Ganley Pacemaker Fit Out Project

[Beren]

Hi,

I have been fortunate (or possibly insane enough) to purchase an unfinished 60ft Steel Yacht. Now I need to complete the boat and would really appreciate some pointers in project management, sourcing materials and construction. We are looking for a comfortable live aboard vessel for 2 adults and 2 kids.

The Hull was completed in a professional yard and had a really decent undercoat put on it, she has a plethora of below decks holding tanks and a mounted Cummings BT4 engine.

Internally it has a floor throughout that has been built out of marine ply - however it has been open to the elements for some time and a bit of the ply is slightly spongey and I suspect needs to be replaced.

I need some great advice on, Plumbing and Fitting out Heads, Internal wiring with both 240v and 12v and Navigation Electrics, Windows and most importantly project managing everything so we do it all in the right order.

Is there a couple of manuals that are more strongly recommended than any others?

 

[Norman_E]

This one? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1367903154.htm

As for manuals, Nigel Calder's book is probably one of the best. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006QA720O/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 As for installing heads, most marine toilets come with an installation guide and you really need to decide what type you want to have. As you appear to have a sewage tank below the waterline you will need to fit a pump to empty it at sea. as well as plumbing an outlet to a deck fitting if you are going to use shore based pump out.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The first thing to do if you do not have it under storage is to make it weather tight i.e. instal the ports and glass. Then get to work on the interior. Difficult to give advice on equipment or sources as this is a UK based forum but domestic push fit water pipes are the norm nowadays and should be easily sourced, heads are standard marine type either electric flush or manual presumably you are going to have to cut holes in the hull for water and discharge. This is a major project. There is no mention of mast or rigging either, are they included. For the electrics use tinned wire available from the US unless you can source in NZ or Oz.

 

[Tranona]

This is a massive undertaking, and one might be tempted to say if you have to ask such basic questions you should not be taking it on!

You have at least 15000 hours of labour to fit it out to even a basic standard. Even though (according to the ad) you have the expensive hardware, engine and rig included, doubt you will get any change out of $NZ 250000 in materials'

A rule of thumb is that a hull is 20-25% of the boat, so with the engine installed you are less than 40% of the way there.

 

[Beren]

The first thing to do if you do not have it under storage is to make it weather tight i.e. instal the ports and glass. Then get to work on the interior. Difficult to give advice on equipment or sources as this is a UK based forum but domestic push fit water pipes are the norm nowadays and should be easily sourced, heads are standard marine type either electric flush or manual presumably you are going to have to cut holes in the hull for water and discharge. This is a major project. There is no mention of mast or rigging either, are they included. For the electrics use tinned wire available from the US unless you can source in NZ or Oz.

Thanks for the advice We were close on the same order ourselves. The Portholes have been placed but I need to get glass cut to fit the frames. Likewise the Deck Hatches are on but taped in not sealed. The only hatch completely open is the main entry which we need to get onto.

My first concern is the boat is quite wet inside at the moment - and I need to balance getting the moisture out with making it weathertight. Once all the glass is in I can have all the hatches open while we are there, but it is not going to be airing the boat out while we are away. Is there a good solution for that?

Also with installing the glass, I was thinking of sanding back the paint and re priming and undercoating with the paint system we are going to use so that I can properly fit the windows once rather than have to take the windows off again when we paint. I am planning on using international perfection as we are going to be applying the top coat with a roller and that appears to give the best finish. Do I need to top coat under the window seal or is primer and undercoat sufficient?

 

[pvb]

I have been fortunate (or possibly insane enough) to purchase an unfinished 60ft Steel Yacht.

Insane is the right word! As Tranona has pointed out, this is a mammoth project. It will take you many years, unless you employ other people to do the work. In your first post on these forums, you said your budget was $120,000 to buy the boat and to include maintenance and running costs. This 60ft boat will cost you several times that. If you want to regain your sanity, I'd seriously suggest you consider reselling the project boat and buying a smaller one which is already built and which you can use this year - not in 10-15 years' time.

 

[Beren]

I have spent quite a lot of time on boats and understand some of the basic systems, however I have never fitted a boat out before and would rather ask people with lots more knowledge than me basic questions than ask something specific and find that I have missed something elementary!

I have designed the plumbing system based on using TrueDesign fittings which appear to be very highly thought of and relatively elementary to install.

The thing that makes me really nervous is making more holes than absolutely required in the steel - so I am trying to work out smart ways to vent the boat without needing to cut ports where at all possible, and how to use the minimum number of seacocks.

There is a very large radar arch at the back of the boat which is hollow and already purposed as a breather for the engine. I think I can for want of a better term create an HRV system circulating air to the front of the boat by using some ducting and 12v PC fans which will exhaust through the same system.

