Some of The Repairs And Upgrades To Happytat
When we bought Happytat, it was a boat in need of some love. It had been owned by a man who was not in good health and he had done very little in the way of repair or maintenance on the boat. I knew it was going to need some work, but, as you would expect, it needed way more than I knew.
First of all, the name on the transom was "The Branch". I asked the previous owner the significance of the name and he said it was a Biblical reference. We brought two of our granddaughters on board soon after we bought it. Kaiden, the oldest of the two, looked at it and asked: "Is it a happytat?" I'm sure she meant to say "Habitat" as in the nature shows we always make her watch. But as soon as we heard the word, we knew that it was the perfect name for our new home. So it was decided soon thereafter that the new name of our boat/home would be "Happytat."
All the upholstery was original to the boat, which means it was 18 years old. It smelled musty and we knew it had to go. So we hired a local upholstery shop to build us a new set of cushions.
The galley sink had a small, plastic single faucet and only one of the two drains were plumbed into the drain. We bought a new, stainless sink faucet with a sprayer and piped in the second sink.
One of the biggest problems was the "head", or bathroom. The toilet was quite old and was cracked along the top. All the piping was old and smelly as was the holding tank. There was no proper floor, just an open space where shower water was supposed to accumulate before being pumped out by a pump. We read up on all our options and decided to tear it all out and install a new "composting" toilet and all new floor.
I had the marina mechanic look at my engine and they found numerous things that needed repairing to the tune of about $1800, including a fitting that mixed cooling water with exhaust gas from the engine. Had this fitting broken under way, the boat would have begun filling rapidly with water being pumped through the engine and out into the boat. Thanks Clarence for finding it first!
The gear shifting linkage seemed stiff, but since I didn't know what it should feel like, I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be. One day, it wouldn't shift into reverse as I was pulling into the dock. I somehow managed to maneuver into the slip without crashing into it too badly. When disassembled the pedestal, I found that the part of the pedestal that the shifting levers connect to is made of some kind of cast plastic material and a big chunk had broken off. After spending a considerable amount of time trying to find a new one and learning that there were no new ones, I epoxied the parts back together, hooked up my cables and thought I had it all fixed for now. It still didn't want to shift smoothly and with further investigation determined that the cable linking the shifting lever to the transmission was bent and didn't shift smoothly. So Eric, the marina manager, ordered a new cable for me and I installed it. I was delighted to have my boat back in operating condition again! I sailed a few more times and all seemed to be working great! Then one day, I was taking my daughter and her boyfriend out for a nature cruise. I was trying to set the anchor, when I realized that it wouldn't go into reverse gear. I quickly realized that the shifting lever was broken again an proceeded to disassemble the pedestal again, this time as I was floating downriver into shallow water. It didn't take long to get to the cables and to find that the plastic pedestal houseing had broken again. My original epoxy repair still look fine. It had broken in a new place. I disconnected the cables and began operating them by hand, managing to get the boat into forward gear. I had drifted into shallow water and felt the familiar "thud" of my keel hitting the mud bottom. Operating the cables by hand I managed to back up, turn into what I hoped was deeper water and luckily managed to motor back out into the channel and back home.
For the next week, I searched for a more permanent solution than more epoxy. The only option I found was from a friend that I met in the marina who was a fine machinist, retired. He had machining tools at home and was eager to help. All I had to do was find the raw metal and he would machine a more permanent pedestal for me-for free!
I searched for a couple days for a place to find the raw metal and had no luck. I was in a pickle! I couldn't operate my boat safely in the marina without a motor and an operating transmission and I couldn't find the metal for my friend to make me a new one!
Another friend from years ago called me serendipitously about this time. He needed my help with his home air conditioner. He is an excellent car mechanic and can work wonders with metal and fiberglass. I brought the part to him and asked if he had any ideas. He said, "Sure, it''s easy!" And just like that, my pedestal was on the way to being as good as new-maybe better!
Other repairs:
painted bathroom
New shower fixture
bottom paint
blisters
hole in bottom near transom
raw water strainer
water heater
pressure pump
all new piping
shower sump
TV
insulating curtains to keep out cold air from garage
insulated cap over hatch above bed
remove and reseal sea hood
install inspection port at front water tank
misc clothes hooks, food hammocks, shelves
drawers in garage
port gaskets
LP gas safety shut off
anchors and rodes
anchor hatch hinges and fastener
bosuns chair
new lights
refrigerator thermostat and door hinges
New lettering
bimini upgrade and repair
repair zinc fitting in heat exchanger
replaced rotted flooring near the bathroom
sanded and wiped with teak oil the drop boards and deck teak.
replaced LP gas regulator/switch valve
First of all, the name on the transom was "The Branch". I asked the previous owner the significance of the name and he said it was a Biblical reference. We brought two of our granddaughters on board soon after we bought it. Kaiden, the oldest of the two, looked at it and asked: "Is it a happytat?" I'm sure she meant to say "Habitat" as in the nature shows we always make her watch. But as soon as we heard the word, we knew that it was the perfect name for our new home. So it was decided soon thereafter that the new name of our boat/home would be "Happytat."
