Alizée Maintenance Log

Maintenance and upgrades, 2011

2011-01-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

Jan 11-16 - Took Alizee to the Sevens Seas Marina, Port Orange, where John Marrocco, Mobile Marine Repairs, did a bottom job with Trinidad 75 antifouling paint. Did a nice job, including cleaning, sanding and painting the prop as well and install a new collar zinc on the shaft and a DP2 plate zinc on the port stern hull. I also had him replace a damaged area of the 1" stainless hollow back rub rail on the starboard side.   Could have gotten the boat back on Saturday afternoon except that the tides were too low to launch her, so went over early Sunday and helped the crew launched her. We had to disconnect the forestay roller furler to get her on the travel lift, and we had a bit of a time getting it back in place. Highly recommend the yard and the staff, and Morrocco is a really careful and thorough sailboat mechanic ... and a surveyor as well.

Feb 16-Mar 3 - Preparing Alizee for a month-long cruise to Tampa Bay. I hired our boat neighbor Jon Amsden in December to clean and polish the hull and topsides, and he's continued helping me by stripping the old Cetak finish off the teak eyebrows and cap rails and giving them a sanding. We're going to leave them unfinished for now, perhaps varnishing them once we're in St. Petersburg.
    Meantime, we've cleaned the interior, inspected and checked out the winches, rigging, windlass and other tackle topside, launched the dinghy and made sure the dinghy motor runs properly, shopped for provisions and stowed them properly on board, and done other numerous little things to get Alizee ready to depart.
Feb 16 - Had J.R. Gassett at Cutter Doc Mobile Marine Service in New Smyna Beach do a full service on Alizee's Yanmar diesel - valve adjustment, new impeller, fuel and oil filters. I usually do the oil and filter changes, but I believe it's a good idea to have someone who really knows the engine tune it up annually. They usually do a better job on valve adjustments and such than I can accomplish, and often find little things I'd miss. J.R., for example, found some potential clogging in the air filter that I certainly didn't see until it was pointed out.
    Feb 26-28 - Wes Malone of Pro-Boat pulled out macerator, took it into the shop and replaced the impeller. Reinstalled it and it worked fine ... for a couple of minutes, then stopped pumping. Took it out again and into the shop, thinking perhaps the impeller was faulty. The impeller was faulty and a second new one was installed. It appears to be working fine on installation.
    Mar 1 - Bottom cleaning by Pro-Boat and fuel polished by Cutter Doc Mobile Marine.

Mar 22 - Repaired roller furling forestay with new pinion at foot. The cotter pin had failed and the pinion fell out while crossing from Key West to Fort Meyers Beach. No serious damage appears to have been done to the furler. Work completed by Olsen Marine Services, Fort Meyers Beach, in just about one hour.

6 Apr - Bottom cleaning by Sunfish Marine.

20 Apr - Rob Mundell, True North Sails, inspected the forestay connections at the mast top and the roller furling system. No problems observed.

21 Apr - Cleaned out and remounted exterior fixture on head vent, which had become so corroded it did not vent anything. Replaced a leaking half inch fresh water hose under the galley sink. Changed the oil and filter on the engine at 114.1 hours of service. Total engine hours: 2397.7.

28-29 Apr - General work days on Alizee, drying out and flaking sails and covering them, a thorough cleaning below decks, replacing a couple of dock lines, repairing some bad cracks on the Bottomsiders and cleaning all the stainless steel with a new brush-on, wash-off product called Spotless Stainless. This is an excellent product and it works exactly as advertised!

29 Apr - Replaced the coaxial cable running from the antenna to the Sirius Weather system unit. A nick in the cable probably caused by a fish holder cutting the cable covering, caused a permanent signal failure. It was a bit of a job pulling a replacement cable, but working together Ron of Everafter Marine and I managed to get it done. He also made some adjustments to my ST6000 autopilot.