 

[Tranona]

I have spent quite a lot of time on boats and understand some of the basic systems, however I have never fitted a boat out before and would rather ask people with lots more knowledge than me basic questions than ask something specific and find that I have missed something elementary!

I have designed the plumbing system based on using TrueDesign fittings which appear to be very highly thought of and relatively elementary to install.

The thing that makes me really nervous is making more holes than absolutely required in the steel - so I am trying to work out smart ways to vent the boat without needing to cut ports where at all possible, and how to use the minimum number of seacocks.

There is a very large radar arch at the back of the boat which is hollow and already purposed as a breather for the engine. I think I can for want of a better term create an HRV system circulating air to the front of the boat by using some ducting and 12v PC fans which will exhaust through the same system.

I am amazed you are wasting any time thinking about plumbing systems at this point - although you are right in using Tru Design valves. However you are several years oft fitting the rest of the plumbing, or indeed any systems.

Talking about wet and rotting plywood flooring and the boat being damp inside fills me with dread. Steel is a good material for building one off boats, but it hates getting damp, particularly inside. Corrosion will have started already and you will spend the rest of your life fighting it. The only way to stand a chance of keeping it under control is to strip the hull inside and shot blast it clean before applying a protective coating. Steel boats rot from the inside out and it is pointless spending time and money fitting an interior into a boat that is already corroding.

Sorry to sound negative, but if you paid anywhere near that advertised price it is telling you the boat is essentially worthless and it would be foolish to spend any money on it without first getting back to a sound hull.

 

[garvellachs]

This one? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1367903154.htm

If that's the boat I think on the drawings she looks magnificent - I can see why you have fallen for her.

It's not clear how much comes with the hull and engine, but if there are sails (mentioned in the advert) then I guess there must be a mast. Everything will be big to be associated with a boat that size: things like winches and rigging and deck gear are all going to be big and expensive to cope with the loads. On a limited budget you need to make a list of the main things you need (it will be long) and wait patiently for items to come up for sale in NZ or OZ; for major items it must be worth shipping from US and Europe too?

If you are renting, perhaps you want to move on board as soon as you can? I guess you could try to fit the hull out crudely with plywood to get going, with a longer term plan to fit her out to sea-going standard. Think house-boat to begin with. But the partner and children are going to have to be very tolerant!

We've done most maintenance jobs on smaller (grp not steel) boats so PM me if you want. We also know NZ fairly well and love the can-do attitude that prevails.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Thanks for the advice We were close on the same order ourselves. The Portholes have been placed but I need to get glass cut to fit the frames. Likewise the Deck Hatches are on but taped in not sealed. The only hatch completely open is the main entry which we need to get onto.

My first concern is the boat is quite wet inside at the moment - and I need to balance getting the moisture out with making it weathertight. Once all the glass is in I can have all the hatches open while we are there, but it is not going to be airing the boat out while we are away. Is there a good solution for that?
I think the only real answer to that is a couple of dehumidifiers and the cost of electricity to run them plus stripping out as much wet stuff as you can.
Also with installing the glass, I was thinking of sanding back the paint and re priming and undercoating with the paint system we are going to use so that I can properly fit the windows once rather than have to take the windows off again when we paint. I am planning on using international perfection as we are going to be applying the top coat with a roller and that appears to give the best finish. Do I need to top coat under the window seal or is primer and undercoat sufficient?

Without doubt put on the top coat and feather each coat of each paint so that when you come to finish painting you don't have to expose them with a lot of sanding I would suggest at least 5cm of each layer of paint left as an exposed edge which means you will have a significant area of paint work around the ports, if they are on the same level consider a band of finished paint encompassing all of them. Preparation of the steel is paramount in painting steel and there are standards of shot blasting to adhere to for different finishes and uses, hope the below waterline was done correctly.

I have spent quite a lot of time on boats and understand some of the basic systems, however I have never fitted a boat out before and would rather ask people with lots more knowledge than me basic questions than ask something specific and find that I have missed something elementary!

I have designed the plumbing system based on using TrueDesign fittings which appear to be very highly thought of and relatively elementary to install.

The thing that makes me really nervous is making more holes than absolutely required in the steel - so I am trying to work out smart ways to vent the boat without needing to cut ports where at all possible, and how to use the minimum number of seacocks.

Consider using a manifold and central box to collect and evacuate water from a single point and also a single one to take in sea water but be sure to put isolation stop cocks because if you are running your engine then it will pull air from the others, ask me how I know

There is a very large radar arch at the back of the boat which is hollow and already purposed as a breather for the engine. I think I can for want of a better term create an HRV system circulating air to the front of the boat by using some ducting and 12v PC fans which will exhaust through the same system.

PC fans will not move sufficient air to enable such a system better use a proprietary engine blower or some other bigger fans. PC fans are OK in a limited capacity in local areas such as cupboards and dorades.