GREYHAWK

1980 Peterson 34 offshore racer/cruiser sloop

Progress Reports

October 11, 2005

Hello to Greyhawk's Delivery Crew:

For your information, I've attached an Adobe Acrobat PDF copy of David Manning's Report from the pre-purchase survey (PDF)I had him preform when I bought GREYHAWK back in July. I've also attached a current copy of my Project List detailing the specific recommendations Manning made, as well as other projects I've identified, together with my comments and progress notes. This list is continually evolving.

In September, Wendy, Ben and I visited the Annapolis/Washington area for a family wedding, and I spent a good deal of time getting measurements and specifications off the boat so I would know what size bits and pieces to order to complete some of the projects. This past weekend, I spent most of Friday at the Annapolis Boat Show, talking to the vendors of the gear with which GREYHAWK is equipped, and accomplished a lot of work on the boat over the rest of the weekend.

I hired a diver to scrub GREYHAWK's bottom in late September. He reported: "Cleaned and inspected bottom stem to stern. No visible damage noted. Cleaned all hardware, hull and waterline. Scrape of hardware and medium brush to hull. Paint in fair condition, embedded algae and barnacles on the barnacles. Two zincs on shaft at 90%"

Since the growth rate of fouling in the Chesapeake is pretty high, especially this year of record warm water, I will have the diver come back in early November, and also a couple times in the spring (so we'll have a clean bottom for our delivery to Maine).

I am contemplating going down to the boat again for the long weekend of Veteran's Day. In addition, I expect to spend about a week working on the boat in late December or early January, and perhaps Spring Break in March. I will probably have the boat hauled out and blocked for one of those weeks so that I can attend to some of the work needed on the boat's bottom (including fresh anti-fouling paint). You would certainly be welcome if any of you would like to join me on one of these trips.

November 15, 2005

Hello to Greyhawk's Delivery Crew:

I applied for and have obtained liability insurance with BoatUS. They wanted a recent survey, so I sent them a copy of David Manning's survey report along with a note dated October 13 explaining what work had been accomplished to date. They asked for more details regarding my plans for accomplishing the recommended work, pointing out the issues of particular concern, to which I responded with an outline of my plans as of November 1.

My father and my son accompanied me on a trip down to Annapolis for Veteran's Day weekend, November 11-13. We were able to work on the boat all day Friday and Saturday, and half the day on Sunday. While we didn't get a chance to go sailing, we did fire up the engine and cast off the dock lines to motor up the creek and back. Here's what we accomplished (keyed to Manning's recommendations, particularly those highlighted by the insurance company as most needing attention):

2. Decks - Accomplish reconditioning repairs to include hardware, hatches and port rebedding and/or replacement.

We installed a new mast boot and sealed the mast track where it passes through the deck. In addition, we replaced broken or missing dogs on the deck hatch and rear ports, re-attached and sealed the auto-pilot connector, and sealed a wire-pass opening in the rear deck. These steps should greatly reduce the amount of water accumulating in the boat. We also covered the wells for the MOB horseshoes to keep water from accumulating and freezing. Unfortunately, we did not get the deck hatch or bow pulpit re-bedded.

3. Sea connections ...

The galley seawater intake hose and head sink drain hose were replaced with marine grade wire reinforced hose. In addition, we installed a new replacement galley sink freshwater pump, and repaired the galley sink sea water pump.

4. Head & waste holding tank ...

We re-built the head pump and cleaned out the jets on the toilet, then re-installed the toilet and pump to test. Unfortunately, the pump has a cracked intake housing and sprays water on you when you're pumping. We have removed the pump and will attempt a repair of the housing at home. The course of additional work on the waste system may depend on the fate of this head pump.

5. Galley CNG Stove ...

We removed the CNG cylinder from its locker and investigated what is needed to secure the tank in place. In addition, we explored the possibilities for installing a vent and securing the fuel supply hose. We expect to fabricate the necessary components in time to install them on our next visit to the boat in late December.

6. 12-volt service ...

We added fiddles to the battery box platforms to better secure the batteries in place, color coded the starboard battery positive cable, secured all positive battery cables in place away from chafe potentials, and secured some of the wiring runs. In addition, we installed and tested a new stern light. We also set up a solar panel to hopefully keep the battery charged through the winter.

7. Engine ...

We completed the replacement of water hoses on the engine and the installation of a vented loop well above the water line before the cooling water discharges to the exhaust. We removed cabinetry in order to gain access to the underside of the deck fuel fill fitting so that we can replace the fuel fill hose on our next visit to the boat. In addition, we installed a tachometer (although it has not yet been tested), oiled the morse control cables for throttle and shift, and drained all the water out of the engine and exhaust system in anticipation of freezing temperatures in the coming months.

Other projects

We scraped off the old hailing port on the transom and installed a new vinyl decal proclaiming Greyhawk's hailing port as "KEENE, N.H." Unfortunately conditions were less than ideal for this installation, but hopefully these new letters will remain affixed until we get the boat home for re-painting. In addition, we replaced the cam cleat on the main sheet with a new one, as the springs were shot in the old one. We removed the lee clothes from the berths in the main salon and brought them home for washing, and we brought home a large number of lines in need of end whipping.