31 May-1 Jun - Washed down and generally cleaned boat after five days sailing and on the hook. Repaired SSB antenna with a new splice in the antenna line and replaced the antenna tie-down cleat with a new one.
    Arranged with Jeff Grant, Ohana Sailing Services, to complete stripping the old Cetol off the exterior teak and finish preparing the teak for varnishing. Also talked with him and with Ron Bruhn, Sunfish Sailing, about a waxing and washing maintenance program. Finally, drove over to Salt Creek boatyard and talked with Jim Bradford about repairing the 1/2" round stainless along the starboard caprail and repairing a serious dent in the boom. Will arrange to take Alizee to a slip at the yard later this month. Flushed out water maker.

27 Jun-28 Jun - Removed Genoa and staysail and delivered to Keith Donaldson at Advanced Sails to replace sunbrella along the sail leach of each. Took the dinghy down from the davits and took it round into Salt Creek and put it in dry storage for the next three or four months of hurricane season. Finalized deal with Jeff Grant to work on the teak and wax and polish Alizee over the next month or so. Flushed out water maker.

22-23 Jul - Jeff Grant completed full wash down, waxing and polishing. Flushed water-maker.

22-23 Aug - Hurricane preparation for possibility of Hurricane Irene. Doubled all lines, added lines on port side, supported topping lift with mainsail halyard, added two fenders to starboard side, put Jacob's Ladder on mainsail, opened up dodger window and cleaned and took in seat cushions. Flushed water-maker.

14-17 Oct - Picked up sails from Advanced sails and put them up. Removed storm lines, picked up dinghy from storage and raised on davits, cleaned lockers fore and aft, filled forward water tank, cleaned out food lockers (bugs in dry locker), picked up CP for head at West Marine, filled spare propane tank, cleaned and vacuumed interior, defrosted refrigerator/freezer, cleaned BBQ, had new zipper installed on binnacle canvas cover at Lippincott Canvas in St. Pete, washed down topsides.

3-13 Oct - Took hatch cover screens home to strip old varnish on side exposed to the sun and apply four coats Epifanes satin varnish. Returned them to boat for cruise on 14 Oct.

24-28 Oct - Jeff Grant worked on stripping old Cetol off exterior teak.

7 Nov - End of ten-day cruise. Replaced filter element on Seagull IV fresh water filter, added quart of oil to engine (total hours = 2423.2; hours since last oil change = 43.6), thoroughly washed down boat.

8-19 Nov - Took hatch cover screens home and applied three more coats of varnish. Cut, sanded, glued and varnished cockpit table support pieces.

26-27 Nov - Cleaned the AC sea strainer. Rebuilt PHRKIIC Raritan head. Choker valve and flapper valve completely gone and clogged with lime. In process lime residue was sucked through shower sump line, clogging both the strainer and the line. Next day spent a couple of hours disassembling, cleaning and reassembling the shower sump line and strainer.

28 Nov - Met with Erik Hausch, Sailor's Wharf boat yard manager, and went of list of items needing repair and inspection on Alizee and arranged to take boat in on 14 Dec. I'm thinking of this as the 90,000 mile maintenance, and items on the list include:
1. Repair boom or replace. The existing spar is 15.75 feet long.
2. Locate and repair leaks on starboard chainplate(s). Focus on the forward chainplate which probably needs resetting and sealing.
3. Replace 1/2" SS 1/2-round guard on forward portion of caprail from chainplate to bow. Also, as part of this, extract screws in caprail with heads broken off. Patch the teak cap rail if possible.
4. Replace the damaged chainplate aluminum caps (2 on the starboard side; 1 on the port)
5. Service all winches.
6. Replace sanitation hoses (as needed) and vent hose and vent hardware if needed.
7. Repair macerator, repositioning if necessary.
8. Replace fresh water hoses. Replace outside shower head.
9. Repair fresh water pump and/or accumulator.
10. Repair inverter.
11. Touch up hull on starboard side and port stern with Awlgrip G 5002 (Flag Blue).
12. Inspect standing rigging and running rigging, and recommend needed replacements.
13. Put new bearings in KISS wind generator.
14. Repair/replace SS cage around bow navigation lights.
15. Tidy up the mast seal.
16. Inspect and lubricate steering cables.
17. Inspect engine shaft and adjust stuffing box.

