It has been almost a month and one half since our last posting, and we are now into early summer.  I wish we had more to show for what seems like almost full time efforts working on our now up north boat that has been formally been named Freedom.  Her nickname actually is Slavery as she has been keeping us a little to busy making her livable.

Launch day was fairly uneventful.  After Freedom was splashed we filled her new fuel tank with diesel and started the process of getting fuel through her filters and to the engine.  As this is an older diesel and is not “self bleeding” we have to insure there is no air in any of the fuel lines.  A few hours of fooling around got us to this point and we made our way to our dock.  We had hoped to flush out the boats holding tank so we could cap it off as it will never be used again due to the installation of our composting head (which is working out just fine).  Unfortunately, our fuel dock didn’t have the water turned on yet so that didn’t happen.

A few weeks later, after things quieted down (all the boats were launched for opening day) we motored back to the fuel dock where the engine quit on our approach.  Fortunately we had enough head way to get to the dock where we flushed the holding tank and then proceeded to bleed the fuel system again.  Evidently we had one of the valves in the “system” shut off which starved the engine of fuel.  OK, we need to rectify this issue before we leave the dock again.  A little history here:  Like most Marine Traders, the boat was built with inaccessible fuel tanks located outboard and amidships. As there is no way to effectively clean the tanks or replace them with out major surgery when (not if) they start leaking, the previous owner decided that adding a few tanks on the center line in the aft part of the engine room would be a good idea.  It was since I suggested that to him a number of years ago when he bought the boat.  By the way, the center line tank was the one that dumped all the fuel into the bilge over the winter requiring us to replace it once again.  Since the side tanks theoretically could still be used for fuel there was a somewhat complicated valving system to be able to draw and return fuel to these tanks.

Freedom is not equipped for long range cruising and won’t ever be.  The fifty some gallon tank we installed allows us about twenty five hours of run time, more than enough range to find the next fuel dock when required.  So, out came the valves and fuel lines to those side tanks, instead we have a simple arrangement to go from the fuel tank to our dual Racor filters and to the engine via an electric fuel pump.  The electric pump is only turned on for bleeding purposes, when not on fuel flows freely through the pump.

Fuel goes into the Racors, out, through the electric pump and into the engine. The singular valve directs fuel through the left or right Racor (or turns it off).  While the system was apart we tested the valve on the Racor which didn’t seem to have any dedents to indicate that the handle was turning the valve internally.  The valve repair kit is $400, but the valve functions normally so evidently no repair is needed.

 

Installing the electric fuel pump had us doing interior electrical work for the first time. The first order of business was covering the 120 v connections before they bit us.  The modern standard has 12 v and 120 v wiring separated, but this boat was built to early standards.

 

We made sunscreens for the saloon windows. On hot days these make a dramatic difference in keeping the boat cooler when the sun is beating on the forward part of the boat.

 

Our ancient air conditioner. A few man days were spent in figuring out its issues and getting it running. Long story short is we removed the internal impeller pump and installed an AC water pump in the engine room to feed the unit. The thing is noisy as all get-out but cools the boat. We didn’t have to pay $1500 for a replacement unit (yet).

 

The aft engine room hatch is now attached to a piano hinge and gas cylinder making it easy to open. Unfortunately the forward engine room hatches don’t exactly lend themselves to such treatment making checking on the engine painful.  I simply find it hard to believe that the previous owners have been horsing around those heavy hatches all these years.  Maybe they are simply more of a man than I am.

 

The inside of the shower with all the rotten stuff cut away.

 

The finished product. We bedded all the trim in sealant, now maybe things won’t rot out so quickly.

 

The boat got a Smart Plug but it wasn’t easy. You change out the outlet and the plug on the cord. Supposedly the old outlet on the boat has the same hole and screw pattern as the new one, at least in “most” cases. Not this boat. We ended up having to carve a bigger hole in the cabin side and then add a piece of 1/2″ Starboard on the inside of the recessed box to make things fit. Easily one half man day was spent on this fiasco.

 

We didn’t find a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow on a sunny/rainy day but a pot of work. Of course we knew this going in so there is really no surprise there. It is an interesting picture taken off our stern though.

 

The saloon is getting there, all the windows have their “treatments”, the sink and faucet are new although there are water delivery issues yet to be resolved.  Cold water eventually gets hot and hot eventually gets cold.  This is probably due to the lack of one way valves in the lines allowing water to back flush.  The propane range is functioning and we have a microwave.

 

The starboard side of the saloon is our “living” area. Finny stays in her traveling cage on this boat as her living cage is twice the size and is on Liberty. The circular table between the chairs is getting replaced by a hinged table that will be attached to the cabin side in the same location. It is impossible to eat dinner on such a small table; somebody is going to spill the wine.  We still haven’t plugged the screw holes on the interior window trim.

We got our Pilgrim fix in early June as we went out to Seattle to visit our son, daughter-in-law and youngest grandson.  While there we spent a half day with our friends Bill and Patti aboard their Pilgrim Sunshine, doing a few hour cruise in Commencement Bay south of Seattle.

Sunshine is kept in immaculate condition, every detail taken care of. She lives in a covered boathouse just down the street from their home.

With the boat now fairly livable, it will be time to start on the exterior, the first order of business will be to tear the teak off and re-core a good portion of the back deck.  One of these days we should race our Star sailboat, which hasn’t touched the water since we brought it down in late May.  It also might be a good idea to actually take Freedom out of the basin for the first time now that we have our fuel delivery problems resolved.

Dave