New Cabinet Doors for the Head

Head Cabinet Doors

Head showing missing cabinet doors.

The original cabinet doors in the head were missing at purchase.  From photos of several other C&C Landfall 38's, it looked like the cabinet doors were constructed from marine plywood covered with the standard almond colored Formica laminate.

Alternative materials were considered for use, but in the end it was much easier to construct new cabinet doors out of existing marine plywood and then paint them to match.   The doors where cut and routered so that they fit into the recessed space allowing for 1/4" outer edge space. The corner radius was marked out using the diameter of a spray paint(It was handy and just right).

The doors were sanded and coated with thinned epoxy.  Once the epoxy cured, the doors were cleaned, lightly sanded again and painted with Interlux Brightsides.  After an additional light sanding and some spot putty work, the doors were painted with Rust-Oleum satin Almond spray paint.

Existing hinges which were reused

Old cabinet catch hardware need replacement.

Marine plywood was epoxied coated, primed,
then painted with almond colored
Rust-oleum satin spray paint. 

Cabinet doors spot puttied and painted

Completed cabinet doors with stainless
handles and double roller catches to keep
the door latched.

Almond color
Model #: 7758830

Resurrecting the Marine Head

Marine Head on the LF38

The state of the head at purchase.

At purchase, the head of the Johanna Rose was stripped bare.  The original head plumbing and holding tank were removed by the previous owner and a new holding tank was installed.  There was a Jabsco marine head but it was not bolted down and was without any plumbing connections.  In fact, for many months, the Jabsco unit sat safely out of the way in a home garage.

In addition, the previous owner had started to plumb the new holding tank, or least several lengths of new Trident 101 sanitation hose and a new Jabsco Y-valve were found lying around.   The photo to the right showed what the head area looked like on purchase.  In addition to the plumbing work (described here), the head was also missing the shower grate, a sink trap and drain, drain hoses, cabinet doors, all water lines, and working lights.


Sanitation System Plan

The plan is to have a system designed with the choice of both a dockside pump–out and the ability to empty the tank oneself when legal to do so offshore  (i.e. more than three miles from the coast).  The system is of a standard design that of a holding tank with multiple discharges to the output of the holding tank.  The key here is All of the waste is pumped into a holding tank.  When there's no Y–valve between the toilet and tank there is no legal requirement lock a valve or seacock.  On the other hand, installing a Y-valve between the head and the holding tank makes one legally required to lock/restrain the Y-valve closed when inside the three-mile limit.  Not having a Y-valve before the holding tank gives authorities no reason to get upset.   Having a Y-valve before the holding tank poses a risk of an of accidental discharge, and is why authorities do get upset.

That said, a Y–valve downstream of the tank allows you to choose between dockside pump-out and the option of pumping it overboard when legal.  Inshore and inland, the tank can be emptied via the deck pipe. Offshore, the tank can be emptied using an electric macerator pump.

SUMMARY:   Waste goes to holding tank. Holding tank is emptied via a Y-valve either at the deck outlet or via a macerator discharged overboard below the waterline.


Head Installation

Jabsco manual pump identification guide

Eventually I got around to installing the Jabsco marine head.    I tested it using fresh water and found that the pump worked rather poorly.  I then took apart the hand pump and lubed the parts with SuperLube synthetic grease, but this did not help much.  It was clear that the pump components were old and dried out, and that the pump needed to be rebuilt or replaced.

From the photos above and to the right, the Jabsco pump with a grey handle is of the 1998 year Jabsco model 29090-2000.  A service kit for this model (Jabsco 29045-2000) goes for about $50 whereas a new replacement pump (Jabsco 29040-3000), which is the 2007 era pump, can be purchased for $68 at CEShowRoom.com.  

New Jabsco manual pump

Not surprisingly, I bought the new pump.  Installing the new pump is a simple process and takes about 2 minutes.  Even though, Jabsco still provides a nice how video online(see Jabsco support).  The marine head now has a nice working manual pump with a fancy twist-n-lock handle.

Compartment containing the new
Ronco B172 23 gal. holding tank.

