Air Head install

When I purchased my Air Head I also had to decide how it should be vented. I had read where some installations had vented through the hull using a loop to prevent water ingestion when the rail was buried. The advantages were that it uses an existing hole in the hull and most of the vent hose is hidden within cabinets. The disadvantages are that it requires installation of a continuous extraction fan which although efficient draws power from the battery and requires extra wiring. The alternative is a day/night solar vent in the cabin ceiling. This requires a hole in the cabin top and an exposed vent hose in the head compartment. On the bright side, no extra wiring (inbuilt battery that charges during the day and runs the fan all night) and unlikely it will be immersed. I chose the solar vent and after measuring its position three times (and getting a fellow liveaboard to check it twice) cut the hole in the deck. I would like to say it fitted perfectly the first time but I cut it a little under size and had to enlarge the hole - easier to take extra out than to put it back.  Note the thickness on the deck core.

Base preparation

Base installed

The layout of my head compartment was always going to present a challenge to fitting an Air Head. The existing platform was wide enough for the solids tank but did not provide any support for the liquids tank. Adrian from 'A Better Way to Go' said that the tank needed at least 90mm (3 1/2") of support under the back edge so I cut out a base from 12mm marine ply to fit under the solids tank and 90mm to support the liquids tank and screwed it in place.

A quick check for fitment confirmed what the initial measurements hinted - the head with the standard handle was too wide. I had purchased the ratchet attachment for this purpose but for now I have trimmed 12mm (1/2") from the standard handle and I'll see how that works.

A special thanks to Adrian and Carol from A Better Way to Go for their support and patience in answering all my questions both before and after buying the Air Head.

Vent installed

Head refit

The head, a must have on all cruising boats but for boats built before the requirement of a holding tank it can be a challenge. Crosswind has a manual head (no macerator) and a small holding tank - 380mm X 300mm X 450mm (15" X 12" X18'') and if used daily would require pumping out at least once a week, which is a 30 minute trip each way down the river.  At heart I am a closet environmentalist and will not pollute our waterways, marine parks or oceans. So what are the options?

• Keep what I have, make best use of the amenities block and when I go cruising hope that each leg is short so I can use a pump out station before the tank is full.
• Fit a bigger holding tank. the only space suitable (above the waterline and size) is under the forward bunk but this takes away valuable storage space and would necessitate relocation the water maker. or
• Think outside the box and install a composting head. Turns waste into compost, is self contained and environmentally friendly - what more could I want.

There are two well known brands on the market which are suitable for yachts, Airhead and Nature's Head. Both are similar but in my case the choice was easy, Airhead is available and supported in Australia, Nature's Head is not. I ordered the head from 'A Better Way To Go' in Melbourne and two days later it arrived. The staff went out of their way to answer my questions and even measure the base to check if it would fit on the existing shelf in the head. Thanks guys!

The first step was to remove the head - easy as it had not been connected for over 12 months. The next was to remove the holding tank and associated plumbing - not too hard but time consuming removing the plumbing. For now I have left the waste spigot in the deck and will decide what to do when its time to re-caulk the deck. Looking at the head I decided it could do with a freshen up similar to the forward cabin repaint. Looks like the head won't be in before Christmas.

Icebox upgrade



Original plate

The more I read the purchase survey, the more troubled I become. In it the surveyor states "Refrigeration is 12 volt sealed unit built in under the Dinette seat Frd of the galley and is in G/C".  In fact the compressor and control unit were sitting in the locker (not screwed down or secured), disconnected (no caps on the refrigerant lines) and no power connected. On removing the unit I found it had corrosion on the compressor and no oil in the unit - not a good sign. It means the oil had absorbed moisture and the interior of the unit was also likely to have corrosion. Not what I would call good condition!

Where to from here? I could have re-oiled, refitted and re-gassed the old unit and hoped it would work which was unlikely and would cost around $500 or I could take this opportunity to reconfigure the icebox and buy a new unit. I chose the latter. The icebox was a single unit of about 5 cubic feet (140 litres) which could either be used as a fridge or freezer. As I wanted both I decided to:

• install a divider to form both fridge and freezer compartments
• install a freezer unit in the outboard compartment, and
• install a small thermatically controlled fan in the divider to draw air from the freezer to cool the refrigeration compartment. 

The thing to note when modifying a boat (and not just a Westsail) - nothing is quite square and if there is a taper it won't be even on both sides. As the divider was going inside the icebox it did not need to have thick insulation so I bought a 2" (50mm) core with alloy on both sides from a refrigerated van repair shop ($10 from their scrap bin) and shaped it to fit. If your going to replicate this on your Westsail note that:

• the icebox tapers from top (325mm) to bottom (260mm)
• you will need a drain hole from the freezer into the fridge
• leave a gap at the top (1/4" max) to allow for a cap over the foam insulation and a seal between the two compartments
• A hole at the top to fit the fan between the two compartments. I used a small 12V computer fan inside a 2" plastic pipe joiner

I purchased a Weaco ColdMachine comprising a CU-94 cooling unit (Danfoss BD50F) and a VD-16 circulating air evaporator. Brendan from FreezeTec was a great help, describing all the different systems and options and taking the time to explain the effect each system would have on the electrical system. I chose the circulating air evaporator because it cools quickly and although it draws more power when operating does so for a far shorter time. In addition I added a switching power supply so that it will run off shore power when connected and automatically revert to batteries when disconnected. I used the existing thermostat to control the fan in the divider. The unit came pre-gassed and was relatively easy to install as I used the holes from the previous installation.

Fridge

Freezer

Total cost was about $1,500.

I am now a liveaboard

I have moved aboard! It has always been my plan to live aboard for a few years before I set sail around Australia, it has just happened earlier than expected. Now I will have to move up the schedule of work for the refit. First will be the icebox followed by fitting the airhead I purchased a while ago. Not looking forward to removing the old head, holding tank etc.

Inspiration

One of my work colleagues - Lynne Sait, came across an inspirational verse which I have decided to use as part of the page header.

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination" ~ James Dean

 

Thanks Lynne

TV install

At a recent sale I splurged out and bought a marinised television for the boat.  Not big by home standards but at 22" big enough for the boat. Camille volunteered to help - here is a picture of her helping :)






The TV install was straight forward with eight screws for the wall mount into the cabin side which the tangs on the set slipped into. Feeding the antenna cable through the lazarette, under the cockpit, behind the galley and dining area to the TV was more challenging.  The end result however is quite pleasing (note that the cables still need to be cleaned up).

More pictures of the antenna to come.

Fwd cabin repaint

Some of you may remember from an earlier post about the dry rot repair in the forward bulkhead how dark the forward cabin was. As the shipwrights who carried out the repair could not exactly match the existing timber I decided to paint the bulkhead white. The effect was to lighten the cabin and rather than put off the repaint until later in the refit  decided to do it now.

I enlisted the help of my youngest son Paddy (don't call him Patrick) to remove the batons and doors in preparation for the refinish. The insulation behind the batons was in good order and except for one panel well adhered to the hull. I decided to leave it in place and give it a good clean with sugar soap prior to refinishing the cabin. With thoughts of making the cabin lighter I also decided to paint the aft bulkhead white. The remaining bright work I decided to re-varnish. The pictures below show the process in stages. even though I used a sealer on the aft bulkhead it took three coats before the oil in the teak plywood stopped bleeding through.

Primed ready for paint

Bright work after 2nd coat

Forwad bulkhead no longer the dark cave

Aft bulkhead - light and bright