A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2020/2022

[Russ]

Onward indeed. Just for giggles, raise that mast. Get it out of your way and see what it's all about.

Thanks for the update.

[OverEasy]

Hi All

Our Journeys with Over Easy continue.

We have been forced to slow down the past several weeks due to the oppressive heat here in the Beaufort SC area with temperatures regularly hitting actual sin the mid 90s and the “feels like” in the low 100s. Just too hot to be much fun.

Of the past 8 days available to go out we chose to skip 6 of them due to the weather. Elsa didn’t help either. Phhppttt!

We have made good progress on our old 2001 Tohatsu 50 hp engine though. We can now get up to 3800 rpm out of her on a somewhat regular basis without the hacking coughing sputtering she started with for us. It’s been a slow process of incremental gains. She still probably needs a fuel pump rebuild as well as doing the carbs at the same time. But considering we started at less than 25% power with a lot of consternation it’s nice to be roughly at 80% power without and wheezing balking hacking or sneezing!

While the engine will get to 5000 in neutral now under load the average is a steady 3800 rpm. We have no doubt that with the fuel pump and carb rebuild kits it should get even closer to 100% which isn’t bad at all.

We are still hoping to go ahead with our purchase of the Suzuki DF60AV in August or September whenever it arrives. It will be much quieter as well as fuel efficient and reliable. We currently don’t have a plan for the Tohatsu but are contemplating possibly either selling it or making a shallow water “Flats” style one-off boat to access the numerous fishing areas our region here in SC offers. Not going to do anything in the immediate future as there are already too many other projects for our Mac26X and home to take care of first before a boat building project.

Over Easy has pretty much passed all her “sea trials” so far. All our initial mods have worked out better than expected.

The Galley Mod is a champ with lots of easy access secure storage and the raised work surface is a back saver!

The Electrical System Mod is a sparkling success! The improved wiring, distribution, additional circuits, extra switches, improved readability, access and circuit breaker change over is really . We have a lot more confidence in the improved system than the original system where we started from. We are also grateful to the POs for the work they had also accomplished.

The Dual Battery System Selectable Use/Charge Mod has also been very satisfactory! Having the dual batteries is a nice feature so we can always chose to keep one battery in reserve in normal useage. It’s nice to have the extra capacity available should the bilge pumps ever need to function while we are away from the boat.

The Pre-emotive Bilge Oump System Mod has also been a confidence builder to provide mitigation’s and options should disaster ever strike. The additional propositioned bilge vacuum lines have come in handy after heavy rains associated with Elsa. The minor rain leakage from a window seam and we suppose the chain plates was a breeze to clean up. No opening up the bilge accesses. No mopping up the bilges. Just simply hooking up a 1gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum to each of the 3 interior ports! Couldn’t be easier!

The Chart Plotter and Interior Through The Hull Sonar Trandducer Mod is also a ringing success. Having the transducer mounted virtually on centerline and amidships is really nice from a functionality perspective as we know with reasonable certainty what clearance we have under our actual hull. Having it inside alleviates any collision or marine growth concerns. Having the transducer in a protective housing is also beneficial to avoid any potential damage by contact with stored equipment or materials. The Garmin chart plotter is very accurate and easy to use. It’s gonna take a while to learn and become proficient with all its features and capabilities.

The Dual 12 Gallon Fuel Tank Mod AND the Fuel Line Improvement-Tank/Selector-Primer-Fuel- Filter/Separator/Pressure-Regulator Mod have both been very much appreciated. We found that the tanks can actually hold 13 gallons each with more than sufficient interior vapor gap clearance. The bench seat access hinged hatches make refueling a snap. They also are hand for verifying fuel quantity while operational. The improved fuel flow due to the elimination of the spraylees quick connects on each tank and the fuel inline diameter from 1/4 inch to 3/8 ID was a big improvement in fuel flow to the engine. Using a bench made mount board for the fuel tank selector, primer pump bulb, furl demand valve and fuel filter/separator made installation onto Over Easy a compact, easily installed and easily utilized affair. We get a 5 hour range from 12 gallons of fuel at 2800 rpm or an anticipated ooerational endurance with an actual 26 gallons of nearly 11 hours! This is with our current 2091 Tohatsu 50 HP 2-stroke. This range should only improve once we have the new DF60AV Suzuki installed. VERY HAPPY with this Mod.

