Santana 27 washes up at East Beach

Santana 27 washes up at East Beach

Originally uploaded by udannlin.

Updating Web host

I know there are only a few people that read this blog. And you know who you are… (Hi Marlene, Andre, Elie and Dan D.). I thought you should know that I am in the process of switching this to a locally installed version of WordPress on my server. I just wanted to customize the look a little more for my blog and wordpress.com just isnt flexible enough. Please update your bookmarks and RSS Feeds to the following:

New Site Location: http://www.oday22.com/

New RSS Feed: http://www.oday22.com/feed/

See you guys there!

Video of my boat floating at the launch ramp

For those of you interested in hearing what my motor sounds like. Here is a littl clip. 

Trouble with the Tohatsu

It seems every step I take forward with this boat project thereare things there pushing me back 2 steps. This motor has been an ordeal starting with the idiots from Utica NY. Now that Chris from Onlineoutboards.com finally came through and got me a motor in the mail, out comes another problem…

In my last post I talked about the motor not responding to the throttle and idling rather rough. Since then I've been making phone calls and writing Emails to everyone in the boating business to try to help me out. My local Tohatsu dealer was pretty much against working on anything he didn't sell. They did not even offer to take the motor in or spend 5 minutes to take a look at it. On the other hand, he said they would have gladly taken it in if I had bought from him. I sort of understand that attitude. I would like for everyone to buy from me too! But it seems that repairs are just as big of business and anything under warranty would be paid by the manufacturer, why not take them in?

There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the marine warranty repair business. The manufacture doesn't take an active approach in making sure people who buy their products have a pleasant experience when it comes to servicing it. All of the discretion is taken by the service center and they are obviously taking their own liberties in whom they service and whom they do not. It may appear to them that I would purchase products directly from them next time the opportunity came up to avoid these servicing issues, but to the contrary, their attitudes are completely turning me off from letting them profit from anything I do. It seems masochistic but I just don't believe in supporting their way of running their busines in principle.

I took my motor to the next closest service center which is in Goleta, CA. Right off the bat the guy on the phone was copping attitude. his name was Dan. "Well, I'm going on vacation for a month and a half starting tomorrow. I get these all the time and I just don't have the time to do it." He ranted. "I guess if you can bring it in today I'll take a look at it." Well, I did. Took it 3o miles north to some guy who clearly did not want the business. I was not in a position to choose. I wanted someone who knew what the fuck they were doing to see it. When I got there, this old grumpy guy did not seem like he was liking his job. He pissed and moaned like a middle-aged woman getting her hot flashes for the first time. No more than a couple minutes of him sticking my motor in his water tank, he walks away and says "I'm gonna go eat my lunch." "Okay……. I'll just… come back in a little bit…" What else does he want me to say? This guy is out of control.

Anyways, long story short, I came back in an hour or so to take some more of this abuse. He agreed to take it in over night to see it tomorrow and let me know if this is someting he can fix. Meanwhile I've been talking to Chris from OnlineOutboards.com and he apparently has heard it all from these local guys who have little joy in working on motors ordered from him. They are all grumpy that they lost a sale to someone over the Internet. It is not Chris' fault that they don't see the value in putting up an ecommerce site and sell motors themselves. Even when some of them do, they end up doing business like these idiots from Utica, NY.

I am making another trip to Goleta tomorrow to see what abouts with my motor. Chris said that worst case scenario, he will send me a replacement and take mine back. They will even pay for the freight both ways. That is amazing customer service. OnlineOutboards definitely has my business for as long as I'm buying boat motors. More to come…..

She floats!

I took the boat to the launch ramp yesterday since I just received my motor. The plan is to learn how to launch and retrieve it using my home made tongue extension as well as break the motor in by motoring around the harbor. Since I am still waiting for the mast issue to be resolve and the mainsail to arrive, I launched her sans the rig.

