Bimini & Heating System

Sunday, Nov 21, 2010
I put up the almost finished bimini.  It looks pretty good.  There are two arches that aren't as tight as I would like them to be, and the front arch is about 2 inches too low.  I can't quite see over the dodger without lifting the fabric up.  Both problems can be fixed without too much difficulty.

Monday, Nov. 22, 2010
I can't believe I spent all day on a 2 hour project (I thought).  All I had to do was replace two 3/4" fitting with 5/8" fittings, drain out the water and replace it with mixed antifreeze.  Of course to get to one of the fittings I had  loosen the octopus by taking 4 screws out.  The screw with the least access was stuck and the top was worn.  When I finally got it out I had to remove two hoses to get the space I needed, so I got them off.  Finally I was able to get a pipe wrench and adjustable wrench on the fittings (I really didn't want to break the fitting off of the octopus.)  After I got them off it was noon.  Then it was four hours mixing antifreeze and pouring it in and trying to get the air out of the system.  But I think it is done.  I think all the air is out of the system.  It's all so mysterious because I can't see what is happening -- occasionally bubbles come up... the level in the expansion tank goes up, then down... doesn't seem to make any sense.
UPDATE: I've been running the pumps for several hours and it is still taking more fluid every half hour or so.  I'll run them all day tomorrow and hope that at some point it stabilizes.  I mean it can't have unlimited volume.  I keep checking for leaks and haven't found anything.

10:00 pm
Well the air finally finished coming out of the heating loops, but the old hose that connected the octopus to the overflow tank cracked.  Of course the size is different from any other hose on the boat, so now I am looking for 5/16" translucent hose that can withstand the heat from the octopus.

Wednesday, 11/24/2010

I mounted the new little pump after testing it to supply raw water to both the galley sink and the shaft seal.  A problem I have been having when sailing fast is that air gets sucked into the shaft seal and without the water it overheats.  I have tried several passive solutions, but none has worked, and some have even made it worse.  In any case this pump will come on when the "water pressure" breaker is on AND either the galley raw water switch OR the "autopilot" breaker is on.  This will be done using a relay with power supplied from the "water pressure" breaker and going either through the galley switch or a normally open relay which is closed when the "autopilot" breaker is on.  With this wiring arrangement the pump will normally be on during sailing, but if we are sailing really slowly and we don't want to hear the vary low vibration of the pump it can be turned off with the "water pressure" breaker.