you, we also had a diesel leak in the bilge. We cleaned with a degreaser called Simple Green and then used a wet/dry vacuum to get the oily waste out. I also used the same process to clean the diesel tank.

Matt

[xslim]

Thanks for the tips!
Firs of all, I'm in Netherlands, but I don't speak Dutch.
So we have a lot of stuff here, but it is different from what is in US.

For cleaning the bilge - the diesel leak was years before I bought the boat... so it's very hard to get it out. I'm trying all possible bilge cleaners here and pressure washing and scrubbing. It does come off, but slowly )

About stantion - one is leaking and 2 others are not - but might.
The stantions on the other side were leaking and PO put a backing plates. But because of that old leak now some of the plywood needs to be replaced - it's a bit moldy.