It was fairly straight forward. The extension was made so that it connects to the hitch of the car and the tongue of the trailer. The problem with that is it adds another hinge between the car and the boat. It becomes extremely difficult to maneuver. I basically backed the trailer up as close to the ramp as possible before I attached on the extension. Hoping the slope of the ramp will bring the boat and trailer back straight enough to avoid hitting something. That went fairly well. I had to back the car almost all the way to the water edge for the boat to float off. The extension is 10 ft long and I needed every inch of it. once she floated off I just tossed some docklines for Marlene to grab on to so she can pull the boat to the docks at the ramp. That part I didnt plan so well. I wanted to be sure that I didnt hit the docks while backing the boat in so I position the trailer too far away from it. That made my docklines too short to reach the dock.

Once the boat started to float away from the trailer, I had to get it to the dock so I can secure it. Being too far to use the docklines I decided I just use the new motor I had just received. Thats when I noticed the problem with the motor. The engine does not seem to respond to the throttle. After checking and made sure all the linkages are working under the cover, It still does not seem to want to behave. I can start the engine up with one pull and get her to idle but the second I shift it into gear it will putt for a few seconds and dies after that. Any attempt to throttle up did not bring any response from the motor. That was aggravating. On top of that I was starting to float away from the trailer and towards the rocks. My only way to get back towards the dock was to repeatedly start the motor and shift into gear as the boat moves little by little each time the motor starts, shifts, propels and dies. Finally I was able to make it to the dock and secure the boat.

But now what? My plan was to motor around the harbor and break the motor in. Now it won't repond to the throttle so It is basically worthless. I sat there and tinkered a little with the motor and read the owners manual cover to cover looking for some clues of why this is happening but nothing came to me. Well, at least she floats. That is a pretty good accomplishment. The tongue extension works and I was able to launch and retrieve the boat. I just have no way of moving the boat around. I guess I will take it to my local service shop and see if they have any ideas of why this is happening. Hopefully it is not defective or damaged. I can't wait anymore just to go sailing!

Floating at the launch ramp dock with the motor idling and peeing water… 

Breaking in a new motor

I just received my new 6hp 4-stroke tohastu motor. I setup the engine to be ready to get broken in with the external gas tank and motor oil. I realize it is suppose to vibrate a bit as it is getting broken in so When it started and was vibrating like a 2-stroke I paid little attention to it. After 10 minutes in idle, I attempted to increase the throttle but it did not respond. I could not get the engine to rev up by throttling up with the handle. When I throttle down the engine promptly shuts off. I checked under the cover and made sure the carb, choke and gear linkages are all working correctly. When I attempted to shift into gear it will go and push the boat for a couple of seconds and dies immediately after. It has no problem starting back up but the throttle persistantly refuse to rev the engine up. I can't seem to find out what the problem is and I am pretty sure it is not normal for a brand new. out of the box motor. I guess I will need to bring this bad boy for a service already. I hope it is not defective or broken somehow. That would really suck.

OnlineOutboards.com rocks and the ongoing mast saga

After dealing with the idiots at you-know-where in Utica, New York, my motor has shipped from OnlineOutboards! I can’t believe it. I’m actually going to have a motor for the boat this week! By tracking it on FedEx, I’m looking to be receiving it on Friday. If the weather holds up, I will be launching this boat probably Saturday to test the motor and hull. It is pretty cool. I just need a solution for the mast now. I called Dwyer Mast from Connecticut and they have my mast section in stock but the shipping person is out sick. Just my luck. No telling when she will be in and apparently no one else at that company knows how to ship stuff. The other option is to order one through Rig-Rite. Just called them and they are looking into their inventory and will have to call me back. It would just be so much easier to stick the old pieces of wood back in the old mast sections and call it a day. But I am not brave enough to test my seafaring/survival skills if that thing comes falling down… The saga continues….

Choices for mast repair

This week I talked to a few people about what they think I should do with the mast. The consensus is that I should not weld it. Aluminum gets soft and weak after being welded and never really regains its strength apparently. If I insist on repairing it, the only solutions seems to be to build a slug/sleeve that goes inside and rosetta spot weld or pop rivet the sections together. Since the extrusion is fairly unique, no one really has the shape I need for the sleeve. It is also recommended that I try to use similar aluminum alloy to prevent galvanic corrosion down the line. What an ordeal. Looks like I'm going to have to bite another bullet and buy a new mast. The rig will be pretty much brand new once it is said and done. At least that will be a relieve. Like Marlene said the other day, "Why don't you just buy another boat!?!?". Well, I pretty much am.

