Two minor "upgrades" to Bright Star

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1

Posted by lance_ryley (lance_ryley@…>)

The first isn’t really an upgrade, but actually restoring
functionality that was removed by a previous owner.

Because of a potential water contamination issue in the starboard
water tank, the PO disconnected it from the port tank, cut the top
off, and decided to use it for “volatiles” storage. I believe at the
same time, he disconnected the deck fills for both tanks - the port
tank’s fill has been under the double berth since long before I
bought the boat. I got tired of hauling a loaded hose down below
every time I wanted to fill the tank, so I decided to rebuild the
port deck fill. It seemed pretty straightforward, if tight: an elbow
at the tank, some 1 1/2" hose to the deck fill, and a barb. Double-
clamps all around and voila, we’re back in business.

Lesson 1: anything that looks that straightforward is looking to bite
you.
Lesson 2: those lovely marelon or nylon 1 1/2" elbow barbs from west
marine are NOT the right threads, no matter how hard you try to force
it.
Lesson 3: the straight barbs aren’t right for the deck fill either.
Lesson 4: Home Depot has the right threads, but the barbed adapters
are closer to 1 5/8" than 1 1/2". this is only a problem if you’re
trying to jam a piece of white sanitation hose on one while folded
double in the port locker (you, not the hose) using one hand to
steady yourself and the other for the jamming. Yeah… right.

With the right tool for the job (big honkin’ pipe self-adjusting pipe
wrench - that’s I think how it’s listed in the catalog), a fair
amount of non-toxic pipe dope, and a dremel to smooth out some of the
oversized barbs, I was able to restore the port tank deck fill. Just
in time to sell the boat. hooray.

Job two will also make the next owner’s life quite a bit happier.
Since it was time for an oil and fuel filter change, I decided to
install the CAV fuel filter adapter I purchased two years ago. This
converts the standard, clamshell on-engine fuel filter to a spin-on
style. I wish I had done this two years ago. Yes, the potential to
spill fuel is still there, but not the gushing quart or so that I
used to see when taking off that stupid arrangement. Also, since you
can prefill the filter with diesel before spinning it on, it
eliminates the tedious job of bleeding the air from the system. This
is especially important on the 4.108 because none of the bleed screws
are actually accessible.

So… with any luck that’s about the last of that kind of work on
Bright Star. I’ll save the rest for Glory. Shortly, I’ll be pulling
Bright Star to paint the waterline and bottom… Admiral’s Hill, here
we come.

Cheers,
Lance

2

Posted by katorpus (jrb@…>)

Been down the same route with the oversized barbs and the white hose
and all that (when re-doing the sanitation lines).

I don’t know WHAT Freedom used on them in the first place, but I
couldn’t find the same thing anywhere…and went the Dremel route.

Two things I found when working with the “white hose”…not MY
invention, but definitely necessary…

  1. A heat gun helps (but don’t overdo it!!

  2. A big pot of boiling water REALLY helps when you get ready to
    attach the white hose (of ANY size) to the barbed fittings.

I used “go-jo” to lube up the barbed fitting before slipping the hose
over it. It’s a lanolin based product, I don’t THINK it has any
deleterious effects on the hose, and it just kind of seems to “go
away” in the installation process.

If you’ve got hose clamps going into some hidden or horribly
inaccessible location (aren’t they ALL?)…then spring the extra
bucks for the titanium clamps (google 'em up…they’re all around at
about double the price of the “regular good ones”). Put 'em on once
and forget them forever.

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “lance_ryley”
<lance_ryley@…> wrote:

The first isn’t really an upgrade, but actually restoring
functionality that was removed by a previous owner.

Because of a potential water contamination issue in the starboard
water tank, the PO disconnected it from the port tank, cut the top
off, and decided to use it for “volatiles” storage. I believe at
the
same time, he disconnected the deck fills for both tanks - the port
tank’s fill has been under the double berth since long before I
bought the boat. I got tired of hauling a loaded hose down below
every time I wanted to fill the tank, so I decided to rebuild the
port deck fill. It seemed pretty straightforward, if tight: an
elbow
at the tank, some 1 1/2" hose to the deck fill, and a barb. Double-
clamps all around and voila, we’re back in business.