The New Bottom Paint prep/application and Rub Rail Replacement Projects are going to be accomplished by a professional Marina Boat Works as it is beyond my physical limitations starting at the end of July.

After that we pack up and head North for several months. Our initial target destination is Lake Champlain where we plan on meeting up with fellow Mac26 owners and possibly take sailing classes for a week. Then over to NH for our home and get our new Suzuki engine installed!

After that we hope to get back to SC to get some long overdue house renovations accomplished.

2022 should see a new fwd & aft arch fabricated and installed to allow raised horizontal mast storage for transit over land and in a lowered position while on the water. We should also be getting a fwd bow anchor roller installed. We would also like to fabricate and install a hard Dodger. Not sure how but making/purchasing/installing a Drum Type Electric Winch is also on the list. (Hauling up:down and anchor/chain/rode isn’t within my back’s capabilities on a regular basis anymore)

We Hope you all are well and safe and healthy.
We Hope you are all able to safely get out and enjoy your vessels this summer.

We appreciate being able to have gotten the COVID-19 vaccinations and THANKFUL to all those who made it possible. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for what they have accomplished that we will not ever forget. Than you all!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Please forgive the fumble fingered typing above….our current engine is a 2001, NOT a 2091!
(Wouldn’t that be nice though to have an engine from the future 70 years from now!!! Maybe they will have incorporated “flux-gate capacitors “ by then !!!!)

[Inquisitor]

Please forgive the fumble fingered typing above….

No worries... I do it all the time. But, you know, you can edit your post and fix typos / Freudian slips.

[kmclemore]

Please forgive the fumble fingered typing above….

No worries... I do it all the time. But, you know, you can edit your post and fix typos / Freudian slips.

And sometimes admins fix stuff for ya, and you don’t even know it.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We hope everyone are happily enjoying their Macs as much or more than we are!!!
We hope this finds you happy, healthy, vaccinated and safely enjoying being outside.

This past weekend was an interesting trip to see the City of Beaufort Waterfront Park Celebration Airshow!!!

This is the first time we have ever seen an Airshow from the water or on Over Easy!
We motored up the Beaufort River past the Downtown Marina then under the Swing Bridge to check on a pair of nesting Osprey that we have been enjoying. It looks like the “babies” have now grown up and flown the nest. While disappointing that they are now up and gone it is a happy feeling to know that there are now two more of these magnificent creatures out and about!

We then turned back and made our way to an up-wind location in the marsh island channel opposite the Down Town Beaufort Waterfront Park. A perfect location to watch the Air Show and remain safely responsibly socially distant (locally there is a measurable increase in the COVID-19 D variant). Everyone pretty much behaved all around us and respected everyone’s mooring lines and clearance distances.
The only exception was a single loud obnoxious flag festooned boat that attempted to moor within the Air Show exclusion zone but was asked to move by the Maritime Sheriff Patrol. We didn’t see it after that.

The Saturday Air show was a fun event consisting of two long acrobatic performances that were very enjoyable!
We had front row seats! It was really enjoyable to be on Over Easy for this event!









On Sunday we went out again. This time headed down the Beaufort River past the Broad River and into Port Royal Sound almost to the Atlantic Ocean. We stopped short of leaving the Sound as the wind was picking up and the sea swells were getting uncomfortable.

On our way down we came across a large pod of Dolphins! What a beautiful sight to enjoy!
We’d love to post a video of them to share with you but the posting function doesn’t seem to allow us to do that….





This was a a beautiful next to last journey for us as we will be hauling out this coming Thursday to get our long awaited hull cleaning (marine growth is a factore in these waters), new bottom anti fouling paint, new rub rail and the polishing of the hull and top deck/cockpit surfaces.
It will be our first experience with a straddle lift. It should be interesting .

