50 Hour Service I got Gongoozled

I did the first 50 hour service today at 54.7 hours.  This required engine oil and filter change and three diesel filters. I havent needed to top up the engine oil in the first 50 hours so it seems its not using any. :-)

This was the water and gunk collected from the 2 pre-filters.

Not actually a great amount so thats pleasing.  The service book says to do it at 125 hours then every 125 hours but I think I will stick with doing it ever 50 hours.  Its easy to do anyway

The alternator belts needed adjusting the lower one more than the upper one.  I run out of time today and have still to do the tappets but the engine sounds pretty quiet, indeed more so after the oil and filter change. The oil was in very good condition just a very light charcol colour.

Engine mountings we checked and found to be tight and a general check of the engine found nothing loose.

I checked and toped up the oil in the generator.   This is using a bit of oil, but it runs a lot more than the engine and a lot faster, 3000rpm where as the engine seldom goes over 1200rpm.

All that done I needed to empty the toilet tank and fill with water so it was time to take the boat out solo.  A quick blast up the river to turn around and then off to the services area.

Avalon on the service point

Mission accomplished!  It takes a little over 2 hours to fill the tank, so I set it filling after doing the pump out which takes 10 minutes. 

I decided to moor on the town moorings instead of going back to the home mooring.  Inspired by my new found confidence I  decided to see if I could moor in between a NB and plastic cruiser a gap of about 70.  As usual this sort of manoeuvre attracts an audience.  A very slow and careful approach saw me in to a round of applause from the on lookers.  So now I have officially been Gongoozled.

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Got Gas

No, not that kind...

If you are a regular user of Cyano Acrylate glues, otherwise known CA as Super Glue, its likely that you do.

"Gassing" is the white residue that appears around your glue joints, especially on dark surfaces, clear surfaces, or on shiny metal. It makes an otherwise perfect joint, look, not so perfect. Sometimes its an indication that too much glue has been used. At other times, especially with gels, you may not have a choice but to use an amount of glue that makes gassing unavoidable.

One of the biggest problems involving gassing is that it might not show up until a day or two after youve made your joint. This can be fixed if you can get to the joint. I avoid using CA to close up cabin spaces on boats or airplanes, because gassing may not appear for quite some time and it may be amplified in small enclosed spaces, possibly frosting windows to an extent that blocks vision. This can be "visually fatal" to an otherwise impressive interior space.
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If I used CA glue to close this up, Happie would have been miserable
and I would have been devastated.

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In those situations I use non-gassing glues, such as type II carpenters glue, epoxy or watch crystal cement, depending upon the specific situation. Of course, each glue has its own pluses and minuses.
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Using a non-gassing glue made Happie happy.

If your gassing is in an accesible spot...

...relief from gas can be found on your grocery store shelf...

 

I am a believer in the concept that model makers can benefit from learning to see and use common things outside of their common context. Here is an excellent example. I found this method by accident years ago and its helped me many times since:  Olive oil applied directly to gassing seems to make it disappear. There are cases where it doesnt do the job completely, but those are rare. I havent found anything that works as well. What you have to bear in mind is that it is an oil, which could affect other nearby items in your model, especially unsealed wood or the adhesive of graphics tapes. I usually dedicate a very small artists brush to the job which allows me to apply it precisely and sparingly. After it sits for a minute, or when I can see that the gassing is gone, I lightly dab the excess oil away with a corner of a paper towel. Give it a try!

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A Kind Of Hush

I wouldnt say our engine is particularly noisy, indeed as its getting a few hours on it it seems to be getting a bit quieter.  We had no soundproofing under the 18mm deck floor.  We have a local firm  

who specialise in acoustic and thermal insulation.  Ive know the owner for many years and contacted him for some advice.  He offered a 43mm laminated foam panel with 10kg man made lead type core wrapped in heat reflective foil as a solution.

The process started a few weeks ago with me making and supplying templates as TAP will make to exact size rather than just buying it in slabs as is the norm from chandlers.

 Starboard floorboard underside

Last week I got a call to say the panels were ready and today I fixed them under the floors.  The backing is self adhesive but I decided to add some mechanical fixing too.

Engine hatch before

Engine hatch after

I did some dB checks with the trusty iPhone db meter yesterday while we were on the move and will do some more tomorrow when we move again.  I have to say though just with the engine on tick over there is a noticeable difference.  Of course the engine is not the only noise source, a fair amount of prop against water is present too so a static test is not really valid.

On another noise note Ive had an annoying metallic buzz at 1050rmp and again at 1900rpm which can be heard in this video.

I think Ive now solved it.  Theres a plate covering the turbo and I think this is the cause of the problem.

I have put it back with a few dollops of high temperature silicone in the hope this will stop the vibration.

RESULTS

First off the vibration has stopped, so thats cured.

I wish I had done some more noise comparison tests at different RPM as the difference on general cruise RPM is measurably better:-

Before

After

But this really isnt the whole story as I later found out.  The sound proofing actually works better the louder the engine gets, so as the RPM and prop noise builds, the sound insulation damps more of it out, so its much much quieter when the RPM is higher and the prop thrashing more.  Now its much quieter when its working harder something I didnt expect.


Another test I never considered measuring was the generator.  The genny is already cocooned but with the new under deck sound insulation the difference is very noticeable.  I will be going back to TAP to see if they can help with quieting then Mikuni CH boiler.


So in conclusion:-  Well worth installing.

 

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We Got This Email The Other Day

Our book, “Fundamentals of Model Boat Building”, has received many excellent reviews from some very knowledgeable people, but I dont think that any is more meaningful than this one. Its not a review in the standard sense, but I think that it speaks volumes.

I am going to let Joe Szymanski do the talking through the email that he sent us, along with the photos of the model that he made, the first model boat that he has ever done, after reading our book.

“JOHN - Back in 2011, I picked up a copy of Fundamentals of Model Boat Buildingwhen you were at the PRAD Festival at the Calvert Marine Museum. I enjoyed reading the book last winter, but then just added it to my library. Then late this summer & fall, I kept paddling by a pretty like crab skiff on St. Johns Creekand your book came back to mind -- I thought "that would be a fun little boat to try to model from scratch..." So I remembered my camera on subsequent paddles, and tried to snap some pictures of the boat in the water. I had some extra time over the Christmas holidays, so I launched into the effort of trying to estimate dimensions, develop 3-view scale drawings, etc. After several matboard prototypes, I was happy with the basic hull shape and proceeded with a wood model. (See the attached picture for the model in its current state of completion.) I had never built a model boat before...”

This is the photo that he sent with his email...

He continued...

“...it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience & mental exercise to go through the process as guided along by your book. Thanks for the inspiration and hopefully Ill see you back at PRAD some year in the future.

Sincerely,
Joe Szymanski”

Here is Joes finished model:


Heres a shot of the subject boat:


We think that when you look at the original boat and look at the first model boat that Joe ever made, he deserves an excellent review. 5-Stars!!! Thank you, Joe!

Joe and I have corresponded by email following this one and he offered to send more photos of his model during the phases of building it. Here are some of them...

 

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

 

 

Have you made a model after reading our book? Wed love to hear from you with photos or not. Our emails are johninto@intothings.com and nancyprice@intothings.com.

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Elco boat plans

Elco boat plans Elco 80' pt boat specifications, Specifications, 1942 elco 80' patrol torpedo (pt) boat manufacturer elco naval division of the electric boat company, bayonne, new jersey Pt boats , inc.- plans and photos, Pt boats, inc. a non-profit educational/historical organization document search info: most documents and materials in our archives

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