what am I doing now

[S/V AMITY]

Bring champagne Wednesday.

[S/V AMITY]

 She looks great.  Merry Christmas & fair winds for '18!

[S/V AMITY]

  Great to see her in the water!

[Dale Tanski]

Love the hull color...
Dale

[S/V AMITY]

   When you clean up or replace the buss bars, you might want to give them a spray of this:  https://ihiqa2kjxfb4dhp9872la1cm-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ff_brochure.pdf .

  I keep a rattle can or two of it aboard & have had excellent results in keeping connections clean & bright.  Excellent salt fog resistance.

[S/V AMITY]

  She looks great posing there at the dock all neat & tidy... only an owner knows what "interesting" projects lurk behind the gleaming topsides and spotless deck.  Hopefully that fuel tank chore will be the last of the truly miserable jobs you'll be facing though rebuilding a head which contain the leavings of the last person to avail themselves of its service comes a real close second.

  Pictures of that tank removal adventure would be good.  Sooner or later all 365's face the same operation.

  Cheers!

[S/V AMITY]

   As they used to say in the old '60's hippie days, "Keep the faith baby".

   My soapbox:  Why, in the name of he** don't these naval designers design in serviceability  Do they honestly believe a critical component will never need service/repair/replacement?  Pearson isn't the only offender by a long shot.  And a mild steel mast step which bilge water regularly drains over?  This is basic stuff.  Things that are nigh on impossible to service wind up not being serviced until there's a failure and a failure on a boat can be catastrophic.  End of soapbox.

  Add some flowery-smelling detergent to the water in the fuel tank.  This will emulsify the remaining diesel, kill the fumes & be kinder to your nose.

[S/V AMITY]

 Good pictures!  Good progress too.
Have you considered a fuel cell?  See: http://atlinc.com/marine.html . 

Cheers!

[Nereid]

ZULU40,
Looks great! We removed our old tank a few weeks ago, and opted for a smaller plastic one that would (barely) fit through the locker. The old tank was a plywood fiberglass construction.. I couldn't imagine having to cut a metal one out!
Good Job!
-Isaac

[Della and Dave]

I don't know if you have ever used a nibbler, but that might be a handy tool for that job.  They are available as drill attachments and as stand alone tools.  Good for tight quarters and doesn't throw sparks.   

[DeanA]

Super looking job on the battery box!
Regarding the rigging, looks like the main and mizzen mast are about vertical and parallel. Is that correct and recommended? Our mizzen has a slight tilt toward aft and a rigger had tuned it up that way. Always wondered if that was correct.

[P69]

Zulu,

I did not like the engine access.  When I replaced the tank, I changed the dimensions so it's a little shorter, but wider. Maintained the ~50 gallons, but now I have nearly a foot of space aft of the engine. 
I never thought of moving the engine forward. If you do that, let me know how it works out. That'd be interesting.
If you want closer pictures or measurements, let me know.

http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=16&pid=390#top_display_media

That additional space makes it much easier to change the raw water pump impeller. I moved the oil filter forward so I can get to it from the cabin, not the cockpit locker. I also added a strainer between the raw water pump and the heat exchanger to capture impeller bits (also accessible from the cabin, not shown in pictures The alternator adjustment arm is much easier. I made that with a tie rod and and two stainless steel rod ends.

https://www.mcmaster.com/8419k72
https://www.mcmaster.com/59915k23 (one left hand, one right and thread)


I also tore out all the cabinetry and am rebuilding it so all the panels will be removable and I'll be able easily get to all parts of the engine.
I'm not close to finished with this.

I have no good pictures showing access to the engine with panels removed, but here are some that give you an idea of the access.
http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=43&pid=827#top_display_media

http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=7&pid=473#top_display_media
http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=7&pid=492#top_display_media
http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=7&pid=497#top_display_media
http://bodylens.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=7&pid=90#top_display_media

[SVJourney]

I actually don't recognize your engine at all weirdly enough.  Our Westerbeke had a starter relay before the starter.  The heater was powered directly from the heater switch next to the starter switch.  Yours look MUCH different.  Hard to tell from that melted mess but for sure some of those wires were just tapped off of that area to power up something else that it wasn't designed for.  I think you will have a real mess of a time rewiring.  Sorry Mate!

[SVJourney]

One thing for sure, something that should have been fused was NOT.  No way you shoulda had that much melt without fuses blowing.  Also, throw away that gray wire casing that is sitting there next to your engine.  Use zip ties instead for wire bundling to allow the wires to thermally cool.

As bad as that looks and as much of a pain it will be to fix, you definitely dodged a bullet there my friend.

I rewired Journey's engine in less than a day.  Throw away the engine disconnect and you should find enough extra wire coiled up somewhere to run the factory engine harness direct.

[S/V AMITY]

A chafed wire leading to a direct short or a corroded splice or termination leading to melted insulation then leading to a direct short.  While you are about it, see if any of the existing wiring is tinned.  If it isn't then copper corrosion can added to the list of possible causes.  From there, I'd check all the other wiring; engine and hotel circuits.