Ok.ok.  Sometimes, just sometimes, my fountain of inexhaustible boaty maintenance enthusiasm wanes . . . just a teeny bit . . . you know, I’m human. 24/7/365/20 years is a lot of boat-bonding time, boat bondage perhaps? So after a long season and an epic main engine rebuild I was ready for some boaty down-time.

But thankfully for me and the COLUMBIA III, my son-in-law, Luke, was willing to jump in and tackle some projects on the ship, just when my spirits were flagging. Some tasks are seriously invisible to all guests and almost everyone else, but essential nevertheless.

Project number 1: A vexing issue was the header tank on the main engine coolant system. It has been mounted to the deck-head in the engine room for all my time and perhaps for the last 60 years, but it was installed incorrectly.  It was a nice, tidy installation high between the deck beams, but too high and too tight. The vent-line off the top of the tank was on the very top of the tank between the deck beams which meant the vent line had to go down hill from the top of the tank before it proceeded up to the roof of the ship. This seems like a small matter but in fact is was a very vexing set up. The downward bend in the vent line ensured the vent was ALWAYS air-locked with the air “captured” in the bend under the deck beam. The result was the system didn’t vent correctly. This caused the engine coolant to”burp” onto the roof of the ship as the coolant warmed when operating, and it made it nearly impossible to add anti-freeze to the system for top-ups, routine replacement or after major engine work . . . (See the last few years!!) So I asked Luke to lower the tank 6 inches. How hard could that be? Well there are a lot of pipes, tubes and wires connected to the tank but Luke performed the surgery perfectly and a long standing, mis-installation has been corrected.

Project number 2:  Luke has been attending to the deck planking over the years. A big project was the foredeck a few years ago. And he has also been eyeing the side decks. Some of the older deck planks had split lengthwise and water was causing rot to set in. These are not simple projects as the underside of the deck planks are the ceiling of the staterooms and engine room below. But we decided that Luke would “dig into” the starboard side this winter. (Port side next winter??) We never know what he is going to find and how big the project will be. Once he sands off the deck finish he can decide which planks need replacing and which can stay.

Questionable planks removed . . . 

New planking starting to get installed . . . .

The boat shed work bench is awesome for these kinds of projects.

And grandson, Theo, continues his apprenticeship . . .

and the planks are screwed down, plugged, and then caulked with oakum and cotton . . .

and Theo gets some practice . . .

and the seams are finished off with Sikaflex sealant . . .

But the boat certainly becomes a construction zone and it seems like there is lots to do to get the ship spotless by next May.

Project number 3: The COLUMBIA III remains a very tight ship . . .  in this context she rarely has drips below decks from rain or seas. The exception has been the port wheel house door. Normally it’s not an issue but if the seas are pounding the port side, or if tied to a dock with driving rain on the port side and the ship is unable to feather into the wind as on the anchor, water would hit the door and run down in behind the door sill and drip on the crew bunks below. A long standing issue that is annoying when the conditions are just wrong . . . So I tasked Luke. We made up a game plan and then he started the surgery. Here he has exposed the problem and replaced some “studs” with new clear yellow cedar. Note the vertical tie-rod that bolts the wheel house to the decks for strength.

 

Then a new door sill was made from teak and installed and the wall surface replaced . . .

It takes a fair amount of epoxy glue to secure and fair smooth the repair . . .

Project number 4: This is a big project with few pictures for now. But I will post more soon. We are replacing the main engine fire pump and Luke has been removing the old system and starting the mounting plate for the new pumping assembly. The pump is currently in a machine shop in Campbell River getting a custom drive coupling made . .  More later.

Project number 5: This one is still in the box! The replacement head for the #1 cylinder on the Gardner has arrived from England and waiting for me to install it . . . its part of my New Year’s resolution . . . to get out of holiday mode and get back into Boaty Mode soon!!!!

And on a final note for this post. Luke is a very good wood-worker, and he is a good teacher. This Christmas, Luke and grandson, Theo, made a crazy “sandwich” of pre-cut strips about 18″ long and glued them all together. After allowing the glue to cure for a week, they sliced the “log” with a large band saw into 1″ slabs and then cut them round and sanded them to PERFECTION! Then Theo and Luke gave 8 perfect, dazzling, cutting boards as Christmas presents to some very lucky recipients, including me!!! . . . (+ 64 pieces in each board).

The take-away? The COLUMBIA III is very lucky to have Luke and Theo caring for her!!!

More updates coming as work progresses . . . and the annual shipyard date is now set for March 11.
Oh, the fun of it all!