Fire in the Hole (and other project updates)

I'm really pushing it on the weather now, but it has been warm enough to knock off a few more projects before I'm totally shut down for the winter.  To be honest, now that I've pushed the engine reinstall until next spring, I'm pretty close to finished with all of the systems.  With that said, here is the high level list that still needs to be done before Velorum gets wet again (no particular order):

• Mast rewire - Steaming light, foredeck light, anchor light, tricolor light, wind transducer, VHF antenna. 
• Mast standing rigging - Replace rod rigging with wire and all associated hardware.
• Rebed all deck hardware - All of it, everything needs to be pulled, rebedded with appropriate sealant with new backing plates where needed.
• Windlass install - I may or may not get to this before I go back in the water, I have the windless (Maxell RC8), but the wiring to the bow will cost close to $1000.
• Autopilot - I still have to sort out the wiring and reinstall properly. 
• House batteries - I haven't purchased the new batteries yet.
• Refrigeration - I pulled out the old Grunert engine driven refrigeration.  It reportedly worked when the boat was pulled in 2013, but there are way too many moving parts and it takes up a lot of room in the engine compartment.  I will be replacing with an air cooled Isotherm GE150.  It's much smaller, reliable, and draws very little current. This is something that can wait until after splashing the boat because it's a pricey item and funds are getting low in the coffer.
• Starting battery - I'm relocating that to the engine room now that the engine driven refrigeration has been removed.
• Inverter - 2000w wired into AC circuit.
• External battery charger - I have it, but probably won't use it much because I'm rarely on shore power
• Engine reinstall - Last but not least....

Ok, I'm overwhelmed again, but I have to keep pushing forward. Focus on the next job and get it done. One of the last electro-mechanical systems that needed to be installed was the propane system.  Originally the boat had a Paloma on-demand propane water heater, but I replaced that with and Isotemp 15 liter hydronic water heater.  Interestingly, according to ABYC standards, the only LPG connections on a vessel should be in an approved tank box (with overboard discharge) and the appliance itself.  Velorum had a single connection from the tank box and then a tee junction in the bilge where the one line went to the stove and the other went to the water heater in the head.  Certainly a no-no by today's standards, but I'm not sure what they were in 1986.  Anyway, with the Paloma gone, it was just a matter of plumbing the propane line from the tank box located behind the wheel in the stern of the boat to the Seward Hillerange 3 burner stove.  

I also had to install the solenoid (Xintex SV-1) in the tank box and wire it to the Xintex S-2A controller located at the wiring panel.  This turned out to be dead simple because I had already done the hard work of running the wiring up to the tank box (all the other controller wiring was completed). So all I had to do was connect the 2 wires to the solenoid and plumb that between the regulator and the downstream propane line.  

The hard part was running the propane line from the stove back to the tank box. Using my finest boat yoga skills, I spent the better part of 4 hours in the aft lazarette routing and securing 20 feet of propane hose from the stove back to the tank box.  It really is stupid that it takes so long and requires so many contortions, but it is what it is.  I signed up for it and knew what I was getting into. 
 

Once the hose was at the tank box, I screwed all the pieces together with gas rated teflon tape and secured the assembly in the box.  I brought one of the 10lb tanks over from the house and connected it up before realizing that I hadn't installed the overboard tank box drain hose to safely drain any propane gas out of the boat and not into the bilge.  So it was back in the lazarette for some more contortions and choice words to fit the hose and clamp it tight.

Finally, I fastened the other end of the propane hose to the stove and soap tested all the connections.  I didn't find any leaks so I decided I should try it out. I turned on the main panel (I have a DC converter connected to an inverter to power the DC side).  Next flipped the stove switch and waited for the Xintex controller to do its system test (I installed 2 propane detectors in the boat when I rewired everything).  Once the controller went green, I turned on the solenoid button on the controller and fired up the stove.  No big booms, just the satisfying blue hue from the burners.  Yay!  I still have to reinstall the plywood partition in the tank box that keeps 2 tanks in place, but I'm going to call this job about done.