Service Autopilot

We have a Raymarine ST4000+ (aka Mark 2) autopilot on Molia. This was not working reliably last season.

To get to the autopilot, I 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), I saw that our belt had a loose string, and there was lots of fluff in the drive! Time for a new belt…

I ordered a new belt from ebay seller astra610s part number A18083.

March 1, 2021

Job completed, autopilot and wheel refitted.

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 I was 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.

I cut the old hoses (with a saw) and removed the holding tank to get to the connections. These were completely seized on; so I 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 I 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 – see Holding tank discharge seacock replacement.

New Propeller Fitted

Our shiny new propeller is now fitted to Molia’s saildrive.

Nearly ready for a launch! We just need to anti-foul the saildrive and round its seal.

(The saildrive was in the Engineer’s shed when we painted the rest of the hull.)

Antifouling

Molia has black antifouling paint which needs renewal before we launch. But which one to choose?

In 2016 Practical Boat Owner (PBO) tested 20 different paints in 13 UK locations. The results are online here. They did not actually test in the Bristol Channel – so I chose a paint that did well in South Wales.

I will let you know how it performs in the waters between Dartmouth and Portishead!

Application

The hull was pressure-washed when Molia was lifted out of the water, and the existing surface is clear of any growth and the condition of the surface is good.

Wet and dry sandpaper (I used a 180 grit) all over, then masking off the waterline. Well stirred paint. Application with a small roller takes just over one hour per side on Molia, and almost all of a 2.5 litre can.

My favourite bit (centre) is painting the keel and its bulb.

Gas hoses

There are 2 flexible gas hoses that need replacing regularly on a boat to satisfy surveyors and insurers, and keep you safe!

Cylinder Hose – leads from the cylinder valve to the start of the (usually solid) boat gas distribution pipe. On Molia there is a bulkhead connector at the back of the gas locker.

Cooker Hose – this leads from the other end of the boat gas distribution pipe to the cooker.

Orange Hose

Orange is the colour required by BS3212 for uncovered type 2 LPG gas hoses.

BS 3212 – British Standard specification for the performance and dimensional requirements for rubber tubing, hose and complete assemblies for use in LPG vapour phase and LPG/air installations in environments up to a maximum ambient temperature of 60°C.

Status : Superseded, Withdrawn Published : June 1991 Replaced By : BS EN 16436-1:2014+A2:2018, BS EN 16436-2:2018

( BS 3212) 3.1 Classification

a) Type 1: flexible tubing for applications not exceeding 50 mbar working pressure.

b) Type 2: hoses for applications not exceeding 7.5 bar working pressure.

(BS 3212) 3.2 Colour Identification

a) Type 1 shall be black.

b) Type 2 shall have an orange cover …

Hose Connectors

The upper hose has is a 1/4 inch left-hand nut connector. The lower hose has the ‘GOK’ 8mm compression connector of the type used on Molia. (GOK is the German manufacturer of these connectors.)

Small diameter LPG hose connectors should be ‘crimped’ which these are.

Here is one I took apart: the metal ferrule is crimped onto the outside of the orange hose clamping the ‘hose barb’ securely in place.

The fittings must be stainless steel and brass (as illustrated) to comply with UK marine standards.

Cylinder Valve

You should replace the cylinder valve if it is showing signs of corrosion or wear.

First identify the gas bottle type – an excellent help video here from Go outdoors also shows how to fit the valve to the bottle.

Molia has a Camping Gaz R907 bottle. These are popular on continental Europe, and readily available in the UK.

Molia has a Camping Gaz R907 cylinder valve. Only some surface corrosion so we will replace this another time.