Jabsco head with new manual pump installed

Sanitation Hose Installation

The Y-valve and holding tank discharge lines.  The hose going up
on the left is for the deck outlet, the hose coming in from the
bottom is the holding tank bottom discharge, the hose going off
horizontally to the right is for the macerator input, and lastly,
the holding tank input from the head is seen in the lower right
corner of the photo.

The first step in installing a macerator pump-out  system is the proper placement of the discharge Y-valve.     A Jabsco Y-valve was mounted to the bulkhead adjacent to the holding tank.  On the 38LF, this the same bulkhead as the head sink.  Easy access is provided through one of the cabinet doors. The photo on the right shows the Y-valve placement.  The hose going up on the left is for the deck outlet, the hose coming in from the bottom is the holding tank bottom discharge, the hose going off horizontally to the right is for the macerator input, and lastly, the holding tank input from the head is seen in the lower right corner of the photo.

Seacocks in the head: 3/4" sink drain, 3/4" head feed, 1-1/2" discharge
(shown capped off).  In order to facilitate opening and closing of the 1-1/2"
seacock, its handle end was later bent 90 degrees midway along the handle
 so that the handle could pass by the discharge hose freely.

Macerator Pump Installation

A Jabsco 18590-2092 macerator pump was purchased from CEShowRoom for $115.  To simplify hose layout for the macerator discharge, the macerator pump outlet was disassembled and rotated 180 degrees following the instructions from the Jabsco How-to videos.  With the macerator pump outlet rotated, the pump was mounted just horizontal of the Y-valve.  To complete the install,  a 1" discharge hose connected the macerator output to a 1-1/2" seacock and thru-hull using a 1" bronze barb and a 1-1/2" to 1" Marelon adapter.  One may prefer to have a bronze adapter, but it is not a concern since this seacock will only be open for offshore holding tank discharges and be closed all other times.

New Jabsco Macerator pump 18590-2092. 

Macerator pump with 1" outlet rotated 180 deg.

The electrical connection to the macerator pump was run to the electrical panel using Ancor marine 14-2 gauge duplex wire and connected to a dedicated  Blue Sea 20A circuit breaker.   At the pump, a Blue Sea 4150 WeatherDeck Toggle Switches was installed in the positive line and mounted just a few inches to the right of the pump.   This allows power to be turned on at the electrical panel without turning on the pump.  The turning on and off of the pump should be done solely at the toggle switch by someone in attendance for the duration of the operation.

Mounting the macerator pump.  The
macerator 1" discharged is shown still
capped off with red cover.

Macerator pump as view aligned with the Y-valve

Electrical connection to the macerator pump

Toggle switch used for operating macerator pump

Operation of the macerator discharge system requires several steps:

Macerator Turn on Procedures

1. open discharge thru-hull seacock
2. turn Y-valve open for macerator discharge
3. energize power line by turning on the macerator 20A breaker at the breaker panel
4. turn on macerator via toggle switch located next to the macerator

Macerator Shutdown Procedures

1. turn off toggle switch
2. close discharge thru-hull seacock
3. turn Y-valve for deck discharge (not legally required, but good practice)
4. turn off macerator power at breaker panel

Fabricating a Teak Shower Mat

Shower sump area in the head

Below is a photo showing the sump pan for the shower in the head on the Johanna Rose.  Some C&C Landfall 38 are configured with a separate shower stall just forward of the head.  On the Johanna Rose, the shower and head are combined, and the extra space which was utilized as a separate shower on some other units is used for additional settee length and locker space which currently houses the 16,500 BTU/hr Flagship Marine Air Conditioning system.

measurements for shower mat

shower sump in head

Recycling  chair parts and fabricating a simple floor mat 

Rhodesian Teak chair

We had a friend who gave us some teak for sailboat projects.  What he gave was the teak from outdoor chairs (everything except for the metal hardware).  Here is an image of what a completed chairs would look like.   A few years back, I cannibalized the seats to make a cockpit table for my C&C 29.

