Today, April 23, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly which essentially created the country of Turkey when the national council denounced the government of the Ottoman Empire and announced their own temporary constitution.
In addition and in what Christine and I find to be typical of Turkish culture this date is marked as both National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkish: Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı)
Children’s Day is a unique event established by the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk when he dedicated April 23 to all the world’s children to emphasize that they are successor of the future.
In addition to being the Centennial of Tukey’s foundation AND National Children’s Day, this year’s celebration will be all the more unique as we are all celebrating this holiday while under the newly mandated Lockdown policy so we will all be together in being “home alone”.
However, and again in keeping with what we find to be the way of these beautiful people, when Mustafa Sentop, the speaker of Turkey’s Parliament spoke yesterday he asked “I hope to see all our citizens enthusiastically taking part in celebrations from home,” and then urged the public to sing the Istiklal Marsi, the country’s national anthem, on tonight at 9.00 p.m. (GMT1800) from their balconies and windows. “Let’s show our love t independence and liberty by singing our independence anthem in a strong voice,” he said. 
So we will be out on our balcony in a few hours to add our meagre voices to those of all the children and people of Turkey. Seems though that some of the children couldn’t wait that long so I just snapped these two photos above and on the left, from our balcony as I watched and listened to the children out dancing and waving their flags inside our apartment complex grounds.
And as if all THAT wasn’t enough, today is also Ramadan Feat Eve, also known in Turkey as Şeker Bayramı, the Sugar Feast, marking the first day of the month long Ramazan/Ramadan. Best of all we will help celebrate this important date with the classic Ramazan symbols of a new moon, sweet traditional Turkish desserts and a cup of Turkish coffee!
As you might guess from all of this and the title of this week’s post, this was a short 3 day work week and we are now all enjoying a four day weekend, in spite of, or perhaps because of, celebrating this “alone, together” at home.
But Team Möbius here at Naval Yachts were made the most of the three days we did get to work this week so let’s jump into catching up with all their progress.
ALUMINIUM WORK:
Here on the Starboard/Right side of the aft Workshop, Nihat is fitting the frame he has just fabricated to mount the large Aft DC Electrical Distribution Panel.
We have three of these high amperage DC Distribution Panels; the Central one down in the Basement which then has two branches going to a Distribution Panel in the Forepeak and this one in the Aft Workshop.
The full 1350 Amps @ 24V is carried from the House Battery Bank to these Fore and Aft Distribution Panels by dual 120mm2 / 5/0 cables which are the four Red/Black monsters you see here.
Using such massive sized cables ensures less than 3% voltage drop to each panel so that the full amount of the House Bank is available at both locations.
Up in the Forepeak, Nihat has this frame for the Forward DC Distribution Panel now welded in place. These Distribution Panels will soon be filled with switches, circuit breakers and busbars for all the high amperage equipment such as Bow Thruster, Winches, Windlass, etc..
ELECTRICAL WORK:
Hilmi also had a very productive three days as he continued with all the wiring aboard Möbius.
This is looking straight down into one of the three House Battery Bank compartments which are all integral to the whole hull. The massive 25mm thick Keel Bar is in the center here running down the centerline of the entire hull and the AL plate floor for the batteries is bolted to the L-bars around the four sides.
For those interested, the bottom plate of the hull you see here is 15mm / 5/8” thick AL plate.
If you look closely (click to enlarge any photo) Hilmi has now installed the little digital Bilge Water alarm (at the end of the Blue wire) at the deepest part of these battery compartments so that we will be immediately alerted on our Maretron system should water ever somehow get in here.
Back on the Port/Left side of the Workshop Hilmi on the Right, is conferring with Cihan center as Selim secures some of the overhead cables to the wire trays up there.
As you may be noticing, each week these cable trays running along the hull sides and the ceiling, become filled with more wires, cables, hoses and pipes as the systems start being installed.
Stepping through the WT door into the Corridor and then turning right into the Guest Cabin we find more evidence of Hilmi’s wiring work filling up these cable trays running above the Black ceiling grid.
Rosewood pieces on the Left are where the door frame of the Guest Head meets the bare removable ceiling panels in the Guest Cabin. The round White sockets are the FastMount clips for the snap in place ceiling panels.
Out in the Corridor where Omer now has this wall panel mounted with the access doors to the Fuel Vent/Fill Box hoses, we find this T on the blue N2K Backbone cable.
This T provides the Drop Cable connection to a 6 port Multiport N2K block that will be mounted up in the ceiling of the Entry Door off the Aft Deck for all the N2K items in the SkyBridge Helm.
