In one of our early posts we noted that when we got Circe we felt she was suffering from 'benign neglect'. While working through our various rehabilitation projects we have revised our opinion somewhat, as we have discovered numerous 'horrors' in all areas of the boat. Some were the result of crappy work done by the PO's but some were clearly done at the factory during the original assembly and more than once, half seriously, we have joked about re-naming her 'Lemon' or 'Monday Morning'. Either way, we thought it might be fun to record them here in their own post. The photos are in no particular order or priority and we will add to them from time to time, as and when new 'delights' are discovered or misfortune befalls us.
From our first inspection of the boat we knew about this problem with the primary battery wiring. We used it to our advantage during the sales negotiation but, as it truly was a horror, we thought it deserved a spot in this post.
Chainplate bolt too long. Acorn nut bottoms out before tightening down on washers. This problem wasn't visible until the 'naugahyde nightmare' was pulled out.
Salon window aperture cut freehand (very badly) with jigsaw at the factory. Several of the windows had similar problems.
Massive amounts of caulk on salon window to compensate for window aperture cut way oversize.
Wrong size washers used on chainplate bolts. 8 bolts were this way.
3 way connectors used to tap power from lighting circuit for a radio. Hot and return connectors lying side by side with no insulation.
Chainplate bolts shortened with hacksaw and end left raw. 8 bolts were this way.
The hacksaw strikes again. Genoa track securing bolt cut off too short and end left raw.
Propane supply hose going through propane locker floor without the proper vapor-tight bulkhead fitting. Raw hole with virtually no sealant.
AC and DC wiring jammed through raw hole behind chainplate 'knee'.
AC and DC wiring chafing on raw fiberglass hole at bulkhead.
3 way connector left hanging at DC panel.
Regular steel nut and washer used on water tank breather fitting.......badly corroded. From the splotches of paint its clear this was done at the factory!
Ring terminals on Autohelm circuit breaker connections wrong size and badly crimped.
Hole in the pick-up hose for the manual bilge pump. The pump worked, but only just! An oversize screw in a cable clamp was the culprit.
A couple of gallons of adhesive used to glue a small piece of foam insulation to the underside of each engine room hatch. Looks like it was done by a drunk on an acid trip.......well, it was 1982!
We wondered why the propane locker lid was so stiff. Here is the answer...... one of two hinges installed incorrectly, out of alignment, causing binding and stress cracks in the gelcoat.
The next four shots show some more items overlooked in Islander's QA department. In this first one the mounting holes for one of the starboard bow pulpit leg bases were drilled incorrectly. Nothing that a good dollop of caulk can't hide!!!!
Two horrors hiding under the cap rail varnish. At left is a retaining screw drilled too close to the edge of the scarf joint so it split the cap rail. At right is a cross screw through the scarf joint that was incorrectly angled and has broken out on top of the cap rail after the rail was sanded. Close up shots below.
In addition to putting the screw too close to the joint the plug was a bad fit and had been filled up with some sort of goop.
When it broke out, instead of replacing the screw with a shorter one and filling the divot with wood putty, the screw tip had been filed flat and covered with a blob of brown paint prior to varnishing.
A funny thing happened one morning at the dock. Right in the middle of breakfast we lost shore power and the inverter kicked in. The AC main breaker on the boat didn't trip but the 'reverse polarity' light came on. A quick check of the breaker on the dock showed that the problem was in the shore power cord. Ooops!
Isn't it about time we replaced the prop zinc? When was it last done? I'm not sure, lets check...........Oops!
Instead of correctly aligning the swim step with the transom, the factory glued a 1/16" teak shim under this barrel bolt so that it would engage with the misaligned swim step.....Duh!
This #10 wire linked the AC main breaker and the water heater supply breaker. It was the correct length, the ring terminals were the right size and they were correctly crimped but........one terminal screw wasn't tight. It was snug, but not tight. Evidently it had eased off due to the thermal cycling that is common in the AC circuits. Check terminals regularly!
A combination of over tightening and galvanic corrosion had destroyed the slots in the base flange of the compass mount.
This problem was rectified many moons ago when we replaced the windows but we only recently found this pic in an old file. Reminded us of the 'creative' wiring techniques employed by the PO, this time adding a light over the galley sink. The wires were routed under the window trim and then poked through the vinyl..........What can you say?