All the upholstery was original to the boat, which means it was 18 years old. It smelled musty and we knew it had to go. So we hired a local upholstery shop to build us a new set of cushions.
The galley sink had a small, plastic single faucet and only one of the two drains were plumbed into the drain. We bought a new, stainless sink faucet with a sprayer and piped in the second sink.
One of the biggest problems was the "head", or bathroom. The toilet was quite old and was cracked along the top. All the piping was old and smelly as was the holding tank. There was no proper floor, just an open space where shower water was supposed to accumulate before being pumped out by a pump. We read up on all our options and decided to tear it all out and install a new "composting" toilet and all new floor.
I had the marina mechanic look at my engine and they found numerous things that needed repairing to the tune of about $1800, including a fitting that mixed cooling water with exhaust gas from the engine. Had this fitting broken under way, the boat would have begun filling rapidly with water being pumped through the engine and out into the boat. Thanks Clarence for finding it first!
The gear shifting linkage seemed stiff, but since I didn't know what it should feel like, I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be. One day, it wouldn't shift into reverse as I was pulling into the dock. I somehow managed to maneuver into the slip without crashing into it too badly. When disassembled the pedestal, I found that the part of the pedestal that the shifting levers connect to is made of some kind of cast plastic material and a big chunk had broken off. After spending a considerable amount of time trying to find a new one and learning that there were no new ones, I epoxied the parts back together, hooked up my cables and thought I had it all fixed for now. It still didn't want to shift smoothly and with further investigation determined that the cable linking the shifting lever to the transmission was bent and didn't shift smoothly. So Eric, the marina manager, ordered a new cable for me and I installed it. I was delighted to have my boat back in operating condition again! I sailed a few more times and all seemed to be working great! Then one day, I was taking my daughter and her boyfriend out for a nature cruise. I was trying to set the anchor, when I realized that it wouldn't go into reverse gear. I quickly realized that the shifting lever was broken again an proceeded to disassemble the pedestal again, this time as I was floating downriver into shallow water. It didn't take long to get to the cables and to find that the plastic pedestal houseing had broken again. My original epoxy repair still look fine. It had broken in a new place. I disconnected the cables and began operating them by hand, managing to get the boat into forward gear. I had drifted into shallow water and felt the familiar "thud" of my keel hitting the mud bottom. Operating the cables by hand I managed to back up, turn into what I hoped was deeper water and luckily managed to motor back out into the channel and back home.
For the next week, I searched for a more permanent solution than more epoxy. The only option I found was from a friend that I met in the marina who was a fine machinist, retired. He had machining tools at home and was eager to help. All I had to do was find the raw metal and he would machine a more permanent pedestal for me-for free!
I searched for a couple days for a place to find the raw metal and had no luck. I was in a pickle! I couldn't operate my boat safely in the marina without a motor and an operating transmission and I couldn't find the metal for my friend to make me a new one!
Another friend from years ago called me serendipitously about this time. He needed my help with his home air conditioner. He is an excellent car mechanic and can work wonders with metal and fiberglass. I brought the part to him and asked if he had any ideas. He said, "Sure, it''s easy!" And just like that, my pedestal was on the way to being as good as new-maybe better!
Other repairs:
painted bathroom
New shower fixture
bottom paint
blisters
hole in bottom near transom
raw water strainer
water heater
pressure pump
all new piping
shower sump
TV
insulating curtains to keep out cold air from garage
insulated cap over hatch above bed
remove and reseal sea hood
install inspection port at front water tank
misc clothes hooks, food hammocks, shelves
drawers in garage
port gaskets
LP gas safety shut off
anchors and rodes
anchor hatch hinges and fastener
bosuns chair
new lights
refrigerator thermostat and door hinges
New lettering
bimini upgrade and repair
repair zinc fitting in heat exchanger
replaced rotted flooring near the bathroom
sanded and wiped with teak oil the drop boards and deck teak.
replaced LP gas regulator/switch valve
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