(Get it?)
To address as many questions in already-received enquiries as well as those expected, let me address these matters here.
Done
Replaced and upsized all fire extinguishers
New fenders
New fender covers
Rebedded the upper-deck hardware
Recalked the upper-deck/pilot-house seam per factory procedure
Entire boat was compounded and waxed when it was put away
Replaced the charger - details below
Replaced the entire thruster system and upgraded it to Dock Hold Functionality. Minutes on the system since it was installed.
To perform
Hull - All of the metal has been painted and the small bare spots (< 2 sq ft total) have been primed but the bottom painting that is part of seasonal commissioning will be the next owner. I did put a blue signal layer under the black primary layer and that is still showing mostly black.
Bonding network - It's impressive how quickly connections to bonding networks will degrade. As I'd suggest for commissioning any boat, all of the connections to the bonding network should be tested/verified and at least for me, this is a regular/mandatory aspect of being in the engine room... I have a maintenance policy I call "plus one". Anytime I repair/adjust/check something, I also check one (or more) things in the vicinity of the original mission. It's WAY less expensive/hassle to catch problems early.
Zincs are a commissioning item and will be the responsibility of the next owner.
Known issues
The only one that isn't a known-quick issue is a generator oil leak that popped up early-summer last year after not exhibiting any leaking all spring and not having been run since the previous season. Many years ago, I had to run a family aerospace testing and coatings business for a couple of years. I was certified traceable back to the air force to perform a range of testing methods (mostly fluorescent penetrant, mag particle and alloy-type) which included leak testing. I did attempt a fluorescent dye test but the leak-start-up time is too slow to find the test that way. There are multiple clues this is lower rather than higher in the engine, more aft than forward, centerline/port rather than starboard, and due to a gasket or an o-ring rather than something serious. Regardless, I intend to stand behind properly restoring this essential functionality. I take care of my stuff. The generator ran flawlessly from Portsmouth to Essex at the end of the previous season where it was winterized by a NT tech who seems extremely conscientious and skilled. Email me if you're interested in the further details and the timeline of this. [UPDATE 9-28: Diagnosed, repair planned, part (oil pan) ordered. Just some wrench turning on this.]
The combiner-relay has gone non-functional and testing reveals it's the relay itself. Simple/quick/cheap swap that I will own.
There is a screw missing from the hinge on the instrument pop-up on the fly bridge console. Guessing it was dislodged when the shrink-wrap went on. I would normally not list a missing screw, but THIS screw came down the assembly line at the NT factory and they built a trawler around it. One has to hold the screw in an orientation from inside space with something like a 1" hole off to the side. I've worked out a method and own the problem, but this kind of stupid design fail SHOULD be ridiculed under my ROE.
I had to replace the charger last year. It died a week or two after it came out for the last time, I caught it literally while doing my final (forever) end-of-the day boat check. I completed the job with the exception of one operation. I needed to crimp something like a 12AWG to something like a 16AWG downstream lead and all I had were 12/14 and 14/16 crimps. Since I don't half-a$$ things like that even though it would take 15 seconds given I was already on that side of the engine and had the parts with me, and since it was already 10:30pm, and since my electrical parts rack was 120 miles back in my shop, I "thought".. hey, I'll just call a service provider I've hesitated to use for EVER the next morning and ask to have them do it. I'll save 6 hr of driving just for that one stupid thing. As I am statistically unlikely to be impressed by the work of people I don't know, I wrote up a detailed procedure. I was on the "technician's skills" team for a major computer company coming up with internal training/work standards/BKM's, not that crimping needs any of that.. I just know the work "standards" of tradesmen. The procedure I left for the for the Crimp God who did the job covered things He may have considered unreasonable..... fussy, demanding things like replace the access cover on the charger, dress the wires, use X size crimp so He didn't have to go back and get the right one, etc. Basics...... NONE of which He did. Nohting beyond two (obviously perfect) squeezes of His crimping pliers. But he must have been really really really super careful, and the service writer must have known I was getting his very best high-skills guy. The writer insisted on putting in an NTE of 4 hours (against my requested 30 min)... you know.... "JUST IN CASE".... at $100+. And damned if I don't feel silly and ignorant now for being so off the mark. Yup.... 4 hr. Just a Master Class in precision task forecasting. No idea how he pulled that off. The invoiced total was just under $500, but seriously... not one penny more than the predicted 4 hours. Forecasting perfection! He must be so proud of the good he does when he hits the sack each night. Now.... this is merely in hindsight... something we'll probably never fully understand in any case... I find the observation of a neighbor on a very nearby boat in the yard that the guy was there "for no more than 10 or 15 minutes" inexplicable. I assume my well-intentioned neighbor must have had his wrist watch just stop and not noticed it... no other possible explanation. Also inexplicable is the thing I finally want to document here... in crawling in or out of the engine room, the Crimp God left a stain on the saloon carpet next to the engine room hatch. I could naively allow myself to be frustrated and view this as an unwelcome screwup.. as I vacuumed every GD inch that damn boat EVERY fricking time I put it away and went home. But upon thinking about this more carefully, I came to my senses. Someone who takes 4 full hours to setup and execute The Perfect Crimp may simply be devoutly religious. Just as it is customary for the most skilled weavers of fine Persian rugs to deliberately tie a single imperfect knot in a rug so as not to offend God who is the only one who can do things perfectly, perhaps that stain isn't a screw up, and more an offering to his God. Perhaps... possibly... MOST marine services guys are devoutly religous. It's refreshing I can finally shine a positive light on something others have falsely assumed is careless or dishonest. Still..... I'm standing by waiting for the Vatican Miracle-Investigation Team to visit and certify The Crimp as a true miracle.
I believe the instrument console canvas on the fly bridge needs a small repair. I have it at home here and still need to get to that. I bought an industrial sewing machine to take care of my canvas when I got the boat and discovered I like having a sewing machine in my machine shop. I now have three. [Repaired Fall/21]
[ADDED 5/17/2021] - I was down at the boat for a third visit a couple of weeks ago and decided to check the DC voltages which revealed the starting bank and the bow thruster batteries are unhappy. I own replacing them. I REALLY wish I could get a diagram of the new charging tree from the guys who did my thruster swap.. I do otherwise LOVE their work and business practices. [UPDATE 8/22] - I finally did literally just get the diagrams for the upgraded charging tree wiring (see recent blog entry) and went down to CW to hook back up to shore power... as I did not know the precise structure of the updated charging tree, the only safe decision was to not power the new charger. Some quick voltage checks revealed the charge had depleted on many. CW will need more than the starting bank and bow thruster. I'm kind of ticked I had to let this happen. When I first got CW, the survey said many of the batteries were tired. They got charged to the moon on the way up from SC but more importantly, I spent a huge number of hours aboard with my ancient high current dumb charger driving the plates back into a state of ecstasy, and they the entire inventory worked like a dream for the rest of my tenure with the boat, as was verified by my load tester. I just dislike seeing that success undone and given I'm done and fighting new battles, I think the top weapon of choice will be a check book.