After the work is completed the people there at Marsh Harbor Boat Works will load Over Easy on to her trailer. Another first for us.
Then it is a short haul to the house and a day or two to prep for our trip North to Vermont and Lake Champlain. Another first for us.
To simplify things for this trip with the two pets (cat & dog) we may choose to save space and remove the mast and sail bags. (TBD)
The intent is to camp in Over Easy on the trip North similar to our initial trip down last November.
We will be staying in the Champlain Marina for a week or so in the latter half of August or so to visit with our daughter and meet new friends!
While we would like to attend a Sailing Class at the International Sailing School it might not work out for this year…. TBD

Next is loading up and heading to our home on Central NH.
We’re hoping our new Suzuki DF60AV will arrive so we can complete the installation in September/October.
Not having the mast and sail bags will reduce the clutter some and hopefully help make the new engine install easier.
It will allow us to experience Over Easy better as motor cruiser in that we can finally put up the Bimini!
(That is something my Admiral has been wanting since we got Over Easy into the water down South and the temperatures climbed.)
We will also leave the inflatable dinghy in SC to save weight and space.

There are several things to be taken care of in NH while we are there.
It’s a long list but all we can do is chip away at it bit by bit.
We would like to get out on Lake Winnipesaukee and possibly get out into The Great Bay for several trips. TBD
We are also hoping that our other daughter will be back from her Western US adventures and can spend some time with us.

Our current intent is to start working our way South on or about Columbus or Indigenous Peoples' Day.
That way the weather should still be pleasant and we can still enjoy the Fall colors during the trip.
We are again planning on camping our way along in Over Easy.

All-in-All we are very happy with all the modifications/repairs/improvement we have made with Over Easy.
=> We really enjoy our new Galley and storage improvements so far and are looking forward to using them extensively during our camping and overnights at Lake Champlain.
=> We find that all aspects of our DC electrical system improvements are also working out nicely and have provided the additional benefits we were looking to achieve.
=> The pre-emptive Bilge Pumps have yet to be needed (and we hope that always remains the case! ).
We have used the propositioned vacuum lines to remove the occasional nuisance water that migrates in with the rains. These nuisance leaks seem to be the seal around one window, the chainplate and a small but annoying one under the pedestal. We will hopefully be taking care of these while in NH, or at worst, when we return to SC. (They really are just topside nuisances that have at most amounted to a pint or so total over the past 3 months.) Over Easy was/is/remains a nice happy dry boat.

=> Our engine challenges with our 2001 Tohatsu 50 hp 2-Stroke have for the most part been worked out.
It can now regularly run consistently at a variety of engine speeds up to about 4000 rpm.
It can now cruise along at 3500 rpm without hesitation.
There is now a normal lag acceleration which is to be expected when throttling up.
No more hacking, stuttering or spontaneously quitting unexpectedly.
The next steps would be to rebuild the cards and fuel pump assemblies and re-sync them. I believe that should bring back this engine to about 90% of original power capacity which isn’t all that bad considering it is now 20 years old. Once we have the new Suzuki installed we’ll take care of these aspects then decide whether to keep or sell it. (It would make a great fishing boat motor!) TBD
NOTE: Even though this engine has been improved from where we started we are still looking forward to the improvement in performance, fuel economy, durability, reliability and quietness that we can expect from the Suzuki DF60AV which will greatly enhance our intent to travel the ICW in the coming years.
=> The fuel system modifications are great. The increased range/endurance that the dual 12 gallon tanks (actually they both easily hold 13 gallons ) is very much appreciated. The modification to add the external fuel filter/separator, fuel tank selector valve, fuel demand valve, 3/8 primer bulb, 3/8 ID fuel lines and getting rid of the sprayless quick connects has worked out flawlessly.

All the best to Everyone and enjoy your summer!

Onward!
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!!!

TODAY OVER EASY LEARNED TO FLY!!!

[OverEasy]

Hi All

Today Over Easy took her first leap skyward!
Move over Branson, Bezos, and Musk!
Make room for the MacGregor Inter-Stellar and The Sling Shot Launcher!











Launch analysis indicates max altitude gain over Sea Level was approximately 144 inches MSL!

Vehicle has maintained a hovering flight above ground of 60 inches AGL for the past 90 minutes!

