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Fitting the New Chartplotter

Preparing to cut the hole in the Scanpod front panel for the chartplotter. The plywood will keep the panel flat in the drill stand.

Cutting the corner radius – I still managed to miss the mark with this hole! (I was able to correct the centre later as this was the smallest drill bit for this hole.)

Stepping up the drill bit size to get close to centre bit of the hole saw.

You have to go really slowly with the hole saw – or the plastic just melts!

Cutting done and cleaned up a bit. I took the trouble to smooth off the cut surface with 180-600-1200 grits wet and dry. It is all ready to bolt in the chartplotter.

Step complete! The corner bolts have little rubber covers to fit next, to hide the screws.

I took the entire wheel guard rail off Molia (including the compass) so I could cut this crucial hole in the stainless steel in the workshop. Elongated the hole slightly (left) so we can get a connector plug in.

Next step – some electrics. Work in progress…

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New Chart Plotter

We are planning a new chartplotter on Molia to be positioned at the helm station.

We are looking at the Raymarine Element Series (not too expensive) which has physical buttons. In my opinion a touch screen at the helm station in UK weather and sea conditions could be problematic!

The S7 is small enough to fit into a rail-mounted pod. We have limited space at the helm station on Molia, so we checked out the Scanstruct Rail Mount SPR-8-RM which can sit on top of our existing wheel guard rail.

To try this out, I made a cardboard mock-up of the rail pod. We wanted to check that the unit will be comfortably visible sitting at the helm. Here is Jo holding the mock-up in place; looks OK!

Work in progress…

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Remove Wheel

We have a Lewmar folding wheel – this is a special edition manufactured for Dufour of the Lewmar 40inch folding wheel. This is great invention for a smaller yacht like Molia – it means we can get around the helm easily when moored.

Removing the wheel is not that easy when it has been in place for several years. However, the procedure described in this YouTube video works well.

  • Remove the centre cover and remove the nut and washer from the spindle.
  • Remove the autopilot clamps from the wheel spokes.
  • Put the nut back on the spindle (without the washer) so it is sticking out just past the threads.
  • Exert some even pressure behind the wheel with your arms and leg.
  • Hit the nut a few sharp taps with a hammer, and the wheel should pop out against the nut.
  • Now remove the nut again and take the wheel off.

This worked on Molia!

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Service Autopilot

We have a Raymarine ST4000+ autopilot on Molia. This was not working reliably last season.

To get to the autopilot, we first had to remove the wheel. Once the wheel is off, the autopilot wheel drive unit unplugs.

The instructions say to replace the drive belt if is damaged.

Having removed the support plate from over the clutch rollers (2 screws), we saw that our belt had a loose string, and there was lots of fluff in the drive – we have ordered a new belt!

Work in progress…

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Deck Shower Covers

These are looking old and dirty, and one of the covers has perished and no longer attaches. We were unable to clean the plastic surrounds, so a complete replacement is necessary.

We have found replacements for these covers, and they are on order.

Work in progress…

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Replace Waste Pipes

Our survey highlighted the rusty and damaged state of the sanitary hoses on Molia. We will replace these all as part of our winter maintenance.

Also, it has not been possible to move the seacock for the waste holding tank discharge this season, it is probable that this will have to be replaced.

The toilet discharge sanitary hose and seacock are on the right in the photos above. Having removed the old hose we were able to ease the seacock considerably, and lubricate it. The replacement hose is 38mm sanitary hose (this length 2090mm). The jubilee clips are new 30-50mm diameter A4 stainless.

We cut the old hoses (with a saw) and removed the holding tank to get to the connections. These were completely seized on; so we had to cut through the hose carefully with a wire cutter (the hoses have a spiral wire reinforcement) and lever them off slowly with a large screwdriver. This was hard work, and quite slow, but we managed to get all the old hose detached eventually.

The seacock for the waste holding tank discharge proved to be completely stuck. We are now replacing this as well.

Work is still in progress…