Work To Do on my sailboat "Magnolia".

Please send any comments to me.

This page updated: March 2008

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Structure / Safety:

• High priority:
  • Usable emergency/auxiliary boarding ladder (maybe a "dive ladder", with center pole and steps on sides).
  • Rigging:
    Replace sheets and traveler line.
    Replace lifelines.
    Rust on mizzen rigging.
    Meathook on mizzen topping lift.
    Meathook on main port upper shroud, just above spreader.
    Triatic stay is loose.
    Forestay turnbuckle is overextended and bent; needs a toggle and a new turnbuckle.
    Turnbuckle on starboard main lower aft shroud is overextended and bent; needs a new turnbuckle, and a toggle wouldn't hurt.
    Tune the rigging.
    Get jib whisker pole working; needs new fitting on one end.
  • Auto-pilot quits. Need a backup auto-pilot too.
  • Forward head sump / bilge pump not working well; needs new impeller. No automatic switch on it. No siphon-break on the hose loop between pump and through-hull.
  • Need alarm on secondary bilge pump.
  • Fix or replace stern boarding ladder; has cracked step (again).
  • To buy: soldering torch, portable drill-press for drill.
  • Finish rebedding all stanchions.
  • Still have serious deck leaks: onto top of fuel tank, and out of port-aft corner of pilothouse ceiling.


• Medium priority:
  • Squeak/grind in bulkhead at aft end of walk-through hallway.
  • Improve first aid kit: Laerdal rescue breathing mask, more medicines.
  • Backup VHF radio not working well; needs new antenna ? Buy metal whip antenna. What size is cable ?
  • Davits crack because of loading from dinghy and mizzensheet. Got lighter motor. Change mizzen sheeting, and/or strengthen davits.
  • Shower pump and 4th bilge pump hoses.
  • Steering a little funny since disconnecting and reconnecting hydraulic ram; one bleed valve not working ?
  • Fix stereo/TV AC outlet missing ground problem. Outlet is from inverter, so should be grounded to inverter chassis and then DC ground ?


• Low priority:
  • Install isolators on shore power.
  • Install propane and gasoline fume alarm (boat has propane and gasoline on exterior only).
  • Change running lights to proper sizes, check other navigation lights. Move bow lights so anchor/mooring line through bow chocks does not rub against lights.
  • Tabbing sheared off bulkhead on aft side of aft head.

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Features:

• High priority:
  • Spray-paint dinghy and propane tank and jugs to discourage theft.
  • Tachometer screwed up by new alternator. Get tach independent of alternator ? Get hour-meter independent of tach ?
  • Replace all AC wires in engine compartment.
  • Wind speed and direction sensor broken.
  • Add secret switch to outboard motor, to make it harder to steal dinghy.


• Medium priority:
  • Deck leaks: down forward wall of aft head, and around several fixed ports.
  • Open and clean water tanks (almost impossible: requires sawing up cabin sole).
  • Add external regulator to alternator ? Internal regulator charges batteries a little too hard (doesn't tail off properly) and has failed before.
  • Engine valve clearance adjustment.
  • Change wiring so no extra positives go to battery switch A or B terminals. Want battery switch to be able to totally disconnect batteries in case of short. Right now, charger and bilge pump #2 can't be disconnected by battery switch.
  • Gauge for transmission oil pressure.
  • High-temperature alarm on exhaust manifold (Grainger 4E117 or similar).
  • Hose from forward water tank must have air leak: loses prime when drinking water pump shuts off. Aft tank doesn't do that.
  • Genset running rough; probably needs carbon cleaned out of cylinders.
  • Genset leaking oil.
  • Inspect and clean exhaust elbow of genset (plugs are frozen).
  • Repair genset filler tank neck.
  • New genset starting battery, and some way to keep it charged from house batteries.
  • Remove genset entirely.
  • Raise vent-bridge between water tanks, so they can be filled completely. Add little plastic balls in sight tubes so the levels can be seen easily.
  • Gauges for fuel and water tanks.
  • Better oil filter housing for engine, so no leaks while changing filter.
  • Fuel tank: replace cork gasket. Bigger vent, maybe by teeing together two fittings on top of tank.
  • Better insulation for freezer, or replace the freezer.
  • Bilge pump stuff: replace corrugated hose (broken, anyway) for manual pump with smooth hose, get AC pump working, tee AC pump and shower drain pump together with valves, add vented loop to AC pump.
  • Insulation in cabinets under deck, to reduce heat transmission ?
  • 12-volt trouble light, and 12-volt outlet in engine compartment.
  • Furling lines hard to use; need more purchase or less friction.
  • Hand pump in galley too hard to prime; rebuild or replace ?
  • Get head anti-siphon vents working (but then odor problem ?).
  • Repair deck gelcoat chips and cracks.
  • Attach lanyard to hitch pin on bow platform bolt so it doesn't go overboard when removed.
  • Replace unreliable binnacle switches.
  • Add macerator to holding tank so it can be emptied at sea.
  • Hand-pump to pump out holding tank ?
  • If ever have to replace holding tank, get a bigger one. But may have to cut bigger opening in berth. Maybe have two tanks ?
  • Turning on binnacle instrument lights pegs genset temp gauge; bad ground at genset ?
  • Bilge blower mounting is loose.
  • Knotmeter not working; needs new sensor.
  • Move water-strainers off engine compartment sole to make more room. But make sure they won't spill onto anything important when they're opened up. And don't mount so high that they don't prime properly.
  • Connect water-heater to engine coolant loop ? Check for leaks first.
    Maybe need mixing on water-heater outlet.
  • Genset oil pressure gauge inaccurate or range not high enough.
  • Bigger cleats further from toerail, for chain and chafing gear.
  • Chafe gear for anchor rodes and dock lines, and on shrouds to protect jib sheets.


