The head/holding tank, solar panel and batteries installations and galley were the major projects for the “off-season.” There were also many “minor” watsonizing projects that kept Al busy all winter and early spring. Some were necessary and some were just because it suited our style better. These “minor” projects still took considerable time and effort – Al’s time and effort!
The KK39 has an amazing engine room for its size. One might say we bought an engine room with an attached boat. Since Al enjoys maintaining the engine and systems, it is a real plus to have this spacious area. Although one of the smaller Kady Krogens, the 39 is the one with a walk-in engine room. The next size with an engine room is the Kadey Krogen 48 feet.
A DOOR and not a hatch in the FLOOR! The engine room has a real door with a nautical porthole. It isn’t quite a full-size door, so you need to step down and duck a bit. And there is that fine John Deere 4045 TFM50 4.5L (150 hp) sitting right there as you step into the engine room.
Al is 6 foot 3 inches and can stand inside.
To step down into the engine room, there was a wood step. Al shortened that step so that he could lift up the hatch in the floor for easy access to the hydraulic pump for the stabilizers.
The port side of the engine room is mostly mechanical – water heater, air-conditioning, and miscellaneous pressure tanks. Al installed the red tool storage and a shelf for manuals below that.
The starboard side of the engine room has an awesome workbench.
There was a large heavy tool box sitting on the top of the bench, taking up a lot of real estate.
Al organized the tools and workbench area to better suit his needs.
The drawers neatly hold some tools. Al mounted assorted “holders” for other tools. The white buckets in the back are from IKEA. On the wall to the right he used leftover PVC deck spindles from a house project cut up into small pieces and glued together.
Bowthruster& Rudder Barnacles
The bowthruster tunnel and dual props were encrusted with barnacles. This is pretty typical in hard to paint places that are underwater.
Al drilled out the cover bolts and used a wheel puller to remove the propellers.
There’s Al in his full face respirator mask, sanding the paint off of the propellers. I had a good view from our deck above.
Check out this “McGyvered” paint brush to reach into the bowthruster tunnel.
The rudder also received a much needed face-lift. Banish those barnacles!!
“Fins” and “Wings”
The Kadey Krogen 39 has “stabilizers,” a whole new world for us. Stabilizers are fins mounted beneath the waterline and stick out from the hull to reduce a boat’s rolling caused by wind or waves.
This is what a stabilizer looks like (day of the survey back in October 2019). There’s one on each side of the boat, under the water. Confession – I know they really good for “stabilizing” the boat in rolling waves, but I still have reservations about things like that sticking out of the hull.
Our stabilizer fins needed new outer seals, which required a professional. 🙁 Hmmm…. A project that Al cannot do. Every once in a long while that does happen.
That’s the fin man doing his thing.
And that’s what it looks like when the fin is removed – waiting for the new seal.
Al did have some work to do on the stabilizer wings. The wings, made of fiberglass, were damaged so he removed them from the fins for repair work at home. (The wings are the bottom part of the fins.)
Al stripped the wings and made the fiberglass repairs. He finished them with blue epoxy before sanding them again and painting them with bottom paint.
Installing the wings back on the fins.
During the survey, the water from the cockpit shower would not shut off. The surveyor noted that the plastic enclosure for it was cracked in three spots. He researched a new housing only to learn that the cost was outrageous. With his fiberglass skills, he repaired the existing housing, rebuilt the faucet, replaced the washers and installed a new hose and shower head. Good to go!
Looks like new! The new shower head is the same as the one used for the “inside” shower. And, there is HOT and cold water available in the cockpit.
This is the impeller. After discovering it’s state, Al figures we were very lucky to get home last October. Impellers do have a finite life span and this one was at its end.
The boat came with a bimini on the flybridge, but it had no “windshield” which would make windy or chilly conditions a little uncomfortable up there. We enjoyed using the flybridge on the Mariner. In fact, 90+% of the time we steered from up there, especially me. Here, in New England, it is nice to have a windshield for comfort.
Al made a template for the windshield.
Here is his work in progress in the basement.
The new windshield made of Regalite 40 gauge vinyl is installed.
My cleaning talents were needed for the cover that fit over the instruments on the flybridge. I soaked it in the bath tub using my favorite concoction of powdered Oxi-Clean and laundry detergent….. over and over again, and rinsed it over and over again. Although I didn’t photograph it after the cleaning, it came out quite nice!
Winter is a great time for Al’s sewing projects —
A new Phifertex windshield cover that will blocking 93% of the sunlight. Obviously, this will be removed when underway. 😉
Moveable Phifertex sunshades that can be attached wherever needed and also roll up to be stored. This Phifertex is lighter weight and only blocks 85% of the sun so that we can see out.
My other contribution? A new log book for Al’s maintenance records.
He prefers “old school” handwritten records with a section for each – general, engine, genset, and fuel. There is a lot of handwritten records already in this book!
Wow is right! I kept wondering what the “Watsonizing” was, but I definitely saw the Watson I knew in the new log book! I hope you are recovering well, Michele, and hope the two of you are out there enjoying the water ( now or soon!). Stay well!
Linda
Wow is right! I kept wondering what the “Watsonizing” was, but I definitely saw the Watson I knew in the new log book! I hope you are recovering well, Michele, and hope the two of you are out there enjoying the water ( now or soon!). Stay well!
watsons
Al is the true “Watsonizer” in our partnership, but I have LOTS of input.
Ann
Looking good to cruise in comfort and safely…
Enjoy
Gwynn Sterken
Wow! A lot of work to get it just the way you like it. But what fun?! Hope you are healing well Michele.
watsons
He loves all that”work”! Lives and breathes it.
The healing is coming along but more slowly than I would like, of course.