I took measurements with the intention of making a new teak grate, but when I realized the chair backs provided nice cross strips, I decided to utilized these remains to fabricate the shower mat.  The back slats were easily removed from the chair back and trimmed to 16-1/2".   I ripped three of the slat in half lengthwise and used these ripped slates as cross members for joining the remaining parts with stainless steel screws.

remains of a chair back

installing cross member and squaring floor mat

finishing up the fabrication of the teak shower mat

teak shower mat in head

Up the Mast

A well earned  selfie. 

Climbing the mast to fix the wind index

During the recent stepping of the mast, one of the Davis Windex reflective tracking tabs became dislodged and has been hanging freely since.   I had already climbed the mast 4 times using the ATN Mastclimber, but the climb was always on the fore side of the mast.   So this time,  the 5th time,  was up aft of the mast, and it was to simply snap the Windex reflective tracking tab back onto the wire hanger.  Here are some photos taken 51' above the water.

A bird's eye view of a C&C Landfall 38
and a Pearson 28-2 (to starboard).

An aft view.

The ATN Mastclimber's storage bag also
clips on for use as a handy tool bag.

This older version of the ATN Mastclimber
must have a halyard fed through the
jammers or the use of a separate dedicated
line incase of halyards with end splices
that prevent line feed through
(as shown here).

Replacing a broken fuel pump

leaking Yanmar fuel pump

From a Small Leak to Major Repair

While adjusting the engine idle, a small leak was noticed near the fuel pump.  All fuel lines and fittings seemed to check out fine.   The leak initial appeared to be coming from the gasket within the fuel pump (see photo).  The area was cleaned well and dry paper towels were wrapped around the pump and fuel fittings.   After running the engine for several minutes, the leak was discovered to be engine oil leaking from the fuel pump engine mounting gasket.  An easy fix.


The fuel pump was immediately removed, but it came off without the pump lever arm which had apparently broken off inside the gear case cover.  Below is a photo of the broken fuel pump, next to it is a photo of what the fuel pump should look like.

Yanmar fuel pump with missing lever

image a new Yanmar fuel pump

Yanmar 3QM30 gear case schematic.  

Cracking the Case

 The front gear case is not directly connected to oil sump of the engine block.  So this meant that when the broken lever dropped down it remained within the front part of the engine gear case.  Looking at the schematic from the 3QM30 parts manual reveals that broken part was likely sitting under the gear for the oil pump.  See diagram.  With there being some possibility of the broken lever getting caught into the gears and creating a big problem, the broken lever had to be removed before installing a new fuel pump and starting the engine.

First,  retrieving the broken lever by fishing with a telescoping magnet pickup was attempted.  But after many attempts and modifications to the telescoping magnet setup, trying to retrieve the pump lever with a magnet failed.

harmonic balancer pulley

Next, was the removal of the gear case cover.  This involved removing the alternator, the lift muffler, oil filter, and water pump hoses.  Pulling the harmonic balancer pulley was a challenge as there was only a few inches between the fuel tank and the pulley.  The gear case cover was only partially separated/removed  as to fully remove it would requires disconnecting the governor arm (which is a greater challenge by several, several orders of magnitude).

Once all the case bolts were loosened, the case lifted away from the block releasing about 1/4 cup of oil and the broken lever.  Fortunately, the case gasket was not broken, and after a quick clean, the case cover was reinstalled.

fuel pump mounting location on gear case

gear case shown from the oil filter side  

fuel pump with broken lever

front of gear case

Finishing up

 At this point, a new fuel pump and gasket were installed, and the fuel lines bled.  Reinstalling the harmonic pulley was a challenge due to the confined space.  Normally, the pulley is hammered onto the crank shaft and then bolted with a cap bolt.   The crank shaft has about 1" of tapped M12x1.25pitch threads but the collar of the pulley is approximately 2" long.    To aid in the installation of the harmonic pulley, a M12x1.25x70mm cap screw was purchased from Fastenal.

To install, the shaft key was aligned to the harmonic pulley and the cap screw was slowly tightened to pull the harmonic pulley onto the shaft.  A photo was taken to check the shaft key alignment to the harmonic pulley(see photo below).  The cap screw was longer than needed, so washers were used to fill extra space.   A lead mallet was used to tap on the harmonic pulley in combination with tightening the end cap screw.   The last 1/2" of installation was done using the original cap bolt.

aligning the pulley to the crank

measuring pulley/case distance

Wahoo Sailing

This video was taken shortly after putting the boat back in the water.  It is nice to finally go sailing after working on her for so long.