18. Doa general survey of mechanical parts, thru-hulls, etc. and recommend any neededrepairs or replacements.

19. Have Advanced Sails inspect and make any minor repairs to main sail while the boom's being repaired.

29-30 Nov - Jeff Grant finished stripping old Cetol off exterior teak. After Alizee is out of the boat yard, we'll sand and varnish ... sometime in early 2012.

1 Dec - Removed cockpit table and cup holder and took home to renew varnish and install table support pieces.

14 Dec - Jeff Grant and I took Alizee into Sailor's Wharf boat yard. See 2012 maintenance record for work completed.

Maintenance and upgrades, 2010

2010-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

Jan 4 - Installed additional varnished teak spice rack plus a varnished teak knife/utensil rack in galley. Installed flashlight mount in aft cabin. Replaced existing pinewood fuel can rack with newly varnished teak rack.

Jan 7 - Tracked down blown fuse in Espar diesel heating system, and with the assistance of Pat Adsit, installed new fuse box and fuse. Replaced broken AA battery holder for stove lighter on Force 10 and cleaned out the oven burner orifice.

Jan 19 - Bottom cleaned and shaft collar zinc replaced.

Feb 4 - Added cruising spinnaker with ATN sleeve and tacker to sail inventory.

Feb 7-10 - Titusville, FL. Alternator not charging the batteries, a problem that was intermittent in the Chesapeake last fall. I thought the problem rested in the batteries, but they tested positive them in Daytona Beach. Now, after a full day motoring down to Titusville on Feb 6, we realized the problem had to be the alternator. We got a slip at the Titusville Marina and located Phil Scanlan, Mim’s Mobile Marine Service, who agreed to come out and check the alternator for us right away … on Super Bowl Sunday, no less. It was definitely bad, so the next morning Phil ordered a replacement and on the Feb 8 he came out and installed it.

We departed Titusville on Feb 9, and just a couple of miles down the ICW, we realized the batteries still were not charging. I called Phil and he directed us to the Kennedy Point Yacht Club and Marina, where we tied up (no electricity). He met us there and we tested the alternator (bad), and finally tracked down the battery isolator (buried deep behind panels in the port cockpit sail locker; likely bad). Phil located a Balmar replacement for the regulator and a Pro-mariner replacement for the Guest battery isolator, and he had them the next morning.

We’d wired up the new alternator to the regulator and battery isolator per the manual, and it still didn’t charge. After several phone calls back and forth with Balmar tech support, we discovered that the installation instructions for the new alternator were wrong. We needed to run the sensing wire from the alternator and regulator all the way back to the battery isolator as well, and we had a good time trying to snake the wire back to beneath the cockpit through the bilge and along the prop shaft.

But, finally, she charged … much better than the old alternator had when it was working. I’ll send the old alternator back to Balmar for repair, and then I’ll have a spare. An expensive repair, but I learned a lot working with Phil … he said, quite seriously, if I wanted some work when we got back from our cruise, he’d take me on as a helper. A nice vote of confidence.

Mar-May - Engine oil and filter changes completed every 100 hours while cruising in the Bahamas.

May 25 - Bottom cleaned by Dive Guana, Guana Cay, Bahamas.

Jun 8 - Repaired upper leech where Dutchman eye was torn away and put tabling pieces over four areas of chafing on leech. Work performed by True North Sailing, Daytona Beach.

Aug 3 - Replace Jabsco diaphragm bilge pump. Work performed by Pro Boat, South Daytona.

Aug 8-14 - Repairs to Walker Bay dinghy - replace oar lock, repair leaks. Work by Inflatables of Florida, Port Orange.

Aug-Dec - Monthly bottom cleaning and zinc inspections by Pro Boat, South Daytona.

