Broadland Grebe

[socrates]

8 hours ago, Regulo said:

Re; the heating. I have a "wet" system on my boat, driving blower matrixes (matrices?) as yours. I ensured there was a header tank to supply the system higher than everything else. Doesn't need to be big, I used a radiator expansion tank from a car breakers. The return of the circulation is fed to the bottom of this tank, ensuring any air in the system is then returned to the header tank by the normal circulation. I'm sure your problem is, as you say, an air lock, nothing more.

Interesting, we have a header/expansion tank and you have now got me wondering the tank is high enough in the system or I have not vented it properly. I vented with the system open at the cold matrix but no water came out. Maybe not vented it for long enough? Will try it again and open the cap on the expansion tank. 

[Regulo]

It's best practice to use a two outlet header tank, as in Fig.1. This ensures any air returning from the system MUST enter the header tank. Depending on the pipework runs, the arrangement of Fig. 2 gives a possibility of air bypassing the header tank and returning to the heater. It's surprising how little air can stop the tiny pump in these systems from working.

[socrates]

Thanks for the diagram, I will have a closer look when I am down next week. As you say, it wouldn't take much air to stop a small pump. It may be that I could fit one of those domestic radiator vents on the matrix in the centre cabin. I would have thought they would all have vents as they do in a house. 

[garryn]

1 hour ago, socrates said:

Thanks for the diagram, I will have a closer look when I am down next week. As you say, it wouldn't take much air to stop a small pump. It may be that I could fit one of those domestic radiator vents on the matrix in the centre cabin. I would have thought they would all have vents as they do in a house. 

Have you  got isolation valves to each matrix. If so you can turn off the ones that are working and it will hopefully push the air out of the others.

[socrates]

4 hours ago, garryn said:

Have you  got isolation valves to each matrix. If so you can turn off the ones that are working and it will hopefully push the air out of the others.

No, but I am fitting them when I am next down. Good idea, thanks.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Not sure if this link might help in any way or not but I use their products from time to time for work and find them handy.

http://aladdin-products.co.uk/products/autovents/

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Here is another Get Out Of Jail Free gizmo that has worked for me.

https://easibleed.co.uk/pages/about-us

[socrates]

On 11/11/2019 at 11:29, charlesa said:

Could morning Socrates, could I ask what is the air draft of your beautiful boat ?

Air draft is actually 6' 9" but more like 7' because we don't take the sliding roof back to the stops. 

[socrates]

I meant to add, if anyone is around Somerleyton next week, please feel free to come into the boatyard and say "hello", I am down for a week from Monday and will be working on the ever expanding to do list. Madam Captain has decided/decreed that shore power and battery charging system is now on the "essential" rather than the "maybe" list for this winter. In part this is because of our impending exciting  change in circumstances which well be revealed in due course. There is still the matter of the front deck to be stripped prior to resurfacing, cabin roof  to be stripped, main cabin to be sanded and varnished, and all the usual winter maintenance.  We have to be back in the water at the beginning of April as we have to be shipshape for an important visit. (more of that later).

Hopefully, I will have tome to post some updates and pictures for those who like such things. 

[socrates]

Just returned from a week of work on Broadland Grebe - cold and damp in the shed, and a dose of "man flu" didn't help. Fortified by hot coffee and the dry humour of fellow shed workers, work began on the ever expanding list on Monday. The first task was to sort out the heater. I lowered the heater unit by a few inches, so it was at a lower point than the highest matrix, this was easy to do. I then fitted a bleed valve to the matrix in the centre cabin so any air in the system will vent. Running the system up in the shed was interesting, but the system worked - problem solved and the first tick on the list before lunch. 

