MacGregorSailors.com

Mug race sounds interesting, but I'm going to pass this year. Too many irons in the fire.

I've been wanting to do the BEER for several years and it just hasn't worked out. Maybe this will be the year. It's only a tad over an hour away. Actually, I've thought about sailing to it. We'll see.

Let me know if you make it down. I can at least drive over and say hi (assuming the Admiral hasn't filled my calendar).

Hi!

Thanks for the info in the Current version of that old water heater.
It’s about 4 X BIGGER than the oldie but it must be light years ahead on efficiency and safety!
It appear it runs on a pair of D cell batteries too!
Doesn’t even need a 12 VDC house battery.
It also seems to be ventless so the discharge heat must be pretty low too!
Neat!

OverEasy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 6:04 pm Hi!

Thanks for the info in the Current version of that old water heater.
It’s about 4 X BIGGER than the oldie but it must be light years ahead on efficiency and safety!
It appear it runs on a pair of D cell batteries too!
Doesn’t even need a 12 VDC house battery.
It also seems to be ventless so the discharge heat must be pretty low too!
Neat!

If it every becomes more than a mental exercise for you, just do a search on ebay of "camping water heater". The one above was just one of hundreds. They start at about $50 and go up. I couldn't DIY your base concept one for that price. I haven't studied the pros and cons of the more expensive ones. They probably are all from the same Chinese factory with different sheet metal... aka... Chevy, Pontiac, GM, Cadillac.

Hi!

Your RIGHT!
Did some checking at the hardware store.....
The propane jetted controller box for a home water heater (something relatively common around here) and the copper tubes, never mind fittings-igniter-burner or something to house it all, was already over $75. Then there would be the fiddle factor of fabrication, assembly, silver soldering and wondering if doing it all was really such a good idea

This is especially true when as you pointed out there must be a dozen or more available off the shelf UL and CE listed compliant for less with more features (and integrity).

Seems like that old camper was on to something in it’s day (1960-1970s) with a small on-demand water heater though.
Seems a good idea is still a good idea made better over time

Now if I ever contemplate an on board shower this is one means (of many) to getting there (and avoiding the cold shower routine ).

My wife has noticed your project and has already asked me if I can convert our Mac26X head into a shower....
I can barely fit in there as a loo, nevermind a shower : .....
I told her that I would put it on the project list for next year cause I’m currently taking lessons from a Pro who has REALLY put some good thought and consideration into his projects!

Fantastic work!

OverEasy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:08 am My wife has noticed your project and has already asked me if I can convert our Mac26X head into a shower....
I can barely fit in there as a loo, nevermind a shower : .....

I've never been in/around an . I thought it was a totally fiberglassed in unit (waterproof) and the sink had a kitchen type sprayer hose. I'd always imagined it simply emptied into the bilge and had a bilge pump. No? And I here I thought you people had a far bigger and better head than our .

I told her that I would put it on the project list for next year

Good plan... if you are very, very lucky... she might forget.

This project has worn me out. Every piece takes ten-time longer than I expect.

Her forget????? Do Elephants have feathers???
Not a chance

If/WHEN she remembers ......
My current fall back plan is to get/make a shower ring as wide as the cockpit seat backs, attach a fitted bottom weighted curtain, hoist it all up on the end of the boom and fill a 2 gallon pump sprayer with hot water! Biodegradable soap & shampoo should round it all out and still be environmentally responsible. At least when we are off on our own away from a decent marina.

I’ll get some pictures to you of the Mac26X head.
There is a one piece fiberglass floor pan with lip.
Attached with screws are a fiberglass door frame, fwd & aft bulkhead walls.
There are gaps along the bulkhead sections and the starboard interior hull piece as well as at the top ceiling interface.
If one were to use several gallons of something or other one could conceivably seal it up at all the intersections to make it water tight.
Adding a curtain to cover the door (which opens into the cabin) would be a good idea too!
Then cut a hole in the floor pan for a mini sump (like the one you made) and plumb it somewhere or other.
Next trick would be fitting up a the afore mentioned pump sprayer (maybe a Ryobi battery type ) movable around in the aft berth for refilling ( justincase 2 gallons is insufficient )

All that for a place that’s way too small for me to fit in as a loo!!! Never mind a shower!!!
The required self contortions to have a full grown 6’1” adult male using this existing space in the Mac26X as a functional shower has given me the giggles and tears in my eyes!