Dec 26-31 - Boat neighbor Jon Amsden cleaned and polished hull and top sides.

Maintenance and upgrades, 2009

2009-02-23T21:08:00.001-08:00

February 10 - Installed Raymarine AIS 250 unit and SR 50 Sirius Weather Receiver. Trouble-shot Link 20 (a shorted out wire). Work by Peter Watterson, Seacoast Marine Electronics, Oriental, NC (Inv #525).

February 20-24 - Haul-out at Deaton's Yacht Service, Oriental, NC, for maintenance and repairs (Inv #14516):
    Pressure washed hull and renewed zincs.
    Removed barnacles from prop, polished, and treated.
    Removed stern tube and cutlass, replaced cutlass bearing, and reinstalled stern tube and cutlass.

While she was on the hard, polished hull and stainless.
Relaunched and moved to service dock.

    Checked engine alignment; shaft is out .004" but is within specificatons.
    Repacked stuffing box with Gortex packing and adjusted.
    Engine: 1600.3 hours. Adjusted valves and replaced valve cover gasket; installed new Raycor filters and primary fuel filter; drained oil and refilled with 5 quarts of Rotella 15-40 weight, and and changed oil filter; replaced impeller and lengthened ground wire on alternator to make future replacemnent of impeller easier; drained and refilled transmission fluid; drained and flushed cooling system, refilled with Rotella ELC, replaced coolant pressure cap and pressure tested; replaced saltwater pet cock under exhaust elbow and cleaned, treated and painted under exhaust manifold where pet cock had leaked; repaired minor fuel leak on fuel return line by cutting and reconnected; cleaned and painted air intake hose; washed engined, engine pan and bilge, and put new oil absorb pads under the engine.
    Load tested batteries, replaced worn battery cables, and reterminated cables and treated for corrosion.
    Resecured AWI anemometer cups to masthead transducer.

March 6 - At sea, half way between Beaufort, North Carolina and Marsh Harbour, Abacos, the Bahamas, tried to put Spectra water maker into service. Discovered leaks at the exit end of the membrane tube. Will have to remove the membrane, unscrew the end cap and replace it. Also discovered that the maceration pump is frozen, so will have to pull it and clean or replace (a dirty job awaits).

March 13-14 - At Conch Inn Marina, Marsh Harbour, washed down boat hull with fresh water, cleaned decks, and polished stainless. Secured loose wire on shower sump pump.

March 17 - At anchor, Marsh Harbour, put coat of teflon polish on hull. Added salad oil mix to head to keep it working smoothly. Removed C-80 chart plotter and took it into Merlin's Electronics at the Marsh Harbour Marina, where we agreed it needed to be returned to Raymarine to be repaired. One (or more) of the tiny prongs onto which the Navionics chip is inserted had were broken.

March 24 - Engine: 1702 hours. Changed oil and filter using old Big Boy extractor, which only pumped out 3.25 gallons. The Stearns electric pump did not work; I'll look for a replacement.

March 25 - Put second coat of teflon polish on hull. Polished stainless steel.

April 2 - Picked up C-80 plotter from Merlin's only to find that, while Raymarine had fixed the broken prongs and the unit worked, they sent it back with out final assembly ... it was missing keypads and all the screws that hold it together. Raymarine sent the screws and keypads and Merlin's finished the job. Truly pathetic service by Raymarine, and in the end they refused to cover any of it with the warranty, claiming only the user could have broken the prongs.

April 6-22 - At anchor in Marsh Harbour. Sanded, taped, and put two coats of Epifanes High Gloss Varnish on all Alizee's exterior teak. Put six coats on the board I put together to hold four 5-gallon diesel jugs along the port rail.

June 4-5 - At Halifax Harbour Marina, Daytona Beach. Washed down boat with Roll-Away. Replaced wire connections to macerator and turned the blades to free them up. Macerator now works, without having to replace it. Arranged with Joe at Pro-Boat to do monthly bottom cleaning and maintain zincs. Contacted Kevin at Tally's Mobile Marine to come out and look at the Spectra Water Maker on June 16.