All telemetry shows all functions are Nominal for the vehicle and support equipment! The Mission Control Team is all smiles for the fist launch of Over Easy from the shores of the Marsh Harbor Flight Center in Beaufort South Carolina!!!

Future plans are the further preparations for Premium Ablative Coating, Detail Hull and Deck Buffing/Polishing, Collision Mitigation RubRail Replacement and Trailer Landing Demonstration.

After that Over Easy will be taking a preliminary tow for interior packing for its estimated 1064 Mile trip to land in Lake Champlain Vermont in August 2021. Tentative splashdown windows are being finalized at this time.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

The hull cleaning from just three months in a slip here in Beaufort SC Marina was surprising to say the least!
Here is the hull when we launched:









Here is the really nice marina slip we were able to base ourselves from the beginning of May through the end of July 2021:







Here is what the hull looked like when we hauled out (literally ) at the end of July:

















Then the yard did a great job of wet blasting away all the accumulated marine growth and old (at least 15+ years ago) residual ablative bottom paint:







And now with the 2 new coats premium ablative bottom paint (Biocop TF - Black)
over 2 new coats of premium primer ( InterProtect GI WM):







What great improvement!
For us having the Marine Boat Yard do this for us was a great decision.
The yard was able to do a better job than we could have done ourselves (do to physical limitations) in a fraction of the time!
The wet blasting is a no dust process that is very controlled, especially given the technician has done literally hundreds of vessels!!!

The above water hull has been cleaned and polished. What a nice improvement!
The rub rail replacement was completed yesterday.
The remaining work to be done is top deck cleaning and polishing.

The Journey Continues……

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

WOW! Amazing amount of marine growth. Looks great now!

[Be Free]

That looks great!

[OverEasy]

Thank you!
We were very surprised at the amount and tenacity of the marine growth given the number of times we were out and the durations we were exploring our local area estuaries! Can’t imagine what it would have looked like if we hadn’t been out and about…

Today we installed our modified keel hangar.
Sorry, I bolixed the pictures.
The hangar and pin were severely etched when we removed them as part of the process of getting the new bottom paint applied.
The pin was new (we replaced it as the old one was badly pitted) just 3 months ago.
I made it from 1/2 inch dia 304 SST rounding the end to keep it from machining itself into the hull like the old one appeared to be doing. The corrosion on the new pin looked like heavy sand blasting and the ends had pitting that 1/2 inch deep!
Not much we could do given the time constraints so we had to reinstall as is for now.
Once up in NH there is more access to materials and we will get a foot or so of 316L SST bar stock and make a couple up as spares.

Similarly the SST hangar was also pitted and etched on the flats and edges.
Some of the pits on the flats were about halfway through the material thickness.
The edge pit were deeper being almost a 3/16 deep.
We filed away the edge pitting back to solid material.
Good enough for now but when we get up to NH we will get some 316L 1/4 inch thick material.
I will fabricate a new bracket or two. I’ll try to incorporate a means to mount Zinc and Aluminum anodes such that I can periodically replace them.

I modified the existing Hangar to replace the original hang bolt.
The original bolt was about 3 inches long and necessitated removing the entire hangar to drop the keel out.
After cutting the old bolt free I installed a 304 SST 3/8-16 UNC x 6 inch long carriage bolt.
I made a “square” hole to catch the carriage nut then used a SST lock washer and plain SST NUT to lock it all together.
A washer above the nut distributes the load to the hull.
The longer threaded portion will allow for lowering the keel without having to drop the hangar all the way out.
Should make keel rope and pin replacements much easier.
I’ll be doing something similar with the replacement hangar when it gets made.

Hedging our bets we got a couple zinc 1-1/2 inch diameter x 1/2 inch thick anodes (I think they go on Yamaha engines).
These have a 3/16 dia hole which was enlarged to 1/2 inch diameter.
When I reassembled the swing keel to the boat today I took advantage of the inherent slop of the assembly.
On either side of the keel was placed a SST fender washer/a newly fab’d zinc washer/a std SST washer.
This was inserted into and captured by the hangar.
Not perfect but good enough to see if the zinc washers become functionally sacrificial.