Other News

Diver's Report: The diver from Diversified Marine Services visited Greyhawk again on November 4, and filed the following report: "Cleaned and inspected bottom stem to stern. No visible damage noted. Cleaned all hardware hull and waterline. Scrape of hardware and medium brush to hull. Two zincs on shaft at 80%. Paint in fair condition with thick embedded algae and barnacles on the bottom."

Engine: Greyhawk's Yanmar 2QM15 engine has been out of production since 1980 (Greyhawk's may be one of the last ones made), and an important replacement part, namely the exhaust manifold, is no longer available from Yanmar. Although Greyhawk's engine seems to still run well enough now, one of my priorities has been to see what could be done to keep it running well in order to postpone the need for re-powering, a potentially very expensive proposition that could involve everything from the fuel system to the propellor, shaft, transmission, engine beds, exhaust, and wiring, etc.... One step that has much to recommend it is converting from raw-water cooling to closed-circuit "freshwater" cooling. Among other benefits, this conversion makes winterization of the engine easier, and eliminates the potential for further internal corrosion of the engine block and exhaust manifold. To this end, I acquired a used heat exchanger and raw water pump ($170 all together), and now just have to figure out how to mount these components and then re-plumb the cooling system on the engine.

In addition, as you know, I came across a rebuilt Yanmar 2QM15 engine, identical to Greyhawk's engine, being auctioned off on eBay. As the sole bidder, I was able to acquire this engine for only $750. The intent would be to at some point swap this re-built engine for Greyhawk's existing one. This should be plug-and-play, since it is the same model engine, so no need to change the engine beds, mounts, wiring, exhaust, fuel system, transmission, shaft, prop, or any of that. I would keep the old engine around for spare parts and/or rebuilding it as time permits (these engines are very re-buildable, as they have sleeved cylinders, and except for that exhaust manifold, the parts are still available). At the very least, the "new" engine would be a good source of spare parts (including alternator, starter motor, etc...).

The caveats with this rebuilt engine are (1) that it is in Savannah, Georgia, over 1000 miles away, and I have to go down there to pick it up, and (2) that it has not been tested since the re-build and we don't know whether it has a cracked block or something like that. So, I am planning a trip down to Savannah as an extension of my trip to Annapolis in late December. The seller of the engine has very nicely offered me (and anyone accompanying me) the use of his restored 1967 Grampian Classic 31' sailboat as a place to stay overnight, since he knows the trip down and back will be a long one.

Jackstands: When I bought the boat in July, the Previous Owner mentioned that I could also have Greyhawk's jackstands, which were at his old marina in New Jersey -- I would just need a trailer to pick them up, as they wouldn't fit into my van. Over the summer, I worked on getting the old Lightning trailer that I had acquired in May to be road worthy. One of the hurdles was getting it registered, as it had no Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). At the end of October, I finally got that all taken care of and built a platform on it to convert it from a boat trailer to a utility trailer. Then I called Greyhawk's Previous Owner to inquire about the jackstands. He wasn't sure what their status was, so he said he would make a few phone calls and get back to me. We connected again on Saturday 11/5, when he told me that the stands were still there, but that there were rumors about the marina instituting a storage charge, and they might be impounded. He told me where they were, gave me the combination to his lock, and suggested I go down on a weekend when nobody would be in the marina office. I decided to go down the next day (Sunday 11/6) to see if I could retrieve them. I got up a little after 3:00 (couldn't sleep anyway), and headed off to New Jersey at 03:45. I brought tools for un-seizing a rusted lock, or for cutting a chain if need be, as well as documentation of the transfer of ownership of the boat. I got to the marina at about 08:15 and the guard let me through the gate without any questions. I drove to the back of the yard and found the stands, marked with the Previous Owner's name in white paint as well as the name "Greyhawk" in faded magic marker. They were not chained to the fence at all, so I just loaded them on to my trailer, tied them down, and headed out (about 09:00). The guard let me out of the marina, again without any questions at all. I was back in Keene at about 13:30, having driven over 500 miles round trip and expending about $30 in highway tolls. Was it worth it? I got 6 tall SB-1 sailboat jackstands, which have a new replacement cost of about $100 each (not including shipping) if purchased directly from the manufacturer (Brownell). Still, when I get the boat trucked to Keene next fall, I will need a bow stand, as well as chains, and blocking. I don't know how the Previous Owner used to do it in NJ, but there was not a bow stand to be found (nor was there any ladder, which he had said was chained to the fence together with the stands).

Future Work

My next trip down to work on the boat will most likely be in late December, between Christmas and the New Year, when I am also planning to make a trip to Savannah to pick up the spare engine. I've decided to post-pone having the boat hauled out until Spring Break in mid-March. In the meantime, I accumulating plenty of projects that I can work on here at home, including making new floor-boards, fabricating brackets for securing the CNG tank in place, whipping the ends of lines, washing lee clothes and pipe berths, repairing the zippers in the pipe berth cushion covers, etc...

Delivery Voyage: The planned late June 2006 delivery of Greyhawk from Annapolis to West Boothbay Harbor is looming closer and closer over the horizon. I have been amassing charts and other necessities, but we will need to soon start thinking about meal planning and other issues. Stay tuned!

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January 2010