Project List

Go to the Projects page for additional details

Here is a list of many of the project completed during the refit haul out.

• DC electrical
• installed ACR for charging batteries
• installed 1-2-both & 0-1 switch system with two battery banks (via Maine Sail)
• installed LED festoon bulbs in cabin
• installed new steaming light on mast with new mast wires
• repaired spreader lights
• repaired stern light with LED bulb and new perks lens
• installed alternator Ampteck S120Si (also backup Db Electrical Ahi0059 Alternator For Yanmar Diesel Hi-Output 80 Amp Lr180-03) 
• 
  
• rigging
• installed new mast step
• installed new Davis wind index
• waxed mast while mast was unstepped
• added 1st reef line to boom
• hull
• repaired keel fairing
• replaced all below water thru-hulls
• replaced all seacocks
• barrier coated bottom with 5 coats of interprotect 2000E 
• 2+ coats of Petit Ultima SR-60 green
• installed stainless rod for rudder line diverter 
• drilled and drained rudder
• steering
• dropped rudder, cleaned and greased rudder tube
• replaced rudder thrust bearing backing plate
• replaced thrust bearing
• replaced cockpit sole access port to rudder tube
• replaced steering cables
• removed and repaired steering radial quadrant
• removed and reinstalled pedestal 
• repaired steering brakes
• replaced Edson steering idlers
•  propulsion
• rebuilt Yanmar 3QM30
• installed new Centek vernalift 1500026 (2” side-in/ 2” top-out)
• replaced cutlass bearing
• replace stuffing box hose
• removed, drained, cleaned, inspected, painted fuel tank
• replaced fuel sender
• deck
• replaced deck drain hoses
• replaced scupper drain hoses
• replaced missing teak toe rail and rub rails
• removed, stripped and painted all stanchion bases
• reinstalled stanchions with Dyneema lifeline.
• painted stern vent scoop with Kryon Fusion
• painted deck with Brightsides & Kiwigrip nonskid
• replaced fixed ports
• glassed in 4 old electronics holes by companionway 
• removed all deck hardware, epoxy filled holes & and redrilled
• installed new hatch covers (winter green)
• topsides
• installed new swim ladder
• grind & fair damaged topsides
• spot paint topsides areas, wet sand, buff, and wax
• added documentation name and hailing port
• electronics
• installed Ubiquiti BULLET-M2-HP WiFi on masthead and 12V WiFi router
• installed new Metz Manta-6 VHF Antenna
• installed VHF/DSC radio with AIS an GPS and raymarine remote mic
• installed raymarine e7d chart plotter with thru-hull transducer 
• installed  raymarine i40 speed/log/temp thru-hull 
• installed raymarine spx-5 wheel autopilot
• cabin
• installed 16,500 BTU/hr Flagship Marine AC 
• replaced lower forward bulkhead in head 
• installed jabsco head
• removed v-birth water tank to provide addition storage space
• 
  

Cooling off via a New A/C System

The Ghost of an Air Conditioning System 

Storage cabinet where old the air conditioning
unit was located.

When the Johanna Rose was finally floating at the dock, the heat of the Florida summer was just starting.  Fortunately much of the refit work was moving to the interior of the boat.  The idea of installing an air conditioning system rapidly became a top priority.    Fortunately, the Johanna Rose was previously fitted with an air conditioning system.   While the old system was long gone, the remnants of the system made planning for the new system much easier.

The old unit was located in cabinet just forward of the head.   The photo to the right shows the cabinet space which contained the unit.  The photo below shows the cabinet space and the original air return grill for the air conditioning system.  Another remnant of the old air conditioning system was an air plenum junction and ducts distributing air to the V-berth and the main salon.  The duct work was hidden behind a panel in the V-berth closet.

The cabinet space showing the original air return
 grill for the air conditioning system  

Hidden duct work found behind
a panel in the V-berth closet.