Now, to be fair, not everyone is my size, and most people are bound to be much more dexterous than I am nowadays, but I can see explaining it all to the 911 operator how/why/where I need to be extricated from my boat’s head........

If nothing else, this has made me laugh at myself once again.

OverEasy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:08 am ...
I told her that I would put it on the project list for next year cause I’m currently taking lessons from a Pro who has REALLY put some good thought and consideration into his projects!

I really took this as a very nice complement. But later, thinking too much... I really need to make some disclaimers... and I don't mean liability, more... for the nice people on this forum's safety. I do not have a Professional Engineer's license. I am a retired composite structural engineer. I designed satellites and other space hardware. I designed extremely light but "strong enough" structures. The company I worked for sub'd for many of the known, big aerospace companies that were willing to pay our company six-figure numbers PER ounce that I could design and that we could build in a structure. HOWEVER, Aerospace Engineering is actually quite easy. The analysis tools are well defined and accurate. The materials are QC'd and tested to extremes in consistency. The technicians that build the structures are second to none. Their work could stand next to a Swiss watch any day. Testing is rigorous and thorough... but mainly... the loads and stresses that are applied are well characterized. The rocket only exerts so many G's, so many dB's of sound, temperatures are well characterized and once up there... the loads are... well... damn near nothing. No one expects the satellite to survive the rocket blowing up and once up there, the structure is basically... hermetically sealed and will last far longer than the electronics and optics on the satellite. My job was done early in the life cycle.

On the other hand, Marine engineering might as well be in the dark ages (America's Cup excluded). Materials are sourced on price and spec sheets are non existent. Loads... mostly guess work. How much force does a wave hitting a boat exert on the hull? Now... you have to study that from every angle. Then study wind loads. Then study running into a something. We expect the boat to survive bumping into the dock... but are understanding about it self destructing on the rocks. But there are a million other options in-between that that becomes grey.

I didn't start my Inqism threads for people to follow my lead, but mainly to be sociable and share my projects. I like projects... more than sailing. I like sailing a lot. I also hope that anyone that sees something wrong with my work will point it out. I try to think of everything, but it has to be in the realm of my past experiences for me to do that. There are many experts on this forum with far more experience that I respect and welcome them throwing darts. Their ideas might be better or safer.

Safety... that's a hard one to quantify. We have people on here who will gladly sacrifice positive flotation, but are willing to sail off shore or vice versa. There are some I am sure that are concerned that I might be causing structural harm to my boat. Its a valid concern. I read other's projects and I have that concern for theirs. I have voiced that concern sometimes. It is not always well received. The one that I most often am concerned about is OVER building structure. Our boats are quite robust, but they are thin (to save money). Although my bulkheads are tabbed into the hull, they are very thin. I use 5mm ply. I want my bulkheads to go before the external loads cause the hull to break around a too substantial bulkhead (say 3/4"). I use the existing bulkheads as guides... they are only 3/8". Also, in this project, any tabbing is for water proofing of the shower... not for strength. It's a good thing... which brings me to...

Compared to the technicians I worked with, my work would fail in a heartbeat. Its a good thing I had a day job. I feel it is barely on the order of what the Mac factory did. Again... if something breaks, I want it to be my additions.

As evident...

Back to New Content
Here, I've added fiberglass to the corners where I might have seams in the Linoleum. Although, I have waterproofed all wood (all sides) either using Epoxy or Polyurethane, I'd rather water never get to the wood. I've been exceedingly conscious of providing a downward slope to the sump.

First piece of Linoleum is down! My first experience with Linoleum has over-all been refreshingly easy. Anytime I try something new, I invariably find it a learning curve... (read - cut out and do-over). It was very easy to cut and glue down. My only got-cha was I expected it to hide more surface irregularities and be self leveling and smooth-out by itself. I should have sanded the fiberglass tape better. And, finally using a piece of 2x4 to squeegee it finally got the wavy, craters out. I can't imagine doing a real size room in the stuff and being able to get it nice and flat. I still have some trimming to do on this one and all the others, but...





Inq

Nice!

The pros doing floors have a HEAVY steel roller on a handle to help with the leveling aspect. The good ones are fastidious about ANY surface imperfections as they always show through so you are not alone in the DIY experience on that. Just part of the curve.

It looks like a nice pattern! It looks like it will also seam match nicely too!

