Tank Tender
One of the previous owners installed a Tank Tender for checking the level of the diesel tank and the single water tank that was original to this boat. The Tank Tender uses air pressure through a little tube that goes into the tank. The excess air pressure bleeds off until the air pressure in the tube equals the liquid pressure at the tank bottom. The gauge displays the same pressure in inches of tank liquid depth. There are two gauges on the control panel since diesel and water have different weights.
Since we removed the single water tank and replaced it with two smaller poly tanks, we needed to add a pneumatic valve to the Tank Tender system. We installed a third valve to the panel and put the tubing into the two new water tanks. After a few simple measurements, we now know how much water is in each tank. Easy peasy.
Dorade Guards
A month or so ago we ordered some dorade guards and mast pulpits from Railmakers in Costa Mesa, California. The two cowls on the front dorade boxes are in danger of being ripped off the boat by the staysail sheet. The original dorade guards were super thin stainless steel rod and that were attached by some short screws. When we took them off the boat a few years ago we were pretty sure we wanted something beefier. We decided on 1″ stainless steel tubing, thru-bolted with backing plates. This way we have another grab bar and another attachment point for halyards and whatnot.
Mast Pulpits
At one point during this refit, we were going to run all the lines from the mast aft to the cockpit. However, once we started mapping it out, it seems really complicated and messy. We decided to keep it a little easier for us by keeping everything at the mast and installing mast pulpits (also known as granny bars and sissy bars). The concept is that they provide a stable place to brace yourself while working at the mast to reef lines or raise and lower the sail.
The mast pulpits are 1 1/4″ stainless steel tubing also thru-bolted with backing plates. The installation for both the dorade guards and mast pulpits was the same as what we’ve done in the past – drill holes and remove core, fill with epoxy and let cure, re-drill for screws, apply butyl tape on the base of the feet and around the screw heads, then bolt in place.
Spray paint the back side of your formica headliners. They will absorb moisture and warp when you are at sea.
Hi Rich, thanks for letting us know. Is this first-hand experience? Before we bought the Formica we put the sample chips in a glass of water for several days to see if they would swell or change and they didn’t. Just curious what your experience is with this and also what kind of spray paint?