What did you work on/fix today?

Replaced the propane sniffer/sensor. After almost 5 years, ours finaly failed and needed to be replaced. LaZina was happy, so she made a couple pizzas in the oven.


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Topped off the hydraulic steering fluid. Took about 4oz. Moved the house batteries to the center lazarette and installed the buss bars. Cable cutting and lug crimping tomorrow to finish the install.

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I am wondering if your steering functioned with 4oz low. I added some fluid last summer because my steering could hardly function. I did the bleeder tube to remove bubbles while turning wheel to extremes. Not sure how much I added, yet less than 8 oz I think. Have to check bottle.
 
Mastercraft said:
I am wondering if your steering functioned with 4oz low. I added some fluid last summer because my steering could hardly function. I did the bleeder tube to remove bubbles while turning wheel to extremes. Not sure how much I added, yet less than 8 oz I think. Have to check bottle.
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It was still working. May have been getting a little sloppy, I’ll know if the top-off made a difference when we re-splash in mid May.
 
freedomvango said:
my pod pump isnt working i found out the other day. that's my project for next weekend :/
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"The only thing that works on this boat is the Captain!" Lol 😀

I've got to seal the port side clamshell up by the mast to get the rainwater to stop leaking through the roof. Next on my list...
 
freedomvango said:
I didn't notice a thread like this, but on all of the van and vehicle forums I am in there is one like it.

What little fix did you do today that you want to share? Did you reseal a thruhull that was giving you problems? Share the process so someone may benefit.

It's a fun way to show off the cool little things that we all have to do all the time so people can see the day to day stuff! I
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I replaced the very short original aft sink spout on my R31 with a taller one. Just guessed what would work and got lucky. I like the new clearance in the sink. Much more useable.
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Favorpo 8 Inch Gooseneck...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HWSBQR4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
 
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Submariner said:
Also replaced all 3 bilge pumps (fwd, mid and aft) in the boat. The float switch in the shower sump also failed and was replaced.

I was down to having just the cockpit aft bilge pump work in automatic mode. The mid bilge pump worked only when manually activated. The fwd (bow) bilge pump completely failed. The shower sump float switch had completely failed.

During winterizing, I pour 2 gallons of anti-freeze onto the floor in the head and wait until I hear the shower sump cycle on. Last fall, I didn't hear it cycle, opened the v-berth step and had several inches of anti-freeze in the bilge and the fwd (bow) bilge didn't turn on either. I already knew the fwd (bow) bilge pump had failed, as it did so during our SE Alaska trip in 2023.

The cockpit aft bilge pump is tested regularly, every time I clean the cockpit water fills the bilge and I hear it turn on.

Channel Surfing turns 5 years old this June.

View attachment 25004View attachment 25005
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When you replaced the pumps, are these quick connects or did you have to cut the wire? If you cut the wire, did you recrimpt with barrel connectors or use some sort of quick connect since you will likely need to replace them again in the future?
 
Regulus said:
When you replaced the pumps, are these quick connects or did you have to cut the wire? If you cut the wire, did you recrimpt with barrel connectors or use some sort of quick connect since you will likely need to replace them again in the future?
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Pull the fuses (24x7 block) for the floats and pull the fuse for the "8 switch panel" in the helm (for manual operation) to kill power to the bilge pumps.
Cut the three wires (taking note of the three colors to match them). Brown, Brown/white and black.

Brown goes to brown/red.
Black goes to yellow
Brown/white goes to red/brown

16AWG butt connectors, heat shrink connectors, and a heat gun to shrink the connectors making them waterproof.

Quick disconnects sound good, but they wouldn't be waterproof. I want my bilge pump wiring to be waterproof.

I did all three bilge pumps in an hour. Easy job.

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Submariner said:
Pull the fuses (24x7 block) for the floats and pull the fuse for the "8 switch panel" in the helm (for manual operation) to kill power to the bilge pumps.
Cut the three wires (taking note of the three colors to match them). Brown, Brown/white and black.

Brown goes to brown/red.
Black goes to yellow
Brown/white goes to red/brown

16AWG butt connectors, heat shrink connectors, and a heat gun to shrink the connectors making them waterproof.

Quick disconnects sound good, but they wouldn't be waterproof. I want my bilge pump wiring to be waterproof.

I did all three bilge pumps in an hour. Easy job.

View attachment 25054
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You could do a deutch connector. Pretty darn good for that application

But also
Bigger issues if you need quick disconnects because you replace the pumps so much
 
Deutch connectors are perfect for bilge pumps. I have mine wired that way and carry spare pumps with the connector already attached. If I have to change the bilge pump in the water somewhere it is a five-minute job without any wiring to do.
 
I have a R25SC with the Volvo D3-150. Yesterday I replaced the intake air filter and the crankcase filter. The crank case filter is hard to get to but doable. If your're going to try that, it takes a T20 bit for the four screws.

Ralph
 
My concern was running out of wire if you have to replace these every year or two then ending up with a spliced wire to make up the gap with multiple connections. I don't know how much additional wire you have to work with.
 
Regulus said:
My concern was running out of wire if you have to replace these every year or two then ending up with a spliced wire to make up the gap with multiple connections. I don't know how much additional wire you have to work with.
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Ironic you say that!

There's a ton of extra wire, at least in the pod pump I just did. I only lost about .5" of wire. I cut as close to the connector as possible then stripped the heat shrink along with the jacket. Then popped on the new one. The entire pickup head on the pod pump was rattling around in the housing on mine. Explained the 10" of water in the podIMG_6002.jpeg
 
freedomvango said:
Ironic you say that!

There's a ton of extra wire, at least in the pod pump I just did. I only lost about .5" of wire. I cut as close to the connector as possible then stripped the heat shrink along with the jacket. Then popped on the new one. The entire pickup head on the pod pump was rattling around in the housing on mine. Explained the 10" of water in the podView attachment 25111
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That's either good luck or great planning on the part of Fluid Motion! Thanks for sharing.
 
Got a bunch done today!
Pulled the solar hartop off to drop off at powercoat tomorrow
Created templates for all of the skylights and hatches to start production of the insulated covers. after a weekend in Miami, its 100% time to insulate this thing like I do a van and make the AC work effectively. Cut a sample out of 1/8 wood to check fit on the CNC.
also finished up with the storage project using a bunch of the molle panels that I make and blue ridge overland bags.
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