Anacapa Pilothouse Motorsailers

Hey all! Temps are already in the mid 90s, and humidity is high. We've been busy here, and have just finished a week off to work on the boat. here's some pics:

This was our aft cabin one month ago. Sleeping arrangements were spartan...

Here's the holding tank (55 Gal) going in...

Rebuilt steering rams and new hoses and tubing are in...

Here are some of the systems going in. You can see the heaters, plus new air conditioner ducting and the new hanging locker here...

Here I am making new cleats for the aft cabin hull ceiling...

Here they are glassed in place. We finally finished the small cupboard in the galley, which houses the steering pump for the cockpit helm. Here's a pic with some of Marisa's favorite goodies:

and here is the pump exposed:

One of the favorite things we did on this vacation was to start building the pilothouse cabin furniture, but before we could begin, we needed to mold a few corners. We built a mold from MDF and PVC pipe, and added wax paper for parting the finished pieces:

Next we cut slits in normal plywood, which help the wood to bend around the mold. We then trowel on thickened epoxy, and clamp the plywood onto the mold with ratchet straps to add quite a bit of pressure:

Finally we remove the molded piece, sand smooth and then, using MAS FLAG epoxy we laminate on our Sappele mahogany veneer. Here's a finished piece glassed in to our new settee:

Here's the roughed out settee:

Work is progressing, and we are probably less then a month behind schedule for an August launch date. We have been working every weekend and most nights 'til at least 8PM. It's gonna be tough, but I think we can make it... 

BTW, PLEASE send in any updated pics of your Anacapas you might have, or simply post them in your gallery folders. Have a great June, and we'll post soon, C+M

Hey all! Weather has been tough on us lately, but we have been plugging along. Here's a few pics of our progress on the galley:

The plumbing is not complete, but here's a pic of the interior of the sink cabinette. The PEX tubing terminates in shut-off valves and connects to both the faucet and a foot pump which pumps to the small spout on the right side of the sinks:

There is a narrow pull-out "pantry" to hold bags and wraps plus cooking utensils, and a tilt-out trash door under the sink. Next will be the board behind the countertop and a cupboard next to the door into the head. We should be starting the aft cabin in around a week. SPRING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!  C+M

Hi All! Happy New Year! Now that the major head work is complete, we have started the galley. We will be installing a Force 10 3-burner stove / oven in the new stainless lined cut-out. Here's some pics:

Still to install are double sinks, an Avonite countertop (you can see the samples resting on the cabinetry), a pull-out garbage receptacle, a whale footpump, and a bunch more. Working down on the ground is tough right now, with snow sticking around and more forecasted soon. Here's our workshop:

That's all for now... more to come shortly. C+M

Hey all! Just a quick post to show off the new head. Challenger Anacapas all featured a bathtub in the master head, and we have kept this feature in our new head design. Here's a few pics:

The tub is raised on a platform, and you can see the new pedestal sink designed by Marisa. Snazzy new fixtures finish off the look, with the plumbing behind the bulkhead under the dinette seat. The tub and sink drain into a new Whale greywater tank with a Gulper 220 pump and electronic sensor. We still need to plug the screw holes and varnish, but each piece of the sapelle mahogany woodwork has been CPES epoxied. 

Next we see the storage locker behind the tub. Marisa has lined the entire locker with cedar. Pretty classy! The sliding doors are frosted plexiglass in a plastic channel. Last, here's the new head:

The Lavac is one of the World's simplest heads. The pump is separate and mounts through the bulkhead. Vacuum created by the pump draws in flushing water because the seat and lid are both sealed when closed. Access doors below the tub and head allow access to their respective seacocks. Still to come, we have the tub trim, bulkhead trim and overheads to install, along with a mirror and grab railings. See ya soon!

We've been making good progress lately, and here's some pics to prove it! First off, We have replaced all the teak on deck with Plastic Lumber. Here's a few pics before the fastener holes are plugged:

This trim might not appeal to everyone, but it's total lack of necessary maintenance should make it worth considering. Next up, the Bow Pulpit is finally reinstalled, complete with new anchor rollers and forestay mount. The grey plastic tread boards really set it off!

Last but not least, we have completed Charisma's repaint. Here's a few pics, followed by a short description of the process:

What a transformation! After sanding down smooth, we applied two coats of Interlux Epoxy Primecoat, sanding between coats. We followed this with three coats of Interlux Perfection Med. white, wet sanding between each coat. All paint was applied with the roller tipping method, where one person rolls on the paint while a second lightly rolls afterward with a "dry" roller. We used "Slicker" foam rollers, and all in all we are quite happy with the results. There is stipple, but it's light and uniform, with the Perfection's shine really coming through. Each coat of Perfection uses 1/2 gallon, with a little left over. Conditions must be PERFECT. Very little wind, very little humidity, temp. between 55 and 75 F, and absolutely NO DEW OVERNIGHT! If even the slightest hint of dew should form, your paint job will be flat white in the morning. Ask us how we know... Notice too that we have installed our new lifelines. We were all set to use self-crimp fittings, when a great guy by the name of Dave Thompson of John Eggers Sailmakers in NJ suggested we price out the job with both hand crimp and machine crimp fittings. The difference in cost is marginal, the strength higher, and the labor MUCH lower to have a rigger make them up for you. All fittings are from Johnson. Total time for lifeline replacement: 2 hours! One hour to measure and remeasure, and one hour to install the new lifelines when they arrive. Dave was amazing, and had the lifelines at our doorstep TWO days after we ordered them. GREAT WORK!  That's it for now, but more to come soon, as we are installing the heating system and exhaust systems right now. Take care, Chris and Marisa