June 6 - Installed new dome light above freezer in galley. The old one had completely corroded, and while the new one is a bit smaller, it works nicely. Put in new screws on freezer and refrigerator top lids.

June 10 - Had bottom cleaned and zincs inspected by Pro Boat diver. All good.

June 16-August 25 - Work completed on Spectra Water Maker. Cracked ends on membrane replaced, Clark pump removed and sent to Spectra for rebuild, replaced sight glass, and installed a fresh water flush kit (which allows flushing every 3-4 weeks rather than pickling, when water maker not in use. Work performed by Talley's Mobil Marine, Palm Coast, FL (Inv #5383).

September 1-3 - Varnished a teak spice rack and magazine rack to mount aboard Alizee.

September 4 - Engine: 1777 hours. Received briefing from Kevin at Talley's Mobile Marine on Spectra system and doing the fresh-water flush. Installed spice and magazine racks, and sanded and applied a couple of coats of varnish to the moulding around the galley counters. Changed oil and filter on Yanmar using the new West Marine 12v oil changer ... slow, but it got every ounce of the old oil out. Remounted the bimini canvas, which I'd taken down as a storm precaution. Penelope and Patricia washed down the topsides and cleaned the Bottomsider cushions.

September 5 - Defrosted the refrigerator/freezer. Cleaned up some tools that water had gotten into and started a rust problem.

September 10 - Bottom cleaned.

September 28 - Engine: 1905.7 hours. Oil and filter change. Note that since last oil change - 128.7 hours - added 3 quarts of oil, one quart for every 43 hours.

November 9 - Water maker fresh-water flush.

November 20 - Rigging inspection by True North Sails, Daytona Beach.

November 24 - Bottom cleaned.

November 25 - Engine: 2058.2 hours. Changed oil and filter, one Raycor filter, primary fuel filter and raw water intake impeller. Drained a bit of algae out of the Raycor filter, and operating pressure much improved after changing filter.

December 3-21 - Rigging and sail repairs and tuning. Remove Genoa, staysail and mainsail, take to loft, inspect and make minor repairs (patch five tears in Genoa and staysail sunbrella covers and spray with 303 High-tech fabric guard), including replacing and securing one Dutchman p-disc. Remove staysail furler and remove, repair and re-bed bent inner forestay chainplate with oversize backing plate. Replace cone for Norseman stud at deck level in inner forestay. Replace broken parts on staysail furler with new Profurl NC32 extrusion (full length, double-luff groove) and feeder section. Seal mast with Spartite.
Straighten smashed bow light bracket (only partially successful; one weld failed). Replace bow light with Aqua Signal Ser. 41 (AQ41100) Bicolor 25W/12V bowlight. Replace standard 12V Tricolor and anchor light bulbs with LEDs (Marinebeam).
    Work completed by True North Sailing Services, Daytona Beach, FL (Invoice 37676).

December 17 - Bottom cleaned.

December 27 - Replace standard 12V interior light bulbs with LEDs from Marinebeam.

December 31 - Average fuel use in 2009: 289.142 gallons - 452.7 hours - .639 gph.
   Bahamas trip total: 114.5 gallons - 171.9 hours - .666 gph.
        Beaufort, NC to Marsh Harbour, Bahamas: 63.4 gallons - 92.2 hours - .688 gallons/hour.
        Sea of Abacos: 23 gallons - 38 hours - .6053 gallons/hour.
        Marsh Harbour to Daytona Beach: 28.1 gallons - 41.7 hours - .674 gph.
   Cheseapeake Bay trip total: 174.642 gallons - 280.8 hours - .622 gph
        Daytona Beach to Isle of Palms, SC: 26.1 gallons - 51 hours - .512 gph.
        Isle of Palms to Surf City, NC: 20.65 gallons - 35.6 hours - .580 gph.
        Surf City to Coinjoick, NC: 24.4 gallons - 29.5 hours - .827 gph.
        Coinjock to St. Michaels, MD: 15 gallons - 28.9 hours - .519 gph.
        St. Michaels to Oriental, NC: 36.3 gallons - 58.8 hours - .617 gph.
        Oriental to Cape Fear, NC: 15.692 gallons - 22.8 hours - .688 gph.
        Cape Fear to Daytona Beach: 36.5 gallons - 54.2 hours - .673 gph.

