Cabin and wheelhouse

There are many things that need to be fixed, so there is nothing else to do but start from the end. It's probably going to take a few years before I'm done with it.

Renovation of the toilet
Selma III is equipped with the original toilet with a bronze pump and a toilet seat made of mahogany. It didn't look so good anymore, so I removed it from the boat and took it apart. It is a very simple and robust construction with rubber flap valves. I replaced the valves, cleaned the pump and painted it. Then I removed the varnish from the toilet seat and sanded it before I stained it and gave it 6 layers of Sadolin Marine Varnish.

Varnishing the floor of the wheelhouse
I think the floor originally was varnished with linseed oil varnish, and then modern varnish was applied on top of it, because the whole surface was cracked. So everything had to be scraped off, which was a tough job - it can only be scraped off cold, any heat turns it into sticky gum-like glue. Then the surface had to be washed thoroughly with turpentine and sanded with a random orbital sander. It cost me quite a bit of sandpaper because even after washing and drying, there was still some soft sticky stuff settling in the paper. But eventually, I got it done and gave it 6 layers of Sadolin Marine varnish.

New dashboard
In order to install the remote control for the engine, I had to make a new dashboard. I didn't like the old instruments and they weren't original anyway, so they were discarded. I bought a set of new white Faria instruments with stainless steel rings and also new contacts. I made the new dashboard out of a couple of mahogany boards that I glued together. I mounted stainless steel plates for instruments and switches in holes in the board. However, it is not the optimal solution, so I'll probably redo it at some point.

Main bulkhead repair
Where the radios are mounted, an ugly black bakelite plate was previously covering a large hole. I removed the plate, cleaned the hole and made a perfectly straight edge at the bottom. I made a new piece of mahogany by gluing some narrow boards together, fitted it to the hole and old panel and glued it with wood glue. Then, the wood was stained slightly to adjust the color and varnished with Sadolin Marine varnish.

New electrical system

The electrical system worked well enough, but there were some problems with discharge, and it looked quite messy, so I decided to replace it all.

The new system has 2 circuits, so we have separate consumption and starter batteries. A Manta battery isolator with compensation diode is used to separate the systems. All batteries are new, two 100 Ah for consumption and one 60 Ah for the engine. For shore power, I have chosen a Dolphin 10 A charger.

All switches including the float switches for the 2 bilge pumps run via relays, so there are only thin wires for the relay control current in the dashboard - of course with the exception of the ignition wires. The only cables that haven't been replaced are the wires for lanterns and internal light. Everything else is new.

To protect us against the dangers of gasoline in a boat, I had found a Fire-Boy gasoline alarm in the United States. A small round instrument was mounted in the bulkhead and a sensor mounted in front of the engine. The instrument gives an alarm at 20% of explosive vapor content in the air, and at the same time launches a fan (which I have not yet fitted). I paid approx. DKK 1200 for it incl. freight.

On the same occasion, a new Garmin GPSmap 298 with built-in sonar was fitted, the old VHF was recycled and a new JVC radio with CD and USB was also fitted.