Justification For Removing all the Plumbing and Through Hull Fittings

Like Pilgrim's electrical system much of what I discovered in the plumbing looks to be original. 

Head plumbing.

The original components in the head  include a couple gate valves and lots of PVC Pipe in the black water plumbing. 

Portion of Galley Plumbing under sink.

The galley plumbing has received some upgrades including  a new Force 10 hot water tank and a new pressure water pump, but the installation is haphazard. Much of the galley plumbing appears to be original to the vessel.

At times I became overwhelmed by the scope of the project.  Pulling all the plumbing?  What about the saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it?” 

With all the head plumbing, including three through hulls, and most of the  galley plumbing now removed.  Two discoveries completely justified my commitment to strip it all out.

By applying on moderate pressure to a pipe wrench while attempting to remove a newer ball valve in the head, the lower section of the valve sheared off.

Large valve on right is intact.  Smaller valve on left sheared off below valve.

If this ever happened while on the water, only immediate action would prevent the vessel from sinking.

The second frightening discovery was the hose on the galley sink drain. 

 

Exhaust hose used for sink drain "rotting" just above through hull fitting.

The wire reinforced ehhaust hose could actually be considered over kill for a sink drain.  Age and a kink just above the hose barb at the through hull have served to “rot” the rubber hose.  This section of hose is at least 18” below the waterline.   The lower sectio of the hose is cracked and soft to the touch. I'm very surprised it was not already leaking water when Pilgrim was last floating.  Failure of this hose would result in rapid flooding.

I’m still overwhelmed by the scope of the project, but definitely feeling justified in removing all the plumbing and through hulls.  Currently three through hull fittings are out and two remain to be pulled.  Well that is not counting the three transducer through hull fittings.  That’s another project.

M382 Pilot Berth Facade - SOLD

UPDATE - The item below has sold.

Pilgrim's previous owner created a nice teak facade for the pilot berth.

View from galley

view from forward looking aft.

The facade has three cabinet doors that match the M382 interior and one open section at center.

The panel is actually two pieces that meet in center - just forward of open section.

Each section is held in place  at the bottom by 3 screws into the pilot berth combing  and at the top by two screws.  One top screw is located at the middle and the second screw is at the bulkhead.

Forward Section

Aft Section

We are asking $100 plus any shipping and handling costs.  We would prefer that the buyer picks up the panels in person in Beaufort, NC, but I am confident that shipping the two panels is a possibility.

If you are interesting leave a comment here or on the M38 Owners Board.

We prefer and open design and plan on creating shelving in the pilot berth area.

Stripping Down the Interior

While the winter weather continues to thwart our progress Anne and I have both rebounded from the flu.  I’m back to stripping down the interior in the pursuit of rewiring and re-plumbing Pilgrim.

Pilgrim's Original Electrical Panel

The electrical panel is gone.  The wiring was definitely original with previous owners finding creative methods of adding devices and circuits to the system.  I’m surprised that none of the original wiring from Morgan was tinned.  All of the wiring buses were located in a false bottom in the navigation table.  Clever, but I'm certain the space will be too small for the re-build.

Panel removed now onto the wiring

The process is daunting, but I am confident this is the best course of action.

Chasing down wiring has also lead me to remove some of the headliner.

 

Crumbling open cell foam that rained down from the headliner.

 I believe that some of these pieces have never been removed.  Removing some of the sections resulted in a shower of foul, old open cell foam material.  Yuck. 

It will be out with the old for at least another week.  Once all the old wiring and plumbing are gone we will then begin to install the new.

Basic DC Wiring Diagram for SV Pilgrim

Well we may not succumb to the weather as we proclaimed in our last post, but over the last week the flu has kept both of us at home and away from Pilgrim.  We are both now feeling better. 

While at home on the mends, I fabricated a basic DC wiring diagram for SV Pilgrim. 

Draft Basic DC Wiring Diagram for SV Pilgrim

I realize my diagram overly simplifies the engine harness, the house distribution, and other systems.  The diagram does help me visualize the layout of the system and identify some parts we need to order. 

The next step is to calculate the wire & fuse sizes.  I’m going to seek some outside assistance for this calculation.  

Now that we are feeling better expect some progress on the quaterberth repairs and battery installation over the next week. 

Ice, Snow, nor Cold of Temps Shall Thwart Boat Projects

Ice building up on Pilgrim's Deck

It took a couple quarts of hot water to free the companionway slider, but once the heater is on inside Pilgrim I can continue to make progress despite the recent snow apocalypse that has struck the southern US.

I've created a couple of photo albums to document my progress on two fronts -

1. Relocating the Battery Storage - When we took possession of SV Pilgrim the battery situation was a mess.  Both the house bank and the starter battery were located in a locker under the quarterberth.  All three batteries were DOA and at sometime in the past battery acid had leaked into the locker.
   Our plan is move the house bank, consisting of four 6 volt AGM batteries to a locker under the settee seat just forward of the galley.  This will place the weight of the house bank lower and more centerline in the vessel.   This locker will also afford the space to increase the size of the house bank if necessary.We will repair the locker under the quarter berth and use it to house the starter battery.  
2. Quarterberth Rehabilitation - We hold to be true the belief that the ideal boat Sleeps 2, Eats 4, and Drinks 6.  Thus we are dedicating Pilgrims quarterberth to storage and eliminating all the creature comforts associated with a berth (e.g. cushions, headliner, shelving, opening port, etc.)  Pilgrim will retain berths for 5 - a vee berth forward, a sea berth along the starboard salon, and the settee converts to a double.   We are unsure of the final layout of the quarterberth so please follow along... 

