Delivery of Grimalkin aka FisherCat

[zipper]

Yes it is. We will be plugged into shore power. When we are not, we will have the option of using the inverter to heat the water or not. The heater pulls 6.25a which our current xantrex 1kw inverter could power, but I am pretty sure it is original equipment and is not a true sine wave inverter. A new 2kw inverter will handle all of our AC needs, even the coffee grinder, lol. Had to start the generator to grind coffee, the current inverter can not handle it. The house bank is (2) 190ah 4D type agm batteries. We currently have 475w of solar on the cat.

 

[tdonoughue]

Amazed that you have lived this long with only partial access to the coffee grinder!!!

The things we do for love of boat...

 

[zipper]

I de-named her today. I also used the heat gun to soften up the adhesive and pull the stripes off the hull. Debond for the win, to remove the adhesive. Acetone does not compare.




You can see the shadow of her original name “Allez Cat”.


Before

 

[tdonoughue]

Always kinda blows my mind to see a boat of that size up on 4 little jacks (with 6 even littler pieces of wood under the keels)... Good view of the outboards, tho.

 

[zipper]

Always kinda blows my mind to see a boat of that size up on 4 little jacks (with 6 even littler pieces of wood under the keels)... Good view of the outboards, tho.

She was designed to sit on the keels when the tide goes out. Some set the bridge on large sawhorses while on the hard for an extended period. I like her as is. She weighs a little over 8000#'s.

 

[zipper]

... Good view of the outboards,

Ya, the Yamaha 9.9's. One dark horse and one white horse. Tilting up the motors get us another knot under sail, no drag.

 

[zipper]

A nice day to remove oxidation on the topside’s. Almost done with this side. 4’ left, forward.


Now to polish, install the stripes, then wax. Then repeat on the other side. You can see the imperfect repair done in 2004 from hurricane damage while on a lift in Florida. Topside was impaled by the lift posts. Below the lifting sling marking tape aft and forward about 12'.

Wife painted the transom today with Petit easy poxy primer, to get rid of the shadows of the two previous names.

 

[zipper]

Wife helped again today. Was a cool day at the marina. She took the striping off the port hull.


And I polished and put stripes on the starboard hull.




Watched marina crew maneuver this 56’er around the truck and boat by remote control.

 

[BigN8]

@zipper, once you get her ready when are you going to complete The Great Loop !!?? I feel like this adventure is right up your alley!!

Great Loop - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[zipper]

Probably not. The mast stepping and unstepping is a PITA. A trawler with twin diesels would be better for the loop. Or even that 56' Carver in the slings above, but that may be too high for some bridges. Air draft on the Champlain Canal is 15'.

 

[zipper]

Worked on the port hull Saturday. Wet sanded in the rain first. Good conditions for that. Then polished, put the stripes on today. Painted the transom with Petit Easy Poxy. Also painted over the shadowing of the previous names at the bow on each hull. Ready for the graphics.

 

[zipper]

Made some progress today, dodging lightning and squalls that shut me down a little after 3pm.
Finished the hull graphics.



Started on the transom, but found out I need to plug a 2” hole in the middle that interferes with the big graphic. Finish it on Monday. I removed the starboard hull ladder and inspection port that were mounted on the lowest tread, cut a 6” hole in the first riser to mount the port vertically. Plugged the old hole with what I cut out. Glassed it with epoxy resin. Mounting a 4 rung collapsible on the port hull with a backing plate and cutting another 6” hole for another inspection port on the riser above the ladder to access the hardware.
Covered the starboard work to keep it dry.


Back at it Monday, we splash next week. Oh yea, ran both Yamahas on the hose, sounded good.

 

[drewkaree]

While this boat is way more work than I would feel comfortable undertaking, I find great pleasure in watching you and your wife turn this into "yours", and I gotta say...

 

[zipper]

Some of the work on the steps. A look under the plastic bag shown above. Filled the 6” hole and the fastener holes for the old ladder with epoxy and fiberglass strands. Will finish with white epoxy and place a piece of seadek over the treads.



Cut another 6” hole on the port hull to install the new collapsible 4 rung ladder with backing plate. The clear cover will be replaced with a white one when it arrives.


Taking a chance with this cheap SS ladder from China. https://www.amazon.com/M-ARINE-BABY...cphy=1027413&hvtargid=pla-2281435179738&psc=1

 

[anmut]

What's that hole for?

 

[zipper]

The hole I plugged on the starboard tread was where the deck plate originally was. It is there to get at the ladder, backstay and handrail hardware. Problem was that the plate was mounted on the tread along with the ladder. Over time, the sealant for the hardware and deck plate leaked. The original ladder was only 2 rungs and hard on the feet. To replace the ladder on the same side would have made "Swiss cheese" out of that tread. So I cut a new hole in the Port side riser for another deck plate to get at the hardware for the new 4 rung ladder. The clear cover will be replaced with a white one as soon as it arrives. This is what it looked like when we bought her…



Too close to the waterline. I did remove the dinghy on davits which helped, but I did not like the installation.

 

[drewkaree]

What's that hole for?

These things are put in front of me, and I'm expected not to swing for the fences?!?!

You're killin' me Smalls!

 

[anmut]

These things are put in front of me, and I'm expected not to swing for the fences?!?!

You're killin' me Smalls!

Just do it.

 

[zipper]

Finished up with the white epoxy tonight. Put a hair dryer in the deck plate/hull to warm things up.



I put the name graphic on too.

 

[zipper]

Gonna be busy in June installing new equipment on the cat. The new 2kw inverter/charger came today.



And the 6.5 gallon water heater.