Installing the electrical system

I started installing the electrical system today. I'll have some photos to share later but I am still behind in posting photos from the work I did last week. I hope I will get to it tomorrow night. Long story short, it is going well. Probably the first time ever working on an electrical project without seeing any sparks. (Yet) I officially have a cabin light. By tomorrow, I should have running lights and some 12v outlets. I've been using my flexible solar panels to charge the battery. The system is set up to run 2 batteries and West Marine has a dual purpose Group 24 battery on sale for 50 bucks. I may pick one up but I really want one of those AGM or Gel batteries. I doubt I will have the money knowing that my mast problems will cost me more before its all over. More to come before the weekend is over…

This is one of the solar panels I'm using to charge the battery. I have 2 x 5 watters and 1 x 20 watter. Luckly these were already owned so I won't have to add to my ballooning cost tally  

More headache with the idiots at BoatsUnlimitedNY.com

These guys that work at this boat store really do not have their act together. I had to call the unlisted number for the retail store again because no one answers or responds to the number listed on the site. The idiot I talked to on the phone seems to selectively remember that I wanted to cancel my order last time I called. He seems to think the he had an option to either ship the order or cancel and refund my money. I suggest NO ONE ever does business with these idiots. I asked him why the online/mail order guys don't answer calls and he pretty much just gave me the run around… "Well, there is only one guy there and you must have called when he was on the phone with someone else…", or "If you leave him a message he will call you back.." Well, neither of which is true. I called and called about 30 times in the same day. Either I'm really unlucky, or he doesn't answer calls. I also left 3 voicemails and none of which was returned. So while I had the retail guy on the phone, I told him. "Tell your guy to call me. Here is my phone number.." Guess what? No calls. At this point I just wanted to make his life miserable. I basically knew that I was going through my credit card company for a charge back and anything they did would not rectify the situation. I proceeded to rip him a new one on the phone. I also called the listed Website number just another time to make sure I was in the clear when I called my credit card company. I hope no one ever orders from these idiots. I hope no one ever buys anything from their retail store either. I hope people searching for them online finds this post and it deters them from wasting their time and money with these idiots at Boats Unlimited NY. By the way, this is the information of the company I've been ranting about. Feel free to give them an ear full if you so incline…

Boats Unlimited
408 First Street
Utica, NY 13501

Phone: 866-868-7151
Phone: 315-798-9817
Fax: 315-735-2167
sales@boatsunlimitedny.com

Oh yeah, you won't get through with the number above. Try calling the retail store…

Phone: 315-735-1777

DO NOT ORDER FROM THESE FRAUDS! BUYERS BEWARE!

BoatsUnlimitedNY.com sucks big ones

I ordered a motor from them on the 14th of last month and til this day still have not received any information about the status of the order. In the last week I've been trying to contact them to see what is going on and their toll-free number is constantly going to voicemail. It got really ridiculous leaving them messages without an answer so I finally had to do a search on the net to find another number to call. I mean the numbers they list on their website is a virtual blackhole. So 3 voicemails and a few Emails later I was fed up. Finally found another number unlisted from their Website and got someone to answer the phone. He put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back and told me It was drop shipped from the manufacturer and I would get another Email soon. I just told them to go ahead and cancel the order. I have had enough of them.

So I went over to onlineoutboards.com and Emailed them about getting one from them. Their sales manager Chris Collins wrote back promptly and agreed that they would match the price and they had it in stock. He also quoted me a shipping timeframe of 5-7 days. So I ordered one today from them after cancelling the old one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see how this goes. Maybe by sometime next week I will have a boat with some kinda powerplant. Stay tuned.