• Low priority:
  • Fiddles or cords for bookshelves.
  • Forward switch on port forward cockpit light is intermittent.
  • Add drain-valve on engine saltwater pipe at aft end of engine, to empty exhaust manifold ?
  • Try sheeting jib to main boom when sailing downwind.
  • Try headsail poles.
  • Rudder position indicator is disconnected; needs new mounting.
  • Get an EPIRB, or a DSC VHF radio with distress button.
  • Sell club-footed jib attachment and pole.
  • Saltwater deck hose to wash anchor rode, and dam to keep dirt contained.
  • Saltwater hand-pump in galley. Maybe Y-valve to switch existing hand-pump between fresh and salt water. But have to prevent contamination of fresh water tank.
  • Recalibrate depth gauge.
  • Replace all analog gauges with digital equivalents.
  • Add fuses or circuit breakers on Radio and Auto-pilot switches.
  • Replace all cigarette-lighter-style outlets and plugs with something more reliable.
  • Broken door-stop on aft head door.
  • Battery-combiner to keep genset battery charged ?
  • Better antennae for TV and radio.
  • Change center windows of pilothouse to opening or removable, to improve airflow.
  • Change many drawers to shelves or open compartments, to gain lots of storage space.
  • Add steel strap from bottom/sides of keel to bottom/sides of skeg, to keep lines from getting into propeller. But a grounding could snap it and send it into the prop.
  • Change aft cabin berths to one queen-size instead of two twins.
  • Increase purchase of blocks used to raise dinghy.
    Maybe strap a single-sheave block to each davit-tip so there are 3 sheaves instead of two, and change movable blocks from 2-sheave to 3-sheave.
    Maybe remove existing sheaves, put a full-width bar through the axle-holes, attach mizzen backstay to the bar, hang new sheaves from the bar.
  • Way to stow outboard motor on stern instead of davits.
  • Double pulley for alternator belts.
  • Glue or screw blocks onto bottoms of toilet seats to keep them from sliding sideways.
  • RADAR dome needs calibration; needs to be rotated 10 degrees to starboard ?
  • Add way to get natural light in engine compartment. Maybe a large hatch in the floor of one of the cockpit lockers ? (Would have to open locker and empty it, then open hatch.) Or a couple of deck prisms.
  • Folding or feathering prop ? Expensive.
  • Propeller with greater pitch; think the boat is under-propped.
  • Trade dinghy for lighter hard/RID dinghy.

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Finish:

• High priority:
  • Clean and protect hull gelcoat (PoliGlow ?).


• Medium priority:
  • Let all exterior teak go natural.
  • Make main table smaller or foldable; too hard to sit around in its present size. But still has to drop down to make queen-sized berth.
  • Make removable table in cockpit (StarBoard ?).


• Low priority:
  • Relabel misleading switches.
  • Water damage on interior veneer wood.

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At next haul-out:

Fix bulging blisters at waterline on port side. Paint bootstripe. Inspect propeller; may need reconditioning. New propeller with greater pitch ?. Loose screw on rudder shoe; fill and re-drill hole. Check rudder skeg for wobble and hull flexing; maybe replace backing plate with much bigger one. Measure resistances among parts in the bonding system while out of water. Grind off grill on engine intake through-hull so hole can be cleaned from outside.

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