Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Pretzel Can

In yesterday's blog, I left out one important facet of yesterday's project of installing the new console in the Whaler.  This was something that I think deserved its own post.

When attaching the Teleflex steering box to the new mounting bracket, I found that the three bolts previously used were much too long, by three or four inches.  Crap.  This would delay finishing the project (and the associated victory beer) by several hours, perhaps a whole day.   These were no ordinary bolts.  They were three long bolts, about eight inches long, 1/4-20, that threaded through the mounting bracket and into the Teleflex steering box.  Finding replacements would require a trip to a very well stocked hardware store.

The previous owner of Drift Away, Mr. Van Breems (a person I've never known but have come to admire) was meticulous in sorting out and storing parts.  I searched through his stash of nuts and bolts but didn't find anything close.  And then I saw it.  The pretzel can.


This pretzel can is very old, about the same age as me, sixty-one.  My dad tossed left over nuts and bolts in it from his projects for as long as I can remember.  When I was just a little kid helping my dad work on his projects, one of my jobs was to find a nut to fit a bolt, or a bolt to fit a nut, and I'd be sent to sort through the pretzel can.  When my dad passed away in 2010 and my sister and I were going through his things, I found the pretzel can under his work bench.  I had to have it.

I poured the contents of the pretzel can out in my "workshop" (the old vee berth, now the place where I stash all my stuff) and began looking through the pile of nuts and bolts.  I knew this would be hopeless, but I heard my dad's voice telling me to keep looking.  First I found one bolt the right size and length.  Amazing. And then the second.  Incredible.  When I found the third, I could feel my dad smiling down on me, telling me "job well done", dispite my whining.  The pretzel can never fails.

I finished assembling the steering console, thanks to an old dented pretzel can's magic.  Thanks dad. I miss you.

I put the finishing touches on the Boston Whaler on the flybridge roof yesterday.  I charged the battery, filled the tank with gas, and put a 1/4"-5/16 NPT fitting on the gas filter.   I tossed all the project debris in the Whaler out and shop vacced it clean.  All we need to do now is anchor out and launch it to see if it will start.  Time for a victory beer!



Thinking of anchoring, we'll need to use the electric hoist on the roof to launch the Whaler and the windlass to retrieve the anchor.   I hied myself up to the marina and bought a couple of bottles of gear lube and topped off both the windlass and the hoist.  The hoist took practically nothing, while the windlass took a pint and a half.

While I was playing boat, Pam decided to wash blinds.  We have seven sets of blinds in the saloon (for my landlubber friends, that's what the boat's living room is called.  No, I don't know why.  It's maritime tradition).  It was a major chore to remove them, scrub them on the dock, and put them back.  Pamela actually called for a victory beer before she was finished with this project.   I know, a serious violation of the victory beer rules (section 3, paragraph 12, premature celebration), but I endulged her anyway.  She's my honey.


Just for kicks I thought I'd try the windlass.   Nothing.  Not even a peep.  ~sigh~.  And this was something that worked since we bought the boat.  So today (Sunday) is our last planned day at Isle of Hope Marina and I'll have to see if I can track down the problem.  It must be something electrical.  I hope it's something electrical.  This is a $10,000 windlass.  Maybe I'll threaten it with the pretzel can.

8 comments:

  1. Another solution to your bolt problem would have been a hacksaw to shorten them.

    Bill Kelleher

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    1. That would have been the easy fix, Bill, except the old bolts were only threaded for the last inch.

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    2. I forgot that you don't do anything the easy way. LOL

      The bolt makers are making them cheaper with less threads. :((

      Bill Kelleher

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  2. When our windlass fails, it's always a corrosion problem. Clean ALL the contacts and voila, we have a windlass again. Of course, that involves contortionism and emptying the sail locker to get to the windlass battery, but at least it's not expensive! :) Here's a link to a SAIL article I wrote on windlass tips: http://commutercruiser.com/anchors-aweigh-windlass-tips-sail-magazine-november-2010/ Love the pretzel can!

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  3. Hope it was all stainless stuff in the Pretzel can!

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  4. I checked my manual and discovered that Pam's beer would have been classified as an inspiration beer. These are allowed when said project is particularly daunting and are, in fact encouraged if sweating is involved. They should, of course, be followed by a victory beer.

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    1. You are, of course, correct, but did you see the asterisk and the warning? I quote... "Warning- partaking of an inspriration beer may lead to a procrastination beer or three and preclude a project from completion."

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