We've gone just about far enough

There comes a time when we realize that we've dismantled just about enough and we think we reached that point today.  The heat exchangers are back from being boiled out and repaired.  We primed them and applied two coats of blue Rustoleum engine paint. Two of the hose necks - one on each heat exchanger - needed repair and that was taken care of by Frank at the Auto Radiator Hospital.

With the heat exchangers removed, we now had access to the port starter. It seems to be working OK but last fall, the starboard starter acted up (worn brushes) and we had it rebuilt. Might as well take the port starter out and have it rebuilt, too.  We couldn't get the two mounting bolts off with our existing wrenches (no room for a socket), so that meant a trip to Sears for a 9/16" wrench with a nice six-point end.  With that, the bolts came out fairly quickly and we were able to lug this heavy old starter up onto the deck.

This week we'll take the starter to Joe's Auto Electric in Cromwell, CT. Don't laugh. Joe's is just like Frank at the Radiator Hospital.  These old guys know how to repair marine equipment and they don't charge a lot. Actually, Joe was replaced by his son some years ago, but he still does a good job.

With the port starer out, we took a good look at the wiring for the windlass battery.  Pretty shabby, so I  guess we'll rip all that out and start over again.  You have to love that corroded old 15-amp fuse in the ceramic holder. Strangely enough, it actually worked.

Along with all the things we're doing in the engine space this winter, Frances asked for better lighting in her galley.  There's a nice little shelf that runs above the counter tops and we found some LED strip lights that should mount there pretty easily. The strip is 37 inches long and contains 90 LEDs.  Here's what it looks like:

And turned on, it looks like Frances will have all the light she needs.

The lights come from superbrightleds.com and they cost about $22 for a 37 inch length. We bought two to cover all of the galley workspace.  We'll be looking for more applications after we install these.  They are very bright and the Admiral is thinking of lightening up the head space with LEDs like these as well.

It's Christmas Eve, so we'll enjoy the holiday and be back next weekend.

Happy Holidays & Healthy, Happy New Year to all.