Updates

Now the boat's back on land for the Winter I'm doing some more 'fixing', I took out the wood burning stove and am building a toilet room in that space. I also insulated the wheelhouse and fitted a set of double Vetus diesel filters and a sight gauge/pipe for the fuel tank. All of the water has been removed from the bilge so I will degrease it and paint it white again, once this is done I'll install two LARGE new bilge pumps.

Future water tanks

I've just cleaned these drums & will be using them in the future as water tanks. As I need ballast in the boat they should be a great help...

With the tank that I have, plus these eight, I will have 1160 liters of fresh water available onboard! 

Winter approaching!

Lifted the boat out on Monday, the hull was jetwashed and I flushed the engine through with a 50/50 mix of glycol/water. Batteries are out and everything is ready for the winter, I re-sealed the wheelhouse windows with silicone & i'll be working on the boat through the winter as I have my little generator to supply power. Bad news was that the marina don't allow blasting of the hull so i'll need a springtime haulout or dress it up & repaint it for one more year then next winter put it in a marina which will allow blasting.....

Update on work

I have replaced the wooden blank for a nice new Bomar Skylight over the aft cabin & the wood burning stove has now been rubbed down & sprayed black. 

Tomorrow the sink & double gas burners will be fitted and then I'll be moving on to insulating around the windows before the last of the panelling goes up. Following that I'll paint the whole wheelhouse & teak trim all edges & corners.

I bought a comfortable hydraulically damped swivelling bar stool which i'll use while steering...

It arrived!!

Finally my new capstan has arrived but as I only have a week of time at home left , it will have to wait to be fitted.... Looks really good :-)

John.

New capstan

Bought a "capstan A" from C&J capstans, half a ton of pulling power so no more anchor problems :-) NOW, what to do to power it? 

Option 1 :- Heavy cables run all the way from the engine room battery bank.

Option 2 :- Place a 140ah battery in the bow with a charging cable run from the engine?

Hm, to avoid unnecessary voltage drop option 2 seems to be the best answer.....

http://www.cjcapstans.co.uk/

Avon tender

Just bought a small tender for the boat, the 8hp yamaha will go on the back & i'll fit it out for light trolling... As it has a wooden floor it's a stable small platform to fish from.... 

Wiring

Lots of dodgy/joined wiring so some work to do to get it all in shape...

Filters

Fuel and oil filters have all been changed but this system has been bought & will be installed straight from the fuel tank for piece of mind... The fuel tank will be emptied and cleaned next winter. The diesel pump will be stripped and rebuilt next month with the injectors being serviced at the same time... I will also change the alternator to a more modern unit with a large AH output......

Fishing trip

The first trip with the boat produced no Salmon but it was a great trip.... The only issue after 58 engine hours was a slight leak from the stern gland but a half turn on each of the two adjustment bolts fixed it... The impeller was shot & was changed with all of the filters before the trip.

Paperwork....

Insurance done.... I fixed it with a phone call & a couple of emails, I chose Alandia as I already had money in the pot from the insurance of my old boat. I then became a member of Sjöassistance so if I ever break down I get a tow home!!!!

Downrigger & plotter wiring are next then pole mount the transducers...... (Dragonfly & Fishhawk)

Charging relay etc....

Fitted the battery charging relay yesterday, it works well, the planer reels were finished too. I also fixed the rod holders and mains electric into the wheelhouse.

Today was an oil change and all filters were changed at the same time, next month the injectors are coming out for refurbishment, the valves are being checked and the diesel pump is being checked and a new set of gaskets fitted.

I have a nice new shiny compass onboard & the "gadgets" should all be in tomorrow (hopefully).

I will maybe fit a different alternator at a later date as the one on the engine is original & i suspect it has a low output....

Getting ready

Installed a new 150Ah battery today, i also ran the cables and connected the two Big Jon electric planer reels, while i did this i was taking crimps & wire from a box when I noticed a strange small wire.... When I pulled it out I found a raymarine tethered remote for the autopilot :-) i can steer it from behind the wheelhouse, happy, happy....

Big engine service by a professional on Tuesday & i'm installing a charging relay between the batteries, once the start battery is full, "CLICK" it switches over to charging the house battery.....

Things to do...

1. Install charging relay & cables. DONE

2. Seperate the wiring mess & route all domestic wires to the house battery. DONE.

3. Install the Raymarine Dragonfly unit. DONE

4. Install removable poles & run all cables for the sonar transducers (fishhawk, dragonfly & downrigger). DONE

5. Measure fuel tank properly & work out how much is in there!! DONE- 1700ltrs!!!!!

6. Paint handrails & wheelhouse gloss white.

7. Cut access doors into stern bunks to utilise empty space. DONE

8. Cut wheelhouse floor & fabricate steps down to aft cabin. DONE

In the water......

I got the boat into the water on the 22nd of April & broke the ice all the way to my berth!!! Lots to do before I head up to Understen at the beginning of June....

Cleaning up

All of the electronics appear to work now, the old toilet waste tank is out & the macerator was dead, starting battery fitted in the correct place. And a hundred small jobs completed....
A Perkins mechanic will be paying a visit to service the engine in May before the Salmon season starts in the Stockholm waters, all of the trolling equipment will be fitted before then.
The electronics will be "Old School" this season but there will be some interesting add-ons for 2014 ;-) watch this space....
John.

Various pics in the Marina, the bottom of the boat was totally covered in blue mussels, lots of work to do over the next couple of years...

Arriving in Stockholm from Göteborg...

New boat!!

Ok, the Merry Fisher is making way for a new chapter in my boating life, my own small ship :-) it will be in Stockholm area in April & will be ready to fish Lax at the end of May......