One of the item to tackle from our purchase survey! The original bus bar for the AC circuit was corroded. It was a straight forward maintenance.
Less of $20 bus bar from blue sea and some jumpers.
Galley and Head LED lights update
After couple of fluorescent tube decided to stop working, we decided to upgrade the couple fixture with modern looking one.
- Galley:
- $95.95
- High-Line 19″ LED Fluorescent Replacement Twin-Tube Fixture
- http://store.marinebeam.com/high-line-19-led-fluorescent-replacement-twin-tube-fixture/
- Head
- $60.95
- High-Line 16″ T5 LED Fluorescent Replacement Fixture
- https://store.marinebeam.com/high-line-16-t5-led-fluorescent-replacement-fixture/
Cabin teak floor varnishing
The 2 cabin boards near the engine came with the boat in a pretty bad shape, they were in need of some love. I decided the risk was very low to exercise my varnishing skills on these boards. The result happened to be way better than I expected.
Update March 2019. After this rainy winter and couple of leaks, it’s time to do the forward cabin floor board.
Tools & Chemicals
- Preparation:
- stripping pad: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPEE3S/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- stripping brush: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AW638K/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- plastic knife: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SBJIA8/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- CitriStrip: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QFCP1G/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Epoxy / Varnishing:
- sandpaper: https://www.amazon.com/3M-SandBlaster-Between-Sandpaper-220-Grit/dp/B000BQRFDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497385775&sr=8-1&keywords=3M-SandBlaster-Between-Sandpaper-220-Grit%2F
- foam brushes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002N6GB/
- tack clothes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049OP9FY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A1RVZMUSUX5400&psc=1
- West system 105 epoxy resin: https://www.westsystem.com/105-epoxy-resin/
- West System 207 clear coat hardener: https://www.westsystem.com/207-special-clear-hardener/
- epifanes varnish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ADWOUG/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IKJEDNWCGIBJ7&colid=3BL9QML8Q7GIE
Preparation
- Pour the stripper on to the wood in a puddle
- Spread it initially with a brush
- Allow the stripper to “work” for 10-15 minutes
- Start to scrape with a 3″ flat putty knife
- Pile up the stripper/old varnish in the middle of the board
- Use a couple larger putty knives to remove the stripper/old Varnish
- Dispose of it in a shoebox with a plastic bag liner.
- Repeat the entire process anywhere from 3 to 5 more times.
- Once all or most of the varnish was removed clean the wood with acetone
- Allow to dry overnight and clean the wood with acetone again
- After completely drying lightly sand the wood with 220 grit paper
- Wipe it down with acetone again
- At this point it is ready for epoxy / varnish
Update March 2019. I replaced CitriStrip with Klean Strip for the forward board, way easier to apply.
Epoxy / Varnishing
Start with 4 coats of clear coat of epoxy. I usually apply the 4 coats of epoxy in less of 48 hours.
Continue with 4 coats of undiluted Epifanes Varnish.
Update March 2019. 2 years later the Epifanes Varnish was still ok, but added a bit of mineral spirit before to apply it.
Seakamp 200420 zinc replacement
Any idea what is the zinc matching the Seakamp 200420 heat exchanger?
Seakamp just replied to me ”¼ npt thread zinc is 1.7 inch”
Checking on the catalina36.org association, I got recommended size E0 from this site.
They also have a page for the kind you screw into the brass cap – but you may have to cut that to length.
Anyway I had to cut to the length even the E0, as soon as it was inserted the water was not able to go through anymore.
Balmar & CMI alternator upgrade
Parts ordering & delivery
Tired to have to replace my belts twice a season, I decided it was time to fix this recurring alternator belt issue. The PO installed an alternator too big for my M25XPB engine. So after some research and a lot of help from Mainsail on Catalina 36 forum and on https://marinehowto.com I decided it was time to start with this project!
Pulled the trigger and I bought a Balmar regulator MC-614H and an alternator CMI-105-ER on https://marinehowto.com/.
- CMI-105-ER – 105A Motorola/Prestolite/ Leece-Neville Externally Regulated Alternator
- Balmar Regulator MC-614H
- Balmar MC-TS-A Alternator Temperature Sensor
Very happy with Rod customer service during the decision process and the very fast delivery.
Replacing old with new!
Where do I put the mc-614 regulator?
As soon as I received all parts, the first question was to decide where to put the regulator. I decided to take advantage of the space available on aft of the engine, against the central water tank. Another option was to put the regulator on the port side of the engine bulkhead.
CMI Alternator fitting issue?
As soon as the regulator situation was fixed, I realized the alternator didn’t fit as expected. Time for a quick conversation with Rod @ marine how-to, I can’t say enough how helpful Rod has been in the success of this project). Rod explained me I was able to make one of the alternator bolt shorter, 30 seconds with the dremel and I was good for the next step!
Alternator adjustable arm grinding
Next issue 🙂 After a quick grinding, it fits perfectly!
Broken bolt 🙁
Almost too easy! The alternator arm decided to break inside the engine block, after some clean up and rethreading, I was able to get a new bolt in.
Back on track. Let’s wire!
Maintenance switch?
Negative bus bar setup
Which belt?
After few tests, it looks like the 17420 is a good fit! Time to order a couple of them for spare.
Ready for testing?
Configure the Balmar mc-614
The tuning of the Balmar MC-614 is pretty challenging, I just followed RC recommendations for your alternator and your battery. You can find everything about Balmar Tuning in the article below.
Why no RPM?
Checking the RPM, I realized it was not showing up, after a bit more help from Rod I started a quick troubleshooting session to realize one fuse failed during the setup.
Troubleshooting
5 days cruise update
The week-end of Thanksgiving was a perfect time to validate the new alternator setup. Everything worked as expected! Next step upgrade our battery bank for our next long cruise to Catalina.
