Modifications, repairs and improvements, 28TE

[Norseman]

Back in the water, yard did a good job, overall. (I am anal)
Before we splashed I had my surveyor buddy come and do a quick look for possible de-lamination and water intrusion in the cored hull:
First he banged (sounded) the hull with a plastic hammer, then used a moisture meter on 40-50 points around the boat, finally he used an infrared temperature tool to check/verify the results:
There is slight delimitation around the row of SS thru hulls on the Starboard side, close to the water line: He concluded the caulking is starting to fail and need attention.
Also below the hull engine room vent on the Port side, a slight reading.
No moisture or delimitation on the transom with all the screw holes for the swim platform, transducer and cable, etc.
Overall good news, he said nothing critical, but pay attention to it on the next haul out.
(The engine room vent should be fairly easy to deal with, had the same on the aft house engine room vent, see above problem and cure some 7-8 months ago)

Surveyor shooting infrared readings today before splashing:

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[Norseman]

Now removed the Port side engine vent, cleaned old caulk, dried with a heat gun and squirted a small amount of acetone down the crack between fiberglass layers.
The original black sealant was still in good shape, did not see any rotten core or other problems. Water had possibly gotten in via the screw holes.
It seems to dry fast as the moisture meter are down to 14-15% in the area. Covered with masking tape for evening in case of rain shower, will remove it and dry more tomorrow, then install new vent and new caulking Wednesday.

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Old vent was stuck, had to destroy it to remove using brute force.

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Opening taped for more drying and to protect from rain.

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New vent, model 1488-5, $40 or so from Amazon, glad they are still being made..

[Norseman]

Back in business.
Moisture meter showed less than 10%, dry as a bone.
Sprayed the vent with White lithium grease before installation to prevent corrosion at the spot-welds.
Also gave it a coat of wax on the outside to keep it shiny.
Generous amount of clear silicone all around the opening 5 hours before the vent were installed so as to seal the core and screw holes, then a thin bead on the metal just before bolting in it on.
(All of the above may be like mental mastrubation: It feels good, but nothing really occurred)
We shall see, had rust-streaks come come down from these vents since I bought the boat.
If I see no no rust in 5 years, all good.

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[Norseman]

Old prop refurbished, F&J’s prop shop claimed their MRI system was more accurate than the Prop Scan technology.
Any truth to that...?

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[Bluewater]

I use FSR frequently to get the rust streaks of the hull beneath the vents. Going to try some spray wax. If that doesn’t work then will replace both vents and the associated screws.
Or maybe I wouldn’t get rust streaks if I simply didn’t use the boat..........

[Norseman]

. Or maybe I wouldn’t get rust streaks if I simply didn’t use the boat..........

There is your solution...

My question is if the old grill/vents were better quality than the newer once?
I first noticed the rust run-off 2 years ago, on a 19 year old boat.
(Pretty impressive right there)
No idea if the previous owner had replaced them several times or not.
I gave It the anti-rust treatment with spray-on white lithium grease just in case it may do good.
Already had the spray can in the garage, easy.

[Norseman]

R&R both pencil zincs in the Heat Exchanger today, after 10 months and 80 hour running they look like this:

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Seems a bit premature but I had the cooling system flushed for 2 hours with Barnacle Busters 3 months ago, the technician swore up and down that the acid would not affect the zincs,..Not so sure but I caught it in time, started the annual service just a bit early just in case
(Besides that, need something to do these Covid-19 times, the boat has never been in better shape than now, )

[LillianpFD]

Work is coming along good.
Oil and prop change for the Vetus bow thruster:
Old oil was black and smelly, my car still smells bad hours after I disposed of the oil.
The fiber washers for the drain plug is no more available from Vetus, picked up a couple of rubber washers from a hardware store, I may use 1 or both.7FDB356D-0ABB-4C91-BCC8-5AB8423EC146.jpeg

New prop, model # 0089 if your thruster is made before 1989, 0088 if after.
(My boat is a 2001, but with a pre 1998 thruster, the difference is shaft size, 13,7 mm or 12,2 mm)

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Also new prop, slightly different pitch, balanced and coated with prop speed,
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Will also use Prop Speed on rudder and trim tabs.

Have you noticed any performance improvement with the new Vetus bow thruster prop? Thanks.

[Norseman]

. Have you noticed any performance improvement with the new Vetus bow thruster prop? Thanks.

Sorry I am late answering..

There is no new bow thruster prop on the boat:
I purchased a new 6 blade prop but did not fit, got the wrong model #.
I should have been paranoid and checked and double checked, I didn’t.
(They are similar, same size, same look, etc but the shaft is different by a few tiny little millimeters. Had already painted the prop with grey antifouling paint, could not return it)
If anybody has a pre year 2000 Vetus, this prop will fit and give a bit more bite with less power drain.
Half price, great deal, never used..

[Norseman]

Had starting problems lately, engine would not crank with throttle in neutral, then it did.
Tried to wiggle the throttle, it somewhat helped.
Identified the problem to the tranny Neutral switch:
It was old and connections corroded.
Found a new switch on eBay:

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Installed new connectors and new switch, still no joy, no start...

Realized the new switch was too far in the hole, pulled it out and fitted a fiber washer to pull it up a couple of mm and now it works great.

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[Norseman]

Considering new chairs, is the bolt pattern uniform between the various brands for the base, or is there a chance I may have to drill new holes.?

Also looking to fix the upper right hand corner crack, looks like a Deepblue Marine product, is it? (Or similar products from several manufacturers?)

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[Norseman]

Removed, replaced and bled the steering fluid today.
Fairly easy job with 2 guys, could not find my SeaStar adapter for the fluid, used a small funnel instead.
The old fluid was clean, but I have not changed it in 3 years of ownership, perhaps previous owner did.
We found some air bubbles, as expected.
Went for a 2 hour test sail after the procedure, steering seems to be tighter and “better”.
Used this semi-synthetic fluid from West Marine.

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[Norseman]

Don’t think I posted this uTube flick before: just a few seconds on how the Albin 28TE behaves in the ocean. (A few miles offshore between Florida and the Bahamas)
Good friends came back from a circumnavigation on a sailing cat and asked if I could meet them and shoot a video clip as they approached Fort Lauderdale, where they started from.

https://youtu.be/qG4UIFhusDg

[Norseman]

Another clip: The Albin 28TE does not move around more than the Manta 42 Cat that just came back from circling the globe.

https://youtu.be/rsKxiyKAi7g

[Norseman]

Thanks to Ted for shooting a fresh picture as I passed by his office on the Intracoastal Waterway last week.

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