As anyone who has spent any time around boats would have guessed, these first couple of days on First Light have been long and busy. We showed up with a full list of things to get done, knowing the list wouldn't fit in the time allowed. First item on the list was figuring out what was gong to remain on the list for this stay and what would have to wait until later. Replacing all the batteries on the boat was on the "contract out" list as an item we had hoped to have on the "Finished" list before this trip. No one familiar with boats will be surprised to hear that plan fell through. It was no one's fault. The tech we hired had a serious family obligation crop up. He recommended a replacement but there wasn't time to get on the new guy's schedule. So "replace batteries" went on the list as something to try and get done in the few days available.
Day one was spent just finding our way around the boat. Which switches for which lights, "what's this" and "what's that" kind of thing. A couple of hours disappeared taking down and putting up canvas. There is a repair required on the flying bridge that will be structure and glass work. It drew our attention for a while. Bins and cubby holes were emptied, as well as time lost into just looking around trying get a handle on what we gotten ourselves into...this time.
As night drew nigh, and after some consideration, I decided it was safe to put power on the boat even though the batteries were clearly roached. They weren't that old, its just that they had been sitting dead flat for likely the better part of a year.They had come up fine during the sea trail though the voltage had fallen off rather rapidly once the engines were shut down. Essentially we would be running a few LED lights on the DC side of the boat's electrical system, carried by the battery charger. The AC side, fridge, outlets, and power tools like the pressure washer, vacuum, trouble lights, and recharging hand tool batteries would rely on shore power. "Replace ship's batteries" was moved off the current "to do" list and back onto the "contract" out list.
Day two was partly spent in the engine room sorting out priorities and grumbling about the poor state of some of the electrical work. But all appeared to be basically sound. We then dove into the huge locker under the cockpit floor. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies. More fenders (10 so far) two fender boards, dinghy motor, two more anchors plus chain and rode, lines (some still serviceable), and a fish cleaning thing that fits a holder in the cockpit I had found puzzling. (So that's what that thing is for...cool.)
Under that stuff we found buckets full of other stuff floating in water, and a whole load of chemicals that have no business being stored on a boat. Tangled up with all of it were beefy hardware bits that have to do with the fancy tip-the-dinghy-up-on-the-swim-deck system. Another power boat thing of which I have no clue.
Poking around in the now empty hole revealed a few minor chafing issues with the hydraulic steering gear that were easily addressed. Deb started cleaning and I started sorting. By the end of the day it was all under control. We were happy with the progress but beat right down to our socks.
First thing on yesterday's list was lubing the thru hulls. That required opening up the engine room (engine ROOM!) to find all the various handles. Here Kintala has it all over First Light. With her two engines, two air cons, waste dump, generator, and sink drains, it is a bit scary thinking of all the places through which water is trying to get into this boat. The bad news was that two of the thru-hulls were stiff enough to make it onto the survey MUST FIX list. The good news turned out to be that that one of those is forward in the engine room, just aft of the batteries. As I moved forward toward the thru-hull my nose caught a whiff of something that set off an alarm bell in the mechanic side of my brain. The side that hasn't been particularly busy since we moved back on land. Moments later my ears ramped the alarm up to full %$#$%%%^ ME! mode.
The batteries were sizzling like breakfast bacon and stinking of acid, their cases distended and the tops bulging. The Mechanic side shoved my land side brain out of the way and took over, calling for the battery charger and DC bus side to be shut down right now! It then took to smacking around the land-side of my brain for being near terminally stupid. Dead flat batteries on a full honking charge? Amps surging, generating heat and gas, warping plates leading to a dead short and...ka-boom!
How in the world could I have forgotten that fundamental safety issue? But, somehow, my land side brain managed to do exactly that.
The next few hours were spent replacing all of the batteries on the boat, four house, one (big) start battery for the engines, and another (normal sized) start battery for the gen-set. The good folks at Duck Creek used a fork truck to lift the pallet full of new batteries up to the bow, then returned to lift the old batteries back down to ground level. One of the young yard guys helped me wrestle the (big) engine start battery out of its holder, then wrestle the new one back in. No way could I have pulled that off by myself. But hauling the rest of them in and out of the engine room, even with Deb's help, put a well deserved hurting on my 66 year old frame. Penance for such a bone-headed act.
Wiring up the new battery bank gave me a chance to correct some other MUST DO items. Adding terminal covers that were neglected the last battery change was just part of the job. Even the land side of my brain knows better than to leave hot terminals uncovered, especially in a machine space. Some of the wiring needed rerouted as well. It is hard to explain but there is such a thing as "happy" wiring. It is easy to spot, as is "unhappy" wiring. The mechanic side of my brain, now in complete control, made the wiring as happy as possible. The rest of the day was spent with the power washer, blasting 2 years worth of grunge off the outside of First Light. My Mechanic brain made notes of things that will eventually be addressed. Most of it cosmetic, some of it not. A mechanic brain, left unchecked, will spend untold hours and oodles of money to fix things only another mechanic brain would understand or appreciate. Non-mechanic brains would scratch their nose and ask, "You spent how much and took how long to do that?"
Truth to tell, I like my mechanic brain a bit more than my land side brain. I have projects again, things that could be done, should be done, and must be done. My land side brain is mostly filled with things that other people insist be done, dictate how it should get done, set (usually absurd) limits as to when it must be done, and are absolutely bonkers about filling out the paperwork that testifies to it being done as demanded. Most of which my mechanic brain would laugh at, ignore, or work around without a second thought. It is probably best to leave my mechanic brain on the boat for now. It is a poor fit for my land side life.
But do the easy stuff first. A GFCI plug in the galley, actually wired into the "Microwave" circuit breaker, was tagged as kaput. Such an item could also be the source of the noted AC NEUTRAL to GROUND connection. I changed it, copying the wires from plug to plug exactly. Not only was the GFCI still not working, now the microwave was dead as well. Deb, being far smarter and more patient than I, dug into the paperwork that came with the plug and spotted the mistake. The wiring I copied had two white wires crossed. Swap them and everything worked. Even better? That sneaky little short had disappeared.
Of course there are more wiring glitches to fix. Two will be splicing into main power leads to add over-voltage protection. One at the main house bank to the ship loads. The other at the generator start battery to the starter itself. Somehow both were overlooked during previous surveys. Also, something needs to be done behind the main electrical panel to ensure the AC and DC wires and connections don't try to get friendly.
Those will have to wait for the next visit. Or they may end up on the "contract out" list. At the moment time is more of an issue than funding, Each trip costs at least three days on the road, usually 4. But the long and short of it is First Light is already starting to feel like home. Something making my mechanic brain smile.
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