Soon these two projects will involve fiberglassing and painting so I need the the temperatures warm up, but the snow continues to accumulate on deck.

Snow accumulation on Pilgrim's deck

  

Cleaning Up Damage Caused By Leaking Batteries

Now the projects begin…  My plan was to start by removing the plumbing and through hulls, but after 24 hours of charging the house bank of batteries measure 10.8 volts and the starter battery 12.8 volts. ON Pilgrim all the batteries were located under the starboard quarter berth.  I am unsure if this was the factory set up or a change made by previous owners.  The two house bank were strapped down in plastic boxes.  The starter battery was simply strapped to the locker floor.

Pilgrims'Quaterberth Battery Locker

Replacing Pilgrim’s batteries with the 1 year old AGM batteries aboard C’est la Vie is on the project list, but not where I intended to start.  Concern that the flooded batteries have frozen and leaked, elevates this project to the top of the priority list. 

Removing the batteries confirms my fears.  The shelving below and the wall adjacent to the batteries have suffered from exposure to battery acid.  Paint is peeling away.  The wood is soft and disintegrates under minimal force.  Fortunately fiberglass hulls do not suffer damage from battery acid.  I shudder imagining the damage a leaking battery would do to a wooden or metal vessel. 

All that remains of the plywood shelf is the fiberglass tabbing.  The damaged wood is in the battery box in upper left.

Anticipating battery acid, I don rubber gloves.   Soon it becomes obvious that the damage is from a past spill.  The acid is no longer present, but the damage remains.

Using a small grinder with a cut off wheel, I cut away the shelf tabbing from the hull  and follow up with a 30 grit disc to clear away the sharp edges.

The lower edge of the wall between the locker and the engine room also suffered damage.  I probe the extent of the damage by drilling 3/16 holes in the plywood wall.  Starting forward at hull level and working upward, I drill holes at 1” intervals  until striking solid wood.  I then drill holes laterally progressing towards the stern.  These test holes reveal the extent of the damage.  Cutting away the damaged area with a jigsaw and a hand saw, I use the outermost holes as a guide.  Once all the damaged material was gone.  I wash and rinsed the entire area twice - once with a baking soda and water solution followed by a TSP and water Solution. 

The hull inside the locker removal and washing.

And...

The portion of the wall cut away after washing.

The next step will be to cut new plywood sections for the wall and the locker. 

Oh South Florida Winters How I Miss Thee

A very dirty SV Pilgrim hanging in the slings.

Thursday - Pilgrim is blocked in the yard.  The obvious starting point is to wash 800 miles of road grime and highway salt off the deck & hull.  Unfortunately temperature in Beaufort are predicted to remain below freezing for the next 36 hours.

Friday - Enthusiasm for initiating boat projects pushed me below decks.  With a portable electric heater in the salon, Pilgrim’s cabin quickly warmed.   I used the guise of cleaning to thoroughly examine the interior finish and systems.   Through December and much of January, while pining for Pilgrim’s arrival in NC, I spent hours combing through the Morgan 38Owners Board.  Now aboard Pilgrim, the abstract conversations on head plumbing, battery location, configuration of the anchor locker, fuel systems, etc.  all crystallized into actionable projects.  Where to begin?

Saturday –  Anticipating ice choked deck and cockpit drains I arrived at the yard armed with four quart bottles, a thermos, and one mason jar of hot water in nestled in a soft sided cooler.  By late morning snow melt from Pilgrim’s cockpit was pooling up atop the drains.  Time for action.  Like hands across the face of a clock I rotated from starboard deck drain to starboard cockpit drain to port cockpit drain, to port deck drain, and around again.  Each lap I poured on another shot of warm water onto and eventually into the drains.  The starboard side deck drain was the last to clear- likely due to shading. Donning foul weather bibs and jacket, I set about scrubbing from decks to waterline.  The bottom paint, destined to be removed, simple received a through rinse.

I knew winter in Beaufort, NC would be colder than Everglades City, FL, but I never anticipated multiple days of freezing temps.

SV Pilgrim is in Beaufort, NC!

After one failed shipping contract,  the holiday hiatus on wide load permits, and multiple winter storms, Pilgrim has finally landed in North Carolina.

Pilgrim on Beattie's Transport Trailer

Beattie’s Marine Transport based out of Ohio successfully made the delivery from Sandusky, OH to Beaufort, NC.  

Pilgrim arrived coated in road grime and salt.  Unfortunately another cold front is keeping our temperatures below freezing until Saturday so Pilgrim must wait for a hose down.

In the slings at Wilson & Burbridge Boat Yard

Other than the filth everything appears to have fared well during the 16+ hour road trip.  We have yet to unwrap the mast, but the Tyvek & ductape outer layer appears to have weathered the time and travels well. ( see our Prepping for the Road Post)

We did import some snow from Ohio and West Virginia.  Hope there is no tariffs on snow imports.

The cockpit upon arrival.

I did manage to scoop out the snow enough to access in the interior.  Not finding any damage from the road trip, I quickly become overwhelmed by the notion of where to start?   

Baby steps…  I set up a heater in the cabin and called it a day. Tomorrow, with Anne’s assistance, we will begin by removing the boom, bimini frame, and other hardware from the interior.  Then I can begin a thorough investigation of Pilgrim’s systems.

Baby steps…