Lesson 1: anything that looks that straightforward is looking to
bite
you.
Lesson 2: those lovely marelon or nylon 1 1/2" elbow barbs from
west
marine are NOT the right threads, no matter how hard you try to
force
it.
Lesson 3: the straight barbs aren’t right for the deck fill either.
Lesson 4: Home Depot has the right threads, but the barbed adapters
are closer to 1 5/8" than 1 1/2". this is only a problem if you’re
trying to jam a piece of white sanitation hose on one while folded
double in the port locker (you, not the hose) using one hand to
steady yourself and the other for the jamming. Yeah… right.

With the right tool for the job (big honkin’ pipe self-adjusting
pipe
wrench - that’s I think how it’s listed in the catalog), a fair
amount of non-toxic pipe dope, and a dremel to smooth out some of
the
oversized barbs, I was able to restore the port tank deck fill.
Just
in time to sell the boat. hooray.

Job two will also make the next owner’s life quite a bit happier.
Since it was time for an oil and fuel filter change, I decided to
install the CAV fuel filter adapter I purchased two years ago. This
converts the standard, clamshell on-engine fuel filter to a spin-on
style. I wish I had done this two years ago. Yes, the potential to
spill fuel is still there, but not the gushing quart or so that I
used to see when taking off that stupid arrangement. Also, since
you
can prefill the filter with diesel before spinning it on, it
eliminates the tedious job of bleeding the air from the system.
This
is especially important on the 4.108 because none of the bleed
screws
are actually accessible.

So… with any luck that’s about the last of that kind of work on
Bright Star. I’ll save the rest for Glory. Shortly, I’ll be pulling
Bright Star to paint the waterline and bottom… Admiral’s Hill,
here
we come.

Cheers,
Lance

3

Posted by katorpus (jrb@…>)

Been down the same route with the oversized barbs and the white hose
and all that (when re-doing the sanitation lines).

I don’t know WHAT Freedom used on them in the first place, but I
couldn’t find the same thing anywhere…and went the Dremel route.

Two things I found when working with the “white hose”…not MY
invention, but definitely necessary…

  1. A heat gun helps (but don’t overdo it!!

  2. A big pot of boiling water REALLY helps when you get ready to
    attach the white hose (of ANY size) to the barbed fittings.

I used “go-jo” to lube up the barbed fitting before slipping the hose
over it. It’s a lanolin based product, I don’t THINK it has any
deleterious effects on the hose, and it just kind of seems to “go
away” in the installation process.

If you’ve got hose clamps going into some hidden or horribly
inaccessible location (aren’t they ALL?)…then spring the extra
bucks for the titanium clamps (google 'em up…they’re all around at
about double the price of the “regular good ones”). Put 'em on once
and forget them forever.

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “lance_ryley”
<lance_ryley@…> wrote:

The first isn’t really an upgrade, but actually restoring
functionality that was removed by a previous owner.

Because of a potential water contamination issue in the starboard
water tank, the PO disconnected it from the port tank, cut the top
off, and decided to use it for “volatiles” storage. I believe at
the
same time, he disconnected the deck fills for both tanks - the port
tank’s fill has been under the double berth since long before I
bought the boat. I got tired of hauling a loaded hose down below
every time I wanted to fill the tank, so I decided to rebuild the
port deck fill. It seemed pretty straightforward, if tight: an
elbow
at the tank, some 1 1/2" hose to the deck fill, and a barb. Double-
clamps all around and voila, we’re back in business.

Lesson 1: anything that looks that straightforward is looking to
bite
you.
Lesson 2: those lovely marelon or nylon 1 1/2" elbow barbs from
west
marine are NOT the right threads, no matter how hard you try to
force
it.
Lesson 3: the straight barbs aren’t right for the deck fill either.
Lesson 4: Home Depot has the right threads, but the barbed adapters
are closer to 1 5/8" than 1 1/2". this is only a problem if you’re
trying to jam a piece of white sanitation hose on one while folded
double in the port locker (you, not the hose) using one hand to
steady yourself and the other for the jamming. Yeah… right.

