Revised Artwork

Portside driveshaft coupling

11 bolts out – one refuses to come out. Spent the whole day trying to remove this, so I can see why there is a gap and unnecessary play between the coupling halves. Finally had to walk away from it; tomorrow is another day to try something else.

Hands are exhausted and painful. Back didn't appreciate the prolonged torture of the cramped space. Still hate the fact that the kitchen cabinetry was built right over the drivetrain. Bad planning. No planning...

Have to find replacement bolts...

Fabricating wall coverings

Made the coverings for the pantry and guest bedroom from oak plywood. More caulking and priming everywhere.

Spent an hour's worth of back-and-forth talking to Buddy Purcell, owner of Huckins Yachts about the couplings and asked about the manifold bilge system. He said only one was built (for the Navy); a very elaborate system that allows for the engine vacuum to assist in emptying the bilges.

Talked to Bob at Underwater Maintenance to get divers to replace the bolts which hold the zinc plates so this can finally be hooked up correctly to prevent all the corrosion.

Removing the portside driveshaft bearing

Paul helped me remove the defective bearing which was busted. This was caused by the excessive vibration due to the fact that the engine mounts were shot (somebody had the smart idea of using pieces of plywood instead of rubber...).

After a couple hours with a circular saw and lots of sparks, we managed to cut through the steel bearing so now I can replace this with the new split bearing I got.

Can't believe someone built a whole kitchen cabinet right above the drivetrain, with no thought about access for maintenance and repairs. Not very smart.

Also saw that the shaft was not grounded. Thus the corrosion on the shaft. Part of the big problem of nothing being attached to the zinc plates which are supposed to keep this from happening.

Primed the hull which we've been prepping for weeks.