Nater Potater's Build Thread

Use the trailer. Lower the front, put down blocks. Raise the front, put down blocks. When you go back to level with the trailer, the boat will be raised off the trailer.
 
Painted with primer and ready for black!
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But wait; there's more! After painting both gear boxes, I realized I'd been sent zinc PHOSPHATE, not zinc CHROMATE! I thought the color seemed a bit off. Serves me right for getting in a hurry. So, I wait for the right paint, and wipe off the primer in the meantime. 'Guess I'll play with the a/c instead...
 
Now that I've had my Saturday afternoon nap, I went out to the boat to finish reassembling the dash after having earlier found the short. Even the bilge light works! However, I did note that the blowers quick working. As noisy as they were, I'd be surprised if they didn't just flat-out die. Mo money, mo money, mo money!

I did some research that leads me to believe that zinc phosphate can, in fact, be used as primer on bare aluminum. I guess it pays to just sit back and take a look at things before reacting. With that, I hope to have the gearboxes painted tomorrow morning.
 
It's amazing how a little bit of black can raise a fella's spirits!
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The heat wave backed off a bit today, allowing me to paint after work. Of course, it's not perfect, but, as long as we meet the 30-30 criteria, I'll be more than happy. The new decals will be the frosting once the paint firms up over the next couple of days. Lower units are next on the chopping block, and I still have the gimbal housings to contend with. No, I won't be spending near as much time with the gimbals as they don't stick out like the sore thumb that the outdrives were.

We played around with the a/c a bit this afternoon and had the compressor kick on. I took that as a good sign. We promptly shut it down due to no water supply yet, but it was nice to see that it would come that far along. Not too surprisingly, I've been unable to get the water supply line off the barb on the strainer. I had to quit due to the quantity of sweat pouring off my brow. We're really starting to pick up steam now!
 
Well, we reached another milestone today; WE HAVE A/C! Somewhat surprisingly, the heat exchanger was not split from lack of proper winterizing. Thank you, whomever. I used a plastic bucket being fed from a garden hose to take place of seawater.
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Hopefully, we can accomplish the same when trying out the generator. Assuming that works, all that's left is to reassemble the outdrives and figure out why the stove doesn't work on shore power.
Now that we know we have a working a/c, the Admiral has no choice but to come along with us on the PNW soiree.
 
With the stove, check the push down safety switch. That is a pain with these stoves. I want my alcohol side to work as flawless and the electric side does.



EDIT; Now I don't feel so bad about the staining in my bilge.:p:D:D:D
 
With the elation of the functional a/c still coursing through my veins, we moved the water supply bucket over to the generator. Mixed emotions ensued. The generator starts, pumps water, and sounds knock-free, but it dies the instant the "Start" button is released. Now, I know the generator is looking for oil pressure, but isn't there supposed to be a delay circuit to carry it through the initial startup? I'm digging through the manual now. Kohler 4CZ23, for any of you that might have some insight.
'Still have yet to dig into that stovetop safety switch that @JHornsby3 mentioned.
 
Just lift the top. If it comes up, then it's the electrical. If it doesnt, spray silicone spray or a dry graphite spray and walk away for a while.
 
Tell the admiral she has to come on the Snake River cruise.
Mine's coming, and I'm sure Jim's is as well.
Mine's a little ornery, but not too bad.
My wife was just asking yesterday if it's still on.
 
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A side note for dumping your holding tank. If you use a 55 gallon plastic barrel, don't leave said vessel in the sun on a 90* plus day.

Just as the "soup" was starting to flow, the barrel all of a sudden collapsed into the ground. It's enough to cause you to evacuate the "other" holding tank. Yup, made a loud pop.
 
The lower units are painted!
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First layer of black under Belle's watchful eye
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Um, shouldn't I have also painted the back of that skeg? Oh-well...
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We've started some light prep work on the gimbal housings, with plans to paint them this Wednesday afternoon when the weather guessers "predict" the temps to drop back out of the triple digits. When can I retire?

Well, I'm not getting very far with the generator. While trying to troubleshoot the non-steady run issue, a pretty hefty water leak reared its ugly head. The genny is outfitted with a siphon breaker to avoid water running into the exhaust manifold, but the hoses used were heavily weather-checked and spraying water everywhere. I at least determined that it's not a low oil pressure switch condition before letting go of the start button. Once I get the hoses replaced, I can continue on with troubleshooting. Any input is welcome.
 
Nater, you've done some amazing work! I'm taking notes and may have to consult you if I ever get as far as you have! I don't have a gennie and September on the Snake should be a nice temperature, probably in the 80's for a high and cooling into the 50's at night. I doubt you will need your A/C, but if it does get hot and we're not in the water we'll bring drinks to your boat! LOL! Well, one can hope anyway! And yes, my wife IS coming along on the trip!