The rapidity of the corrosion was surprising given that the Swing Keel Hangar and Pivot Pin are electrically floating.
There is no electrical connection to anything for these parts

We are supposing that there must be stray currents from either the shore power system or the other vessels in the marina.

We’ll have to see if the changes make a difference when we get back into a slip down here in SC.

The benefit of the slip was fantastic and we very much appreciate the advice to get one.
It was well worth it in allowing us to readily access the waterways without having to launch/retrieve and contending with ramps at low tide. If the hull looked skuzzy you should see the boat ramps at low tide down here!
Low tide ramps always remind us of that Simon and Garfunkel song “ Slip Sliding Away”

Tomorrow the boat gets placed back on the trailer!
Everything on our yard list was done perfectly except for the top polishing.
The top deck age pitting made polishing it at this time a non-event…. Next year we will relook at it… Paint?

The next project to accomplish as soon as we get the boat back to the house is A/C installation for the trip north.
The heat waves have convinced us that this Mod needs to be a sooner rather than later project.
( Happy Admiral, Happy Life! )
We got a nice portable 6100 BTU single exhaust duct 115VAC unit from Lowe’s.
14” deep x 14.4” wide x 28” tall which will fit nicely aft of the battery box seat of our Mac26X.
Nice feature is the ‘Auto Evaporation’ which under most conditions eliminates the need to drain the condensate water.

It ‘says’ that it can cool a 250 square foot room…. A Mac26X is smaller than that but with a lot less insulation
It should at least take the edge off the heat for sleeping .
We’re thinking of venting though the seat wall of the cockpit bench via a covered access hatch similar to the ones we have previously used for our Mod to install a pair of new 12 gallon fuel tanks. That way the exhaust wouldn’t be in the foot path of the cockpit and will be sheltered from rain. We’ll have to see how the spacing works itself out…
This should definitely improve our travels on water (and land) where we have access to shore power.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[kmclemore]

Overeasy, check your email from me.

[OverEasy]

Preparations for the 2021 Trip North…

Now that Over Easy has new bottom paint, a new rub rail and a polished hull out of the way she has been placed on her trailer and brought home last to prepare for our trip north for several months.

Progress has been abysmally slow due to the thunder storms combined with the excessive heat and humidity.
There are several house projects down here that needed to get finished before we leave that complicates things.
We had a concrete slab poured to park Over Easy (or her trailer when she’s afloat) along side the garage.
We’ll it was time to apply concrete sealant as it has had a few months to cure out.
Pressure washing/drying/sealing took up almost three days due to the weather but it’s finally done.
Not to move the project car and golf cart onto it so they can stop cluttering up the driveway tomorrow (Friday) and so when we get back down we will have a dedicated place to park Over Easy.

Next, just for this trip North we removed the mast and stored it on the garage.
This necessitated adding an additional pair of side hangars to the wall and rearranging the extension ladders again .
That’s now accomplished!

Following that, given the increased heat we went ahead and decided to add the air conditioning system to Over Easy now so we can have it for the trip north when in camp grounds to get some respite from the heat and humidity.
That’s still in progress and we’ll post a separate entry and mod on that once it is finished and secured which should be tomorrow (Friday).
Ran into a couple design change requirements along the way when we really couldn’t mount the exhaust air ducting where we had anticipated. So far so good and a couple hours of work should finish it up nicely tomorrow morning.

Our current DEPARTURE ETA is now Saturday morning.
That means in addition to the above projects we will need to spruce up the interior and pack for the trip tomorrow.
Having the new galley and electrical system mods completed earlier this year will make our preparations and travels so much nicer than our initial trip down south last November (2020). More room and more organization.
It is going to be interesting traveling with both our cat and the newest addition of our miniature poodle MacGregor this time.
Both are good “kids” but the confines of the interior will be a new thing for everyone.

That reminds me! I still need to get a long handled net as was suggested just in case one or both decide to take o leap overboard for some reason or other.

The Journey Continues…….

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

That reminds me! I still need to get a long handled net as was suggested just in case one or both decide to take o leap overboard for some reason or

It's important to have a plan for pets to reboard in an unlikely event.