I had to weld washers to the top of a pipe that fits into the leg. Do some grinding here and there. Some drilling, new wood blocks, new carpet, etc... $150.00 worth of parts just so the pads can be adjustable. By the way, apparently your not supposed to weld galvanized metal. But having never welded before, I didn't know. I pulled my mig welder out of its box for the first time, quickly read the manual, one page, and welded up a galvanized washer to a 2 1/2" rusted steel pipe. I knew enough to grind the rust and the top coat off of the washer first, but that was it. Do not try this at home. And yes, I have had the welder for months. Another item purchased for a life I didn't have at the time, and looks like I might not have time now, for a long time...
Then the one leg had been crushed a little, and the inside pipe wouldn't come out, so I had to come up with a different way to mount that one. Just a royal pain in the but, and 5 hacksaw blades worn out. Do you have any idea how much metal you have to saw to wear out 5 hacksaw blades. Too much..
Before
After
And now the pads move to get under them. The way they should have been in the first place. Once I get the cradle back to the house next year, I will do a little more work and make it that much better, but it was hard to get it just right with the boat in the way. Hey Herc, could you hold this up for a minute....
Always enjoy talking about B-29's. Mine in the Bahamas, is my 30th boat and my 4th Bayfield. Here are my thoughts:
ReplyDeleteDon't get carried away with anchors - I did. If you need chain, I have 200ft stored on shore. I measured and tried to find solutions to "couch" comfort that went beyond throw pillows - your input would be welcomed. I have 2 Shakespeare folding lounge chairs (with arms) that take no storage room are light and "sort of" comfortable. The head door simply gets in the way, I cut mine into three equal sections and turned it into a tri-fold, it opened the boat right up. I took the table and cut 14-inches out of the length - that gave me much more floor space and again made the boat look larger. I spend a lot of time on board and find the oiled teak a bit like a coffin. I painted the interior white with teak trim (this is considered heretic in the Bayfield community) but now I live in a nice bright space. Under the chart table I installed a real refrigerator ($89.- at Walmart) the best galley improvement ever.
I replaced my top two washboards with 3/8 Lexan (picture widow) and added a hatch over the galley.
Here are other changes:
New Yanmar 2006
dripless shaft 2006
2 new Harken furlers 2006
Quick electric windlass (but find it easier to put on gloves and haul the anchors in by hand)
Monitor Wind Vane - a true work of art and a must have offshore item
Simrad TP22 small tiller-pilot
I traded my wheel for a tiller (again better offshore)
EPIRB
SPOT (a piece of magic)
Radar detector that also screams at me every 15-minutes when I nap
Garmin 441s plotter in cockpit
Standard Horizon 180 plotter below
PUR watermaker (never used)
4 man life-raft in valise
BOTTOM PAINT - if you a delay until you get to the Bahamas, you can get the bottom done in Freeport with ships tin - that will do for 5-years (cost about $1500) -
I could keep going but you'd get bored.
Cheers,
Gary
bahama.sailing@gmail.com