When I first got a 3D printer several years back, it was really a novelty. Now, I can't imagine not having it in my tool box. It's the equal of a table saw or drill now. In the Throne Room project here are two more 3D prints being used. These are very simple items that could be made out of wood. But accurately shaping these out of wood would be very difficult. Accuracy would be a challenge. Just cutting them would be difficult. Finishing them with waterproofing another several day process. 3D Printing takes ten minutes of CAD'ing them up and press a button and I get 3 significant digits of accuracy and consistency. ABS is water proof and forms easy, sands easy, fills and bonds easy using acetone thinned ABS.

2" PVC Conduit Column
In images, you might notice that there is a 2" PVC conduit being used as a portion of a wall. Like any good part in a boat it serves more than one purpose. In this case it forms the corner of a wall, having a slightly larger than 1" radius. Although its non-structural in holding up the boat, it is structural in holding up the two attached Head walls. It also will act as... well... a conduit. As part of the Inquism-03 Electrifying project, I am relocating the stock switch/fuse panel next to the steps, behind this conduit. That way the batteries will have a very short run to the fuse/circuit breaker panels and wiring will go up and down this conduit. The problem becomes, it is very difficult to get a 5mm panel to have a nice tangent to the radius of the pipe. It also has very poor fastening options. In comes the 3D Printer. Using a simple CAD drawing, wedges can be created and glued to the PVC pipe using fairly common PVC-ABS glue.









AirHead Exhaust
All evidence to the contrary, I really fret about cutting holes in the boat... when going through to the outside world. The unknown is out there. Water in all kinds of shapes and sizes will try to get on the inside. I need to make an exhaust vent for the AirHead, composting toilet. It seems the common method is to put through a window. It turns out the hole needed is the same as the rear radius of the aft window. Just so happens. If I mount the interior and exterior fittings here, they will be tied into the fiberglass walls and be just that much sturdier. The only problem is... when the interior part is mounted to the fiberglass wall, the part over the window will have a sizable gap. Worse still... the gap is variable. In comes the 3D Printer. Modeling is almost trivial. Simply taking a picture and importing into the CAD program, a template can be traced and extruded. The variable thickness can be accounted for and press the print button.

Photo of the window with ruler for scaling purposes


Continuing the circles around the picture and extruding the portion over the window


It's being printed as I write this and instead of spending several days of cutting, sanding, waterproofing, I'll be installing it and the rest of the AirHead exhaust today.

That is really cool!

Way nicer than my ‘fat thumb’ and pounds of chopped strand or thickened epoxy SOP approach.

So much neater too! ( I generally end up looking worse for wear once the epoxy gets opened.... )

Very Cool!

The AirHead toilet doesn't come with a cosmetic outside vent/grate/exhaust. I don't really want a chrome mushroom on the side of the boat and a simple grate might allow water in. Jim suggested doing something with a Dorade type functionality. So here is my experiment...



The theory being:

1. 3D Printed - of course - lazy man's way of building things.
2. Uses six square nuts imbedded in the plastic so that machine screws will be used to mount through the internal 90 degree bend supplied by AirHead, through the boat hull and into the external exhaust.
3. Water (rain and even green-water) coming from the above will be deflected away.
4. Water (rain and even green-water) coming from the front will mainly be deflected away. Any coming into the intake (forward - to the right in the images) should pass on through to the exhaust port (aft - to the left in the images) and not be ingested into the AirHead.
5. Maybe... just maybe any air flowing from forward will enter the intake and with the slight venturi, a low pressure should form helping to draw out "the stink". Maybe even enough that the electric fan can be turned off. At least... that's the massive beer-goggled theory.

I don't have a real good answer for green-water coming from aft. But this is a work in progress and version 2 is only a 3D print away.

This one has been printed (~$1.50 in ABS plastic) and is now being painted. Images forthcoming... maybe this weekend.

Inq

Inquisitor wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:38 am The AirHead toilet doesn't come with a cosmetic outside vent/grate/exhaust. I don't really want a chrome mushroom on the side of the boat and a simple grate might allow water in. Jim suggested doing something with a Dorade type functionality. So here is my experiment...

And, as usual, you exceeded expectations! Can't wait to see the finished product. The renderings are very nice and look like the outlet will do what you want. Certainly, any condition that backwashes through that outlet, in the place you plan to put it... well, let's just say that your head fan won't be what you're worried about.

Very nice.

I really like these Rustoleum Hammered paints. It covers a multitude of sins, especially the 3D printer layer steps and makes it look almost injection molded product quality.



It would be ready to go on... but its to frip'n cold outside and the wind is howling.