The majority of Hilmi’s past three days he spent putting in all these 12 and 24 Volt DC cables in the Aft Electrical Panel. If you’ve been following along the past few weeks you’ve seen him installing all the 120 and 220V AC wiring which is immediately below this.
These white nylon pieces provide the zip tie attachment point for each cable as it first enters the inside of the Electric Panel cabinet.
Each cable is stripped of its outer insulation jacket to reveal the individual Red and Black multi-strand tinned wires inside and then he seals off the jacket/wire junction with a short 4-5cm length of adhesive lined shrink tubing.
Hilmi uses this junction to zip tie each cable to the white nylon pieces you see in the photo above. This meets the ABYC requirement that each wire has its own strain relief and is just the right way to wire any wiring.
A length of this Gray wire organising duct is fastened in place and each wire fed through its own slot.
Time now to put in the metal DIN Rail and snap in a series of these Gray DIN junction blocks where each individual wire will join up with its matching wire leading down to its circuit breaker below.
Stepping back a bit so we can see the whole panel cabinet with the AC section at the bottom and the DC section up top. Circuit breakers will soon be installed on a panel in front of these.
Time now to start cutting the individual wires to length, crimping on their connector ends and installing them into their junction block.
Down to the last few wires to be installed.
And finishing off by snapping the top cover of the wire chase in place.
All ready for the next stage of mounting the outer panel with all the circuit breakers in it which will be hinged so it can swing out of the way whenever you want to access this inside area of the cabinet in the future.
Makes for a Goldilocks wiring setup; safe, secure, efficient and easy to access and maintain. Plus it looks very ship shape and seaworthy. What’s not to like?
PLUMBING:
Cihan was very busy the past three days installing more equipment in the Workshop.
We saw this monster of a diaphragm pump show up last week and Cihan was busy this week building the mounts and manifolds for this critical bit of kit.
As with much of the equipment on the XPM, this diaphragm pumps serves multiple and very critical purposes. One is to act as the high volume Bilge Pump which we hope never to need but is there in case there should ever be a breach of the hull or other situation where large volumes of sea water need to be pumped back to where they belong.
The second function, which we also hope to never use, is that by turning two large ball valves, this pump can bring equally large volumes of water onboard to become our onboard Fire Pump.
Cihan is the Master of Mounting on Möbius and he soon has these mounts for the Diaphragm Pump welded in place.
You can also see some of his previous handiwork installing all the other pipes and hoses running along this side of the hull. Black EPDM insulated pipes are for things like DHW Domestic Hot Water and AirCon Chiller pipes.
With the Diaphragm Pump temporarily bolted in place Cihan makes up the brackets to hold the large ball valves and sea water manifolds that manage the different functions of High Volume Bilge Pump and Fire Pump.
Hard to see in the photo but each vertical bracket has a hard rubber patch between it and the horizontal mount to reduce any vibration or noise.
Doesn’t take him long to fabricate this manifold and ball valve assembly, install all the hoses and clamp the whole system to the brackets underneath.
Zooming out to see what the complete assembly looks like.
With the Diaphragm Pump looked after Cihan moves on to mounting the next item on the same shelf as the Diaphragm Pump and with just a few more of the hoses Cihan has previously installed in the background.
Any guesses what this bracket will soon hold?
Hint, there are two of them………
…… and you saw them arrive last week …..
Correct!
Full marks to those who guessed this bracket is for mounting the two Fuel Transfer gear pumps!
To be continued next week………
One last little detail to show you before we leave the Workshop is how well that new flooring grid material works. It is just roughed in for now but if you look closely you will see how this small section overtop of these ball valves can be 
easily lifted out whenever you need to change their position.
We’ve got another simple system for securing these removable grids to their AL frames below and we’ll show you that once they are installed.
Gardner 6LXB aka Mr. Gee:
You can be forgiven for not finding this shot too exciting but its one of the many milestones for me of Mr. Gee’s journey to his new life.
This is the front end of the massive cast aluminium Crankcase which now has the ribbed Chain Case Cover bolted in place with the roller bearing for the end of the Camshaft hiding behind that dome in the center.
Finishing off the front end with the installation of the lower Crankshaft end plate which also houses the large roller bearing for the extended forward section of the crankshaft on the Marine versions of the 6LXB. This bearing more than looks after any axial loads on the crankshaft from the large pulley driving the two Electrodyne alternators on either side.
The dark steel fitting on the right is the timing chain tension adjuster which will get more of my attention once the whole engine is reassembled.