Time to find a fix for the mast

I've mention in previous posts that my mast is grafted together using oak inserts from 3 pieces of aluminum extrusion. I worry about the strength issues and the mast failing while at sea. So I derigged my mast and took it apart. Now I need to find a better and more permenant way to fix this. I basically have 2 options:

1. Find a heliarc welder who can weld the pieces together as well as adding aluminum sleeves to the outside to regain the strength lost from the repair. I don't know how easy it will be to find a suitable extrusion for the sleeve but this is probably the cheaper solution.

2. Buy a new mast. Dwyer Spars has my mast extrusion and they will sell me one for $530 bucks sans the hardware. The killer is shipping will cost me another $200 or so.

I posted a message on the ODay forum to see if anyone there had experiences with this issue. I would hate to have to buy a new one since the old one, although in pieces, is not in too bad of shape. This hopefully will be the last big problems I will have to deal with before launching the boat in May.

I did some more work to it this weekend but I will have to take some photos before I make another post about the upgrades. I am waiting for my motor to get here but I have not heard from them. Time to make another call to BoatsUnlimitedNY.com to see what the hell is going on. they charged my credit card long ago but have not told me anything about when to expect it. Once I do receive the motor though, I think I'm going to launch the boat to make sure the hull is sound by motoring around. It will give the new motor a little time to break in as well.

Tentative Launch Date: May 6th, 2006

Looks as though my mainsail won't ship until the end of April, I'm estimating the launch date to be about 5 weeks from this Saturday. I may be able to launch sans the mast and sails just to test out the motor and make sure the hull has no leaks in the next couple of weeks but the first sail is going to be tentatively Saturday, May 6th, 2006. Can't wait….

Interior Restoration Project: Step 1

The interior of the O'Day is in OK condition. One of the major problems is the plywood under the cushions are mildewed and mold-ridden beyond repair. It is amazing what the last owners did with it. Someone definitely went through the trouble of replacing the plywood because it certainly is not stock. What amazes me is they did not use anything to protect the wood from moisture.

Teak is the hardwood of choice when it comes to marine projects. But teak is pretty expensive. I understand if they chose to use another type of wood thats cheaper but at they at least should have covered it with something to repel moisture. Since they fail to do that, condensation and moisture naturally found its way into the cabin and eventually destroyed the plywood. The vinyl layer against the interior of the hull began to peel back and that helped trapping moisture behind and it dripped down to the edges of the plywood bunks.

Here are some photos of what it looked like:

Note the black mold in the corner of the starboard quarter berth against the bulkhead.

 

The old rotted wood removed and vinyl side covering peeled off. I will probably just paint the interior walls instead of replacing the vinyl. 

Port side of the v-berth where the vinyl hull interior collected water to cause more mold and mildew build up.

 

The same port side v-berth with the old wood removed. The space underneath is full of positive flotation foam. There are also stacks of this stuff under the cockpit sole. I will need to somehow add more if I want to install the additiona lead ballast in the bilge. 

My low-cost replacement:

Well, I can't afford teak. So I went shopping at my local hardware/lumber yard. I got some standard structural fir plywood that was more in my price range. After removing the old wood from the cabin and traced the outlines to the new plywood, I cut them out with a saber saw. I also decided to seal it with Thompson's water seal which I bought at the store for about $15. After more of less soaking the new wood in as much of this stuff, the results were pretty satisfactory. I shot a little video clip of some of the wood under my faucet to show the water repelling abilities of this combination:

This is the stuff I bought to seal the wood:

The next step will be to cut storage hatches and mount them inside the boat. I may be able to do that this weekend but looks like the weather may turn on me again.

I also bought a 4 ft x 2 ft piece of birch plywood, apply a similar liberal portion of the sealer and made new companionway hatch boards. I will take some photos of that next time I go to the boat yard to post here. They will give me a good test of how this sealer holds up especially if it rains this weekend.

100 lbs of lead shot for ballast

From an auction on eBay. $77.20 for 100 lbs of lead shot shipped to my door. Not a bad deal. Probably won't install it right away. I will wait until I test sail the boat as is and see if it needs it. I may have more weight aloft with the multiple sectioned mast so more ballast maybe the ticket to keep the boat stable.

 

Current total: $5696.67