Anacapa Pilothouse Motorsailers

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