Last week I changed the engine oil and filter, put new end caps & pencil zinc in the Sendure heat exchanger and replaced the raw water impeller. The bottom of the raw water strainer fell out when cleaning so I got a new one.

Yesterday with the help of my son Alex we replaced the three tiller bolts. Two of three bolt heads broke off during removal. They are 5/16 X 3 1/4 bolts. We could only buy 5/16 X 3 1/2 bolts from Ace Hardware. West & Home Depot don't carry bolts longer than 3 inches.

 Last week I changed the engine oil & filter and replaced the raw water impeller. It was only 11 hours since last change. I also learned Speed Seal is out of business so no more spare parts are available.

Today with the help of Grant Ball we installed new cabin port lights on the boat. They were made by Bomon in Canada. Because the new port lights were longer we had to cut the cabin opening with a saber saw. The internal window lip also needed to be cut away. Grant made a template so we could mark the opening for the cuts. A dusty mess was created.

Here is the port side installed and the pattern Grant made up he used to mark the holes for cutting:

  These are the starboard side opening cut out for the new port lights. Some core was exposed which I sealed with penetrating epoxy.

 Here are the starboard side port lights after installation.

 Here are the port side port lights installed

The port lights seal to the cabin top with foam tape. I did a hose down test and didn't see any leaks. Whew.

Got a new main sail cover this month from Mauri.

It came 15" too long but they fixed it.

Yanmar 2GM Oil pipe replacement

I've been chasing slow oil leak from rear of the engine. I've replaced that valve cover gasket and the lift pump. My next try is to replace the oil pipe that supplies the rocker arms.
It is shown here:

As you can see three types of copper gaskets are used. One 8mm gasket is thicker and goes against the head, P/N 104884-59170. The other 8 mm gasket is P/N 23414-08000. The two 10 mm gaskets are P/N 23414-10000.  The oil pipe is P/N 128270-39200 along with a new tie down clamp P/N 124450-39420. The parts cost was about $40.

The starter did have to come out to get the new oil pipe installed. The oil pipe routes behind the starter near the engine block. time will tell.

I removed the chain plates earlier this week and had new ones made up by Grant's Marine Service. Grant re-purposed the old chain plates into backing plates as the plastic ones showed signs of crushing. Total parts costs were $222 plus new bolts ($60 ) and new 1/2" pins for the turnbuckles ($30).

Here are the new and re-purposed parts:

Thankfully the balsa core was dry at the chain plate holes. They were sealed with penetrating epoxy. The bulkhead was also in good shape with no rot. I'll be sealing the chain plate holes with "thru the roof" caulking from Ace Hardware.

I also replaced all the cooling system hose clamps with the closed variety. After adjusting the valves I have a slow oil leak from the valve cover. Will try that again.

Engine Cooling Adventures

I was seeing some milky exhaust discharge at engine start up so I had the exhaust elbow cleaned out. It seems better. After chasing slow loss of antifreeze from the FWC we found the 35 year old Yanmar "fresh water" pump needs replacement. It is an eye watering $500 with tax and is on order.  I will also torque the cylinder head nuts and adjust the valves.

The next major project is to take the chain plates apart and probably replace them. They have never been inspected in 35 years so it is way overdue. One of the J/30s at our club had to have its bulkhead substantially rebuilt after an inspection.