The next task proved somewhat more difficult and took considerably longer. Removing the old track mark from the front deck and preparing it for glassing. It is funny how the track mark lifts when you don't want i to lift, but sticks when you don't want it to stick. The easiest way was to go at it with a multi-tool tile removal blade. A slow and laborious process whilst listening to Radio 4, nothing for it but to put the headphones on and blast my ears with some good old punk. Even with such delights as Transvision Vamp and the Sex Pistols, the day dragged on and the track mark fought a battle worthy of General Custer's last stand. It was close of play on Tuesday before the nasty track mark had been removed and it was time to tackle the toe rails. One thing I don't like doing is removing pellets and screws, I centre pop, drill, prod and scratch to find the elusive screw head and then fight a battle to remove the screw. It is strange how, even greased screws fight every turn before they eventually yield. Am I the only person who has this problem? I suspect so. I am now looking forward (once again) to the prospect of making  new pellets during the dark winter days to come. The track mark had been stuck down with what looks like a combination of Evo Stick and a rather dubious fibreglass substance. This amalgam of chemical sticky stuff had to be scrapped off before the deck could be prepared for glassing. The easiest solution was to attack it with a belt sander whilst avoiding being dragged across the deck and catapulted to the concrete floor of the shed several feet below. Avoiding becoming a name on the list of industrial accidents, I succeeded in getting a reasonable result. I removed the deck skylight for the front cabin cupboard which will be replaced with a brass mushroom vent, and carefully avoided stepping back to admire my work on Tuesday afternoon. 

The rotten plank on the starboard side was easy to remove (under supervision), and we inspected the wood underneath. We found that the seam was where the problem is and this will be easier than we first thought to solve. Once the joint is re-sealed and treated, a new plank will be fitted on the waterline. A fairly easy job, the boatyard are making the plank and I will fit it in the Spring when the boat has dried out a bit. The other small bit of rot on the starboard side was also removed and it will be a simple enough job to scarf in a piece of wood as it is above the waterline. 

During the summer, our back roof began to detach itself from the boat, the result was that by October, there was an almost constant flurry of white paint flakes on the cabin sides and inside the boat. Not a good look! We decided to glass the roof this year and re-paint. The trusty multi-tool was deployed and the shed soon filled with a snow storm of white paint flecks. In order to avoid becoming as popular as a fart in a space suit, I covered the neighbouring boats with sheets. The old  roof was covered in scrim and layers of white paint, most of it came off fairly easily, but some remained stubborn and had to be scrapped off bit by bit. This task was almost as bad as the front deck but with perseverance and nautical language, the task was completed by Thursday. The wood of the roof seems to be generally free of rot, but it is a little damp in patches. I suspect if we had left it any longer the plywood planks which make up the roof would have started to rot. This will be left to dry out for a few weeks and the glass work will be done in Jan/Feb. The intention is to use mat and then paint over it.

The other task was to remove the galley floor boards in preparation for sanding and varnish, this was done and the boards cleaned ready for sanding. All in all a productive but hard week. 

 

[Lulu]

I love restoration threads.   Thank you for the updates and looking forward to the next one :)

[socrates]

35 minutes ago, Lulu said:

I love restoration threads.   Thank you for the updates and looking forward to the next one :)

Will be a while until the next one, letting the boat dry out a bit before putting on the new deck and roof. I will be back in January to sand and prep for painting. Thanks for your kind comments, it is one of the reasons why I started posting again. 

[VetChugger]

Thanks very much for continuing to spoil us with tales of the work you are doing. I really enjoy reading these and seeing the way you achieve solutions to problems a lot of us would simply ring someone up (could even be you we would think of !) to solve! The fact that she is a beautiful boat is a bonus!

[VetChugger]

Just as an after thought! Wouldn't it be something to one day see both "Broadland Grebe" and the Harvey Eastwood 37 side by side in the water in all the splendour of restoration and skill!

[Lulu]

4 minutes ago, socrates said:

Will be a while until the next one, letting the boat dry out a bit before putting on the new deck and roof. I will be back in January to sand and prep for painting. Thanks for your kind comments, it is one of the reasons why I started posting again. 

Having helped a bit with RT, Chloe Jane and working on our own boat (although not a woodie), I truly appreciate all the hard work that goes into keeping these historic beauties on the water.

[socrates]

2 hours ago, VetChugger said:

Just as an after thought! Wouldn't it be something to one day see both "Broadland Grebe" and the Harvey Eastwood 37 side by side in the water in all the splendour of restoration and skill!

We are out on Broadland Grebe every summer, so we would love to meet up with other restored boats. This year, we spent 14 weeks on the boat which makes all the hard work and expense worthwhile. We intend to be afloat again during the first week of April.