With the right tool for the job (big honkin’ pipe self-adjusting
pipe
wrench - that’s I think how it’s listed in the catalog), a fair
amount of non-toxic pipe dope, and a dremel to smooth out some of
the
oversized barbs, I was able to restore the port tank deck fill.
Just
in time to sell the boat. hooray.

Job two will also make the next owner’s life quite a bit happier.
Since it was time for an oil and fuel filter change, I decided to
install the CAV fuel filter adapter I purchased two years ago. This
converts the standard, clamshell on-engine fuel filter to a spin-on
style. I wish I had done this two years ago. Yes, the potential to
spill fuel is still there, but not the gushing quart or so that I
used to see when taking off that stupid arrangement. Also, since
you
can prefill the filter with diesel before spinning it on, it
eliminates the tedious job of bleeding the air from the system.
This
is especially important on the 4.108 because none of the bleed
screws
are actually accessible.

So… with any luck that’s about the last of that kind of work on
Bright Star. I’ll save the rest for Glory. Shortly, I’ll be pulling
Bright Star to paint the waterline and bottom… Admiral’s Hill,
here
we come.

Cheers,
Lance

4

Posted by lance_ryley (lance_ryley@…>)

Ha!

I thought I’d invented the hot water treatment on white hose :wink:

Good suggestion on the hose clamps. Fortunately, these are only
mildly inaccessible - so I’ll probably keep the stainless on there
for now, but future jobs will probably go easier :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Lance

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “katorpus” <jrb@…> wrote:

Been down the same route with the oversized barbs and the white
hose
and all that (when re-doing the sanitation lines).

I don’t know WHAT Freedom used on them in the first place, but I
couldn’t find the same thing anywhere…and went the Dremel route.

Two things I found when working with the “white hose”…not MY
invention, but definitely necessary…

  1. A heat gun helps (but don’t overdo it!!

  2. A big pot of boiling water REALLY helps when you get ready to
    attach the white hose (of ANY size) to the barbed fittings.

I used “go-jo” to lube up the barbed fitting before slipping the
hose
over it. It’s a lanolin based product, I don’t THINK it has any
deleterious effects on the hose, and it just kind of seems to “go
away” in the installation process.

If you’ve got hose clamps going into some hidden or horribly
inaccessible location (aren’t they ALL?)…then spring the extra
bucks for the titanium clamps (google 'em up…they’re all around
at
about double the price of the “regular good ones”). Put 'em on once
and forget them forever.

5

Posted by William A. Cormack (wacormack@…>)

Two more hints on installing hose to barbed fittings:

Use the heat gun to heat one side of the end of the hose. This prevents the hose from buckling when you try to insert the barb.
Use ordinary dish soap as a lube/sealant. Any kind will do.
These hints were shared with me by a professional installer who sold me the tank and hose when I removed the 12 gallon holding tank from my F36 and installed a 22 gallon tank under the port bench in the salon.

Bill----- Original Message -----

From: lance_ryley
To: FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 05/19/2007 5:55 PM
Subject: [FreedomOwnersGroup] Re: Two minor “upgrades” to Bright Star


Ha!I thought I’d invented the hot water treatment on white hose :wink: Good suggestion on the hose clamps. Fortunately, these are only mildly inaccessible - so I’ll probably keep the stainless on there for now, but future jobs will probably go easier :)Thanks,Lance— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “katorpus” <jrb@…> wrote:>> Been down the same route with the oversized barbs and the white hose > and all that (when re-doing the sanitation lines).> > I don’t know WHAT Freedom used on them in the first place, but I > couldn’t find the same thing anywhere…and went the Dremel route.> > Two things I found when working with the “white hose”…not MY > invention, but definitely necessary…> > 1) A heat gun helps (but don’t overdo it!!> > 2) A big pot of boiling water REALLY helps when you get ready to > attach the white hose (of ANY size) to the barbed fittings.> > I used “go-jo” to lube up the barbed fitting before slipping the hose > over it. It’s a lanolin based product, I don’t THINK it has any > deleterious effects on the hose, and it just kind of seems to “go > away” in the installation process.> > If you’ve got hose clamps going into some hidden or horribly > inaccessible location (aren’t they ALL?)…then spring the extra > bucks for the titanium clamps (google 'em up…they’re all around at > about double the price of the “regular good ones”). Put 'em on once > and forget them forever.>