Maintenance and upgrades, 2008

2009-02-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

June 14 - Vacuum sand bottom, clean all hardware, apply two-coats of "red" Petit Ultima bottom pain, make Awlgrip paint repairs on transom and aft hull section (prep, paint, and buff). Work by Diversified Marine, Annapolis, MD (Inv #362).

July 15 - Install Kato Island Davit Set with stabilizer for newly purchased Walker Bay 270 dinghy with 9.6 Tohatsu outboard. Installation by Southern Cross Marine, Annapolis, MD (Inv #4401 and #4418).

August 9 - Replace faulty water tank and holding tank sender units. Work by Southern Cross Marine, Annapolis, MD (Inv #4402).

August 11 - Engine service: change oil and filters, primary fuel filter, two Racor 500 filters, impeller change, and check transmission fluid. Work by Bay Shore Marine (Inv #39666).

August 12 - Replace and test Dutchman mainsail control lines, modify and install new boom sheaves for reef lines. Work by Madden Masts and Rigging, Annapolis, MD (Inv #3493).

August 13 - Adjust stuffing box, install 12v lighter plug, trouble-shoot reefing lines, lube mainsail tracks, replace refrigerator evacuation pump, reposition outboard motor hoist, clear all scuppers. Work by Simon Edwards, Annapolis, MD.

August 13-15 - Clean bottom and check zincs; clean and wax decking and polish stainless.

August 15 - Install Raymarine C-80 system with Raymarine RD218 2kW 18" radar. Work by EMI Electronic Marine Inc, Annapolis, MD (Inv #4942).

August 15 - Recover interior cushions in United Velvatone 155 Olive and make sunbrella connector for bimini and dodger. Work by Canvas Creations, Anapolis, MD (Inv #1252).

August 16 - Install three new series 27 105AH AGM batteries.

September 8 - Repair torn areas and add chafe protector to bimini. Work by Down East Canvas, Oriental, NC.

Alizee history and pre-2008 maintenance and upgrades

2009-02-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

The 36' cutter Alizee was designed by William Crealock for Cabo Rico Yachts in 2000 as a modification of the Cabo Rico 34. Crealock extended the CR 34 stern, improving access to the steering system and adding a large lazarette locker to better accommodate all gear for cruising. The stern extension balanced out the original design, which was bow heavy with water tankage and anchor chains, so the CR 36 gained a bit in waterline on a heel and gained in speed. Alizee is hull #2 of the new 36' design, and she was commissioned in May 2001 for Bob and Dunja Hegeman, who sailed her from Florida to New England - her was documented hailing port was Colchester, Vermont. They subsequently brought her back to cruise the Bahamas. For four or five years, she was berthed regularly at Marsh Harbour Marina in Abacos. Bob and Dunja decided they really wanted a larger boat, since they spent so much time aboard, so they put Alizee on the market in 2007, first in Florida and then moved her to Annapolis, Maryland, in spring 2008. There she was purchased by James Williams in June 2008.

Alizee specifications

LOA (w/bowsprit)	38' 7"
LWL	26'10"
Beam	11'
Draft	4'10"
Displacement	17,400
Sail area (total)	745

During the years the Hegeman's owned Alizee, they installed an after-market Sitex/Nobeltec radar/chart plotter system and an FCF 16,000 btu air-conditioning unit. Simon Edwards, a delivery captain and boat manager in Annapolis, did much of the maintenance on the boat during the period 2001-2008. No maintenance log was provided on transfer of ownership, and few receipts for maintenance were discovered.