Next up is this cover plate where the large shaft drive for the Fuel Injection Pump comes out the aft side of the chain case. Here I’m replacing the old felt washer with a new one.
These felt rings ensure no dust or direct can get in from the outside and cause problems for the bearings inside.
I still need to prime and paint the Fuel Pump driveshaft but want to get it all fitted and do a test install into the Gardner to make sure ……..
…….. these timing marks for all the gears match up precisely. The large gear is on the end of the Camshaft and the gear you see above for the Fuel Injection Pump is the smaller one behind.
Here is how it all looks when it is dry fit into the Crankcase.
The PTO or Power Take Off which drove the original Gardner Generator/Alternators. In our case I’m going to use this to power the sea water pump for the heat exchanger that removes the heat from the engine’s cooling system.
Lever on the Left is the advance for the fuel injection pump.
Now it is time to install all these little soldiers to their new duties. 
These are the valve lifters which ride atop each of the egg shaped eccentric cams and convert the rotary motion of the camshaft to vertical motion to open/close each valve at just the right time.
When I was disassembling Mr. Gee I engraved each part with its position so I could reassemble them in the same order. Each of these lifter bodies are marked with their cylinder # and whether they are Intake or Exhaust.
As with everything else on these Gardner engines, these valve lifters are simple, strong and efficient. Just one moving part, the lifter itself, which is at the bottom here and rides on top of the cam lobe.
This lifter is identified as being cylinder #1 Exhaust.
Aaaaaa Tennnnnn TION!!!!!!
Soldiers all lined up and ready to be assembled.
Good shot to show how these all work. Lifter bodies fit into these holes in the AL Crankcase and are then clamped down with that stud in the foreground.
Below inside the Crankcase you can see one Inlet and one Exhaust cam lobe which the lifter rides on.
Here are all six cylinders with all 12 lifters now ready to be installed.
Which is now a matter of giving them all a good coating of oil for initial lubrication, setting each lifter into its hole in the top surface of the Crankcase, sliding the hold down clamps in place over their studs and then tightening the nuts to their correct torque.
SUPERSALONG CABINETRY:
Omur and Selim also got a lot done in this shortened work week as they relentlessly progressed on building the cabinetry in the truly Super Salon.
First thing Monday morning, Omur picked up where he had left off with the building of the ducting for the AirCon and Hot Air vents. 
These ducts run along the bottoms of all the glass windows that surround the SuperSalon and will soon be glassed in with fiberglass composite to make them air tight.
The boys in the Composite Shop made up these custom connectors.
Which Omur soon has attached to the ends of the duct boxes where space is tight going around the window mullions.
Selim (right) and Omur also picked up where they left off fitting all the Galey countertop Garages.
They have made up these White templates to get the exact size and shapes for cutting the marble countertops when they get sent over to the CNC Waterjet cutter. 
This hole will be where the wiring comes up from below into the Garage for some light switches and AC receptacle sockets.
With the countertop templates in place attention shifted to giving the Goldilocks treatment to the four big mitred corners of each Garage section. 
This also included fitting the Garages around each of the window mullions where the Rosewood tops meet up with the plate glass windows.
Mortises for all the invisible hinges on the gull wing like doors have already been finished and await the doors and gas lift cylinders being installed.
Another fun milestone as Omur and I brought the Galley Sink down from the storeroom so he could lay out its location and cut the right shape into the countertop templates.
In addition to spacing it well within the width of the marble countertop we also wanted to get the location of the faucet just right so its centerline matched up with the centerline of the Rosewood panel behind such that when opening the two Garage doors they clear the faucet.
Cut out dimensions for the Bosch Induction Cooktop/Hob were also laid out.
Taking less imagination now to envision what a GREAT Galley this is going to be to work in with those 360 degree views outside and surrounded by all these rich materials inside.
Just before we leave, lets pause for just a moment to enjoy some of Ömür’s Master craftsmanship in creating Goldilocks mirrored grain patterns like these in the Rosewood Garage fronts.
Luck us, we get to enjoy these views EVERY DAY!
GUEST CABIN:
We will finish up this week’s update with the craftsmanship that Omer on the right, and Muhammed are displaying. Here they are busy working on the liners for the overhead custom built hatches in the Guest Cabin, Shower, Ship’s Office and Workshop.
The have already laminated the inner core for all these hatches and the finished liners will slide up inside the walls of the aluminium frames of each hatch.
As with all the other Rosewood components, all edges are formed with solid Rosewood which will have their corners all radiused and then flow into the Rosewood laminated onto the flat surfaces.
Here they are fