A Day in the Punch List Life

Reader Note: Be sure to check out the two articles I published yesterday (Stress, Stress and More Stress and Lake Park Boat Show).

Just for grins, I decided to document one day of resolving problems. Today is Wednesday the 12th.

The day started at 8:25AM with a visit from Captain Randy Ives.  Randy reviewed the work planned for the day and then commented how pleased he was that I didn't add anything to the list.  I told him just be patient.  Problems are very good at finding us and as you read on one did.

On deck for today:

1. 84 BoatWorks is scheduled to pick up the tender at 8:30 AM to repair a leak on the port seam.
2. Larry from Atlantis Boat Windows will return to caulk the windows.
3. Conrad, the fiberglass magician, will fix damage to the gelcoat caused by removing the failed window caulk.
4. Fred from Superior Electric will complete the electrical work on the boat diagram
5. Jeff, the carpenter, will secure the swim ladder and mount restraints for stuff stored on the port side of the lazarette.
6. Maggie, the magical woodwork person, will repair the gouges in the floor caused by a dropped knife.
7. Todd, from RPM Diesel Engine will return to complete the 50 hour service on the 12KW and 16KW generators and replace the water pump on the 16KW generator.
8. YRM will install windless tie downs to add a layer of security for the anchors.

84 BoatWorks: The AB DLX13 leaks.  Fortunately it's a small leak.  The leak was discovered on Sunday when Soph, Elena, Diana and I (and of course the Furry Kid) took a 3 hour cruise on the New River.  When we returned we discovered water in the bilge.  Bottom line: Dried out the bilge and watched.  The water returned.  Leak discovered at port seam when I hauled the tender onto the boat deck.

84 BoatWorks picks up the tender

Window caulk: Simple problem.  The caulk was not cured properly during the build resulting in black material getting on our clothes.  Simple solution (although rather expensive for Outer Reef): Re-caulk all the windows (17 in total on the main deck), which involves removing the existing material.  Job has taken 10 man days thus far.  Atlantis Yacht Windows provides a three year warranty on the new caulking.

Windows awaiting new caulk

Decks protected while Atlantis works on the windows

Fiberglass Work: Another case of stuff happens.  Atlantis works with sharp knives and razor blades.  Additionally, the original caulking may have hidden some fiberglass defects.  Outer Reef (Randy) initiated the repairs on their own.

 

Conrad repairing some gelcoat

Boat Diagram: Above the helm is a line drawing of the 63 etched on a metal plate.  Essentially this is an enunciator panel with lights to indicate the status of the running lights, macerator pumps, bilge pumps, high water alarms and lazarette door.  The problems: Lazarette door showed open all the time.  The running light indicators were confused.  While I wont bore you with details, the repair has taken over two man days and problems remain.

 

 

Carpentry & Ballasting: After filling the fuel tanks we saw a one inch list (tilt) to starboard.  Randy put people aboard and calculating their weigh to determine that 650 pounds of lead would be needed on the port side to correct the list.  The lead would be mounted under the master berth.  After assessing the situation I realized that all of the gear in the lazarette was on the starboard side and that it easily weighted over 300 pounds.  Further, it made more sense to move it to the port side.  Simple solution: I moved the gear to the port side and the boat righted itself.  Now the problem was how to ensure the storage containers hold fast in a sea.  Solution: Install 1" by 1" boards to the floor to stop any lateral movement.

Carpentry & the Swim Ladder: The swim ladder also needed to be secured.  Problem: Where to store the heavy duty 40 pound swim ladder when not in use?  (Note: The ladder mounts in the transom rail holes.)  Solution: It fits almost perfectly behind the ladder leading down to the lazarette from the swim platform.  All that needed are d-rings to allow it to be held in place with a bungee cord.

Gouge in Floor: Put this in the category of stuff happens.  A knife fell off a plate and headed south with the pointy end down and bounced twice (with the pointy end still down).

Maggie has filled in the gouges.  Next step is painting with acrylic to match the rest of the floor

Northern Lights: The generators require a 50 hour service that includes an oil and filter change, fuel filter change and valve adjustment (the latter being a rather big job).  Additionally, Todd found that the raw water pump was leaking on the 16KW generator (a warranty issue).

Rust in the pan and green corrosion on the pump.  A sure sign of a problem.

Events as they occurred through out the day:

08:25: Captain Randy arrives
08:35: 84 BoatWorks
09:10: Maggie arrived and started the floor repair
09:15: Atlantis arrived and began working on the windows
09:20: Northern Lights arrived
10:00: Conrad working on the fiberglass
10:20: Todd discovers leak on the port quick oil change line
10:45: Jeff arrived to work on securing stuff in the lazarette
11:20: Robert from GOST called
11:45: Problem with port quick change line reported to Randy (who said "no problem")
13:00: Depart for haircut and errands
13:45: Robert for GOST re auxiliary antenna
14:10: Whole foods shopping
15:13: Return to boat-  84 BoatWorks to pick me up and take me tender
15:15: YRM working on anchor safety device
15:33: 84 BoatWorks picks me up
16:00: Tender launched at 441 launch ramp
16:45: Returned tender to Guided Discovery
17:00: Atlantis goes home
18:30: Maggie completes repair
20:00: Tender checked for leaks

Status of work:

Northern Lights: Oil change and valve adjustment completed.  Water pump still awaiting installation.

Todd remove the head in preparation for checking valve adjustment

Carpenter: All work completed.  Note: The black storage containers from the Container Store enabled me to totally organize lazarette storage.  There are a total of five.

Notice the wood holding the storage containers in place

Swim ladder stored behind the lazarette access ladder

Atlantis: 60% complete - pray for good weather tomorrow.
YRM: Windless tie downs completed.  Note: YRM designed an elegant solution.  The anchors are secured to the winches with a plastic coated stainless steel wire.  This eliminated drilling holes, which increase the potential for leaks.

Simple safety locks prevent the anchor from paying out

Explanatory Note: What happens if an anchor gets loose?  The answer is bad things.  Example: A friend in a 40 foot Sea Ray Sundancer was headed north on Lake Michigan in 8 foot seas in the beginning of 2012 boating season.  The windlass tie down was not in place and the anchor payed out.  The forward motion of the boat caused the anchor rode to wrap around the prop which then lifted the anchor until it hit the hull putting a hole in the boat.  In our case, the loss of a 110LB stainless steel anchor with 300 feet of chain would result in approximately a $4,000 loss assuming no damage to the boat.  Cost for tie downs was $338.

Maggie: Repair completed.
Fiberglass Work: Completed
Boat Diagram: No action
84 Boat Works: A poorly caulked drain plug assembly was causing the leak.  Unfortunately, the boat was returned with water in the bilge.  I had them dry the bilge before launching tender and double checked it when I got back to the dock.  There was water but I knew where it came from.  I dried it out and then checked it at 8:00 PM.  The bilge was dry.  Hurrah!

84 BoatWorks ready to launch the repaired tender

Explanatory Note: My Caribe DL11 (with a 30HP Tohatsu) bought in 2007 leaked from day one and I stupidly failed to have the dealer resolve the issue.  This was not a problem on fresh water.  It became a serious problem when we hit salt water in December 2010.  By April of 2011 the salt water had corroded the boat's electrical system.  Why did this occur?  Simple: Running at 30MPH in choppy water splashed salt water on the inside of the boat.  I spent approximately $2,000 to find the leak and repair the electrical system.

GOST: Robert made appointment for Thursday at 8:30 AM to install auxiliary antenna to enhance the system's ability to receive Verizon's CDMA signal tones.

New Problem: Much I'm sure to Randy's chagrin, we added another problem to the list.  This one involved a leak on the quick drain fitting for the 12KW generator.  As I mentioned earlier, problems are very good at finding us.  Note: This is a good example of a problem emerging through use.  Even Outer Reef's comprehensive checklist could not have detected this problem.  We had to pump oil out of the engine to see it.

Notice the oil leak at the fitting

As you can see it was a very hectic and fairly productive day.  The punch list now sits at five open items that have the potential to be resolved before we leave for Palm Beach on Saturday.  Six other items are in a pending status awaiting a part of some other action to determine if the issue is resolved. Sixty seven issues have been resolved.

Here's the good news.  I had the opportunity to watch Todd perform the oil and filter change on the generators and thanks to his fine explanation I learned how to perform this important basic service.

12KW Generator with sound deadening panels removed so that the engine can be serviced

Reader Note: While hectic, this was a fairly easy day as compared to the twelve previous days where I was literally too busy to blog.  Well, I'm back.  Stay tuned for more articles.

Written by Les.