JHornsby beat me to the stove issue. I'm betting that's it. You just have to pull up the little knob along the back side once you raise the glass top and that will enable the 120 to kick in. I use mine when we have power, but that is very rare, so we still use the alcohol stove a lot. I don't mind it, but some people get pretty freaked out seeing a flame in the cabin. It's easily put out with water, but I've never had a reason to do it.
 
A side note for dumping your holding tank. If you use a 55 gallon plastic barrel, don't leave said vessel in the sun on a 90* plus day.

Just as the "soup" was starting to flow, the barrel all of a sudden collapsed into the ground. It's enough to cause you to evacuate the "other" holding tank. Yup, made a loud pop.

Did you leave a vent open on it? I use a 55-gallon drum when we empty our travel trailer and then carry that to a dump station. I can't say I've left it in the sun. It's in the back of the pickup under a canopy. Man, that sounds pretty crappy!
 
Did you leave a vent open on it? I use a 55-gallon drum when we empty our travel trailer and then carry that to a dump station. I can't say I've left it in the sun. It's in the back of the pickup under a canopy. Man, that sounds pretty crappy!

I switched the plumbing over to a steel drum and used a smaller shop sucker. No issues. But that plastic drum did collapse easily with the bigger shop sucker.
No vents open. Just the one on the top of the black tank.

I do think the warm plastic was too soft. And the larger vacuum was pulling to much for the drum. And now I have two more feeders because that drum is creased.
 
...and September on the Snake should be a nice temperature, probably in the 80's for a high and cooling into the 50's at night. I doubt you will need your A/C, but if it does get hot and we're not in the water we'll bring drinks to your boat! LOL! Well, one can hope anyway! And yes, my wife IS coming along on the trip!
The missus is really looking forward to the trip! I have a couple of battery powered fans to help her along, but I think we'll be okay. However, I won't turn you down on the drinks. It'd be rude of me...


JHornsby beat me to the stove issue. I'm betting that's it. You just have to pull up the little knob along the back side once you raise the glass top and that will enable the 120 to kick in. I use mine when we have power, but that is very rare, so we still use the alcohol stove a lot. I don't mind it, but some people get pretty freaked out seeing a flame in the cabin. It's easily put out with water, but I've never had a reason to do it.
Oh, you mean that button!
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Okay, I think I must have missed something in JHornsby's post about the button. I thought it was just the lid itself that had to be opened. Yes, the stove does now work, at least on shore power. I'm on my way to retrieve the included manuals that came with my boat so I can learn how to properly work the alcohol half of it.
 
[/QUOTE] Okay, I think I must have missed something in JHornsby's post about the button. I thought it was just the lid itself that had to be opened. Yes, the stove does now work, at least on shore power. I'm on my way to retrieve the included manuals that came with my boat so I can learn how to properly work the alcohol half of it.[/QUOTE]

Alcohol is pretty easy. Use a marine grade alcohol or stove rated denatured alcohol and fill the alcohol tank with about a cup of alcohol. Clean up any spilled alcohol or give it a few minutes to evaporate. Give it about 20 pumps (Assuming the leather on the pump shaft is in good shape!) and then crack open ONE burner and watch until you see a little alcohol in the cup. Shut it off and light the cup. Have some water handy or at least the pump running on the sink! It will flare up about a foot or so if you have too much alcohol (Mine does EVERY time!). Let it burn out and then open the valve and light it. It SHOULD burn like a regular propane stove, just not as hot. Then you can use a fork or pair of pliers to move the round burner cup to adjust the flame. Some people don't follow the steps, but it really isn't a bad way to cook. We use it all the time. Usually, I don't let it go out when I first light it. I just start opening the valve slowly to see if I can get it to vaporize the alcohol to burn it like its propane. That is NOT the recommended method, but sometimes it's faster. The nice part about alcohol is that there are no lethal fumes and water will easily put it out.

The leather pump can be inspected by unscrewing the tank lid and pulling the pump. I've used Vaseline and many other ingredients to lube it and make it pump better. Vaseline may not be recommended, but it was what I had at the time. The burners twist to adjust and the flame will go from yellow to a blue tip. Your altitude seems to affect those. When I was at 2,800 feet and then going to the San Juans, I had to adjust them each way. And NEVER leave that stove unattended!!!!
 
Getting closer:
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She really wants this done!
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We tried sanding off the bottom paint that's against the outdrives, but it's like tar! Lacquer thinner gets after it, albeit slowly. There's no way she's going into the water with that paint up against the outdrives just to have that blister the paint all over again.
 

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