          Hey everybody! We finally applied the second (and last) coat of primer yesterday. All went well, but that Interlux primer just doest like to lay down. Should be an easy sanding this time though... We are also working on the cockpit trim right now. We are using grey plastic lumber, and so far the results are really neat. Pics to follow. 

         Here's something really cool; We are currently packing, as our house is sold and we are starting to pare down our belongings to get ready for cruising. I was going through the stuff that was originally on the boat when we bought her, and I came across the Panama Canal vessel certificate she was issued on her trip from CA to Florida. One of the staples holding the certificate into the frame fell out, and along with it was this:

It's an original "Boat Card" from the original owners, Trish and Ken! Great artwork! I'm guessing it's around 33 years old, and in pretty darn good shape. That's it for now... we've gotta go pack! Chris and Marisa

Hello Anacapa lovers! First, here's a pic of our new refrigerator / freezer:

Marisa is applying the finishing touches to the Reflectix insulation. To try and bring up the Dometic units efficiency, we added 4" of closed cell foam and finished off with reflectix. We'll see how it goes... Next, we applied our first coat of two-part primer to the topsides.

Before:

After:

Interlux Epoxy Primekote does not lay down very well, and does not cover very well, but boy does it STICK! Next comes a overall sanding, followed by filling any remaining flaws, and a recoat. We are going to use Interlux Perfection as our topcoat, applied with foam rollers. We'll post the results ASAP. That's all for now, wish us luck, Chris and Marisa

Hi all! Been a while since our last post, but we have been busy. Most all of the plumbing is roughed in, all of the engine, pump, battery bank and charging wiring is in (pics to follow soon). When Marisa and I bought Charisma, her bottom was in a horrific state (the boat's, that is :-). We had her professionally peeled down to solid glass, and after two years of off and on epoxying, sanding, filling, and a whole bunch of MAS epoxy barrier coats, she is finally done! Here she is after two coats of Trinidad bottom paint:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We have a ton of other stuff to post soon, I just have to remember to bring the camera down to the boat to snap some pics to go with my next blog. We hope all of you Challenger owners (and SPBW's owners) out there are having a great Summer. We look forward to hearing from you soon, Calm seas and blue skies, Chris and Marisa

Hi all! This week we installed the hydraulic steering lines and fittings. Challenger Anacapas use Teleflex Capilano steering helms and cylinders. These are connected with 1/2" copper refrigeration tubing and 45 deg. SAE flare fittings. Only the cylinders are plumbed with flexible hosing. Here's a few pics of the inside steering station;

The last picture shows a special Bleeding valve. When opened, you spin the upper helm station and air is forced out of the system. This is necessary because the hose which connects the hydraulic reservoirs does not have a constant rise from lower to upper helm. Next up we see the area under the upper helm...

You can see the new helm pump mounting plates and bearing in this last picture. The head wall and cabinet have been removed here. All this plumbing and control gear will eventually be encased in joiner work.  Lastly, here's a pic of the finished bilge pump installation and the grey water tank that will evacuate the fridge drain, bathtub and head sink...

Above, you can see the CPVC pipe that goes down into the deepest area of the bilge for the main bilge pump. The coupling allows the quick removal and cleaning of the pipe. The grey water tank has an electronic sensor and the pump is mounted on the other side of the bulkhead. All these pumps are Whale Gulper 220 diaphragm with 3/4" unrestricted flow. You can also see several clear access ports in the cabin sole. These were installed to allow better inspection and access to things such as the stuffing box and prop shaft coupling. Until next time, C + M

Hi all! I thought I'd post this installment about some new tech that can help cruisers curtail their electricity appetite. I recently came across these new LED light bulbs from Philips that replace halogen MR16 bulbs. Here they are...in HOME DEPOT!

We have 10 Halogen reading lights aboard Charisma, and each draw 1.50 amps @ 13.8 VDC. They also throw off quite a bit of heat. These new Philips bulbs only use 4 watts! That's .29 amp @ 13.8 VDC. Not only that, they barely warm up! Here's a close-up of the flood version:

Philips offers both warm and cool color temperatures in both flood (25 deg) and spot (10 deg) lighting patterns. Here is the flood, spot and a regular halogen from left to right:

Now comes the bad news; the flood retails for $29.95 at HD, the spot is $19.95. Both bulbs have warranties of over 5 YEARS and actually are advertised as lasting 15 and 20 years. Let's look at the light patterns compared:

On the left we see the Halogen bulb, the LED spot is at center, and the LED flood is on the right. We chose the flood, and found it very easy to read by. Charisma goes GREEN! 'Til next time, Chris and Marisa