Great strength of feets: removing the old diesel
After a blissful Christmas at brother's house with his family in Stuart, and my new little nephew, I drove back to Sarasota to start working on getting the engine out from under the cockpit. I got to my sweet Soveraine on Sunday morning and, after getting the lock open, couldn't slide the companionway hatch forward. This had never happened before. No amount of pushing could get it over the drop slides, it was as if they had swelled for some reason. I took out my sawzall and cut a tiny bit away from the top drop slide and it slid open.
I was dumbfounded. The entire cabin was submerged in four inches of standing water. Nearest I can tell, during the fall the oak tree, that the jackass trailer park owner let the jackass of a hauler park my boat under, had shed all its tiny goddamn leaves which clogged my cockpit drains causing water to spill into the cabin.
Luckily my dad was there to keep my spirits high and attitude in check, because I was in a throw in the towel, no good, dirty, rotten mood after I saw that. In addition, about three dozen wasps had moved into Soveraine and threre was mold EVERYWHERE. We piled into his truck and headed to Home Depot to rent a generator and 2" sump pump.
The pump worked quickly and dad and I called it a day to let the boat dry out. I checked the wooden bulkheads for any signs of rot and there were none.
The following day the boat was aired out nicely and we got to work on the engine. By noon we had most of the accessories stripped away, including the instrument panel, wiring harness, alternator, fuel pump, starter, and the gear box separated from the block and the prop shaft. The volume of blood shed removing the coupling bolts on the prop shaft was minimal.
Next came the ordeal of how on Earth we were going to get it shoved out of the opening in the bulkhead forward of the engine compartment. We went back to the Depot and bought a single 2x8 which was just as wide as the bottom part of the bulkhead opening. Then using some pry bars and great feats of strength/great strength of feets, on the count of push (please tell me you got that reference) it popped out onto the board, resting on the oil pan. It was then fairly easy to shimmy it down a bit so it was completely out of the engine compartment. We cleaned up and were out of there by 4. It took less time than I had planned, how often does that happen on a boat?? I only want to rent a crane once, so there it shall sit until the new one goes in this coming summer.
Over the next few days I continued to work on the engine compartment and start the glamorous task of cleaning 40 years worth of sludge out from the bilge. Mat came along and his dad lent me his generator to run the shop vac. I only dropped the container filled with sludge once, which I'd say is pretty good.
I also put together a little system so that whole flooding thing won't happen again, which includes my existing bilge pump and 5 watt solar panel and a new battery and charge controller. In addition to a partial cover to keep those God forsaken leaves off the deck. I'll be back in two weeks to check on her.
I was dumbfounded. The entire cabin was submerged in four inches of standing water. Nearest I can tell, during the fall the oak tree, that the jackass trailer park owner let the jackass of a hauler park my boat under, had shed all its tiny goddamn leaves which clogged my cockpit drains causing water to spill into the cabin.
Luckily my dad was there to keep my spirits high and attitude in check, because I was in a throw in the towel, no good, dirty, rotten mood after I saw that. In addition, about three dozen wasps had moved into Soveraine and threre was mold EVERYWHERE. We piled into his truck and headed to Home Depot to rent a generator and 2" sump pump.
The pump worked quickly and dad and I called it a day to let the boat dry out. I checked the wooden bulkheads for any signs of rot and there were none.
I appreciate the juxtaposition of this one.
The following day the boat was aired out nicely and we got to work on the engine. By noon we had most of the accessories stripped away, including the instrument panel, wiring harness, alternator, fuel pump, starter, and the gear box separated from the block and the prop shaft. The volume of blood shed removing the coupling bolts on the prop shaft was minimal.
Next came the ordeal of how on Earth we were going to get it shoved out of the opening in the bulkhead forward of the engine compartment. We went back to the Depot and bought a single 2x8 which was just as wide as the bottom part of the bulkhead opening. Then using some pry bars and great feats of strength/great strength of feets, on the count of push (please tell me you got that reference) it popped out onto the board, resting on the oil pan. It was then fairly easy to shimmy it down a bit so it was completely out of the engine compartment. We cleaned up and were out of there by 4. It took less time than I had planned, how often does that happen on a boat?? I only want to rent a crane once, so there it shall sit until the new one goes in this coming summer.
Over the next few days I continued to work on the engine compartment and start the glamorous task of cleaning 40 years worth of sludge out from the bilge. Mat came along and his dad lent me his generator to run the shop vac. I only dropped the container filled with sludge once, which I'd say is pretty good.
I also put together a little system so that whole flooding thing won't happen again, which includes my existing bilge pump and 5 watt solar panel and a new battery and charge controller. In addition to a partial cover to keep those God forsaken leaves off the deck. I'll be back in two weeks to check on her.
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