Forward V-berth bulkhead showing
the air conditioning vent for the main salon.

Deciding on a New System

Many air conditioning systems were considered.  The main criteria for deciding were size limits (~14" W x 21"L) and cooling capacity of around 16,000 BTU/hr.

A/C Systems Considered

• Marine Air EnviroComfort 16,000BTU  ECD16K-410A  
  • 13.5”H x 20.0”W x 11.25”D, R410A, warranty: 1 yr
• Webasto FCF 16,000BTU Air Conditioning
  • 14.88" Lx 16.11" D x 12.88" H, R410A, warranty: 1 yr 
• MarinAire   Integra MSBA16K2   16,000BTU
  • 22”W x 16”D x 14.4”H, R410A, warranty: 1 yr 
• Flagship Marine   FM16R
  •  21.5x14.6x13.5, NU22, warranty: 5yr parts / 1 yr labor
• Marine Air Vector Turbo VTK16R
  • 14H x 21.4L x 13.3D, R410A, warranty: 2yr parts / 1 yr labor
• Mermaid M16 16,500BTU
  • 19.75Lx13.5Wx13.75H, NU22, 5 yr warranty

I was not too keen on the systems which only offered a 1 year warranty and also some reviews of these units were less than stellar,  the list was reduced down to the later three.  Mermaid offers a 5 year 5 warranty and at one time was sold by Defender, and so I sent Defender an email asking if they still offered Mermaid units. Here ' what I received back:

        Unfortunately Defender is no longer selling Mermaid AC units. Due to some customer 
        service issues we had, we did server ties with that particular company. 

I went to the Mermaid website which listed an internet price, but when I called for more information, I was told that the price increased back in February and that their "IT guy” has not gotten around to update the website.  Adding all this up told me that going with a Mermaid system was asking for trouble.  

The Marine Air Vector Turbo (and Domatic equivalent ) is general a bit more expensive than others, but they have great reputations.  The main issue I have with Marine Air/Domatic is that the limited warranty is only valid if a Marine Air/Domatic authorized dealer installs the system (add another $1,000 to the price).

From the beginning I liked the Flagship Marine system. To start off with, they offer a 5 year warranty.  The  Flagship units are of high quality, built with domestic 316 stainless steel, bronze, and copper parts.  They are made in the USA with serviceable parts like the Matsushita rotary compressors with devices for low inrush current draw at startup.  They have also been standard on U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard boats for over 10 years.  Their website is very informative, and despite that, I called and emailed them asking questions, changing configurations, and asking for multiple updated quotes.

While this unit was a big purchase for me, I am sure that it was a small sale for them, even though, they treated me professionally and also responded timely.  Kudos to Flagship Marine.  Sometimes you get a feeling you should avoid a company, not so with Flagship Marine.   There were some minor issues: the unit was missing a few labels (water in, out) and missing a plastic electrical bus cover.   Both labels and cover were FedEx over night.  The installation manual is somewhat outdated and is in need of some corrections.  That said, it took just a matter of a few hours before I had the unit pumping out nice cold air.

Flagship Marine FM16R

• Flagship Marine   FM16R  115VAC
  - 16,500 BTU a/c with digital 2KW Heat element , 555 CFM blower
  - remote electronic enclosure
  - 115VAC 11.3A (cool) / 18.1A (heat)
  - 3/4: Groco strainer w/ Monel basket
  - Cal Marine ms580 pump 
  - 25' - 6" fire retardant duct 
  - Anodized aluminum 6" plenum
  
  
  
  
  TOTAL COST: just under $2,200 

The install

Close up view of FM16R unit installed. 

Starboard settee with duct out of sight.
An AC fan is used to help distribute the
cold air coming from the duct.  The digital
thermostat is temporarily located on the
settee self (lower right of photo).

Te raw water intake for the air conditioning
system.  A 3/4" Groco thruhull and 3/4" Groco
Seacock are fed to a Groco strainer with Monel
basket.  The output of the strainer is fed to a Cal
Marine pump which then feeds the FM16R unit.

Fire retardant duct running above the
the starboard settee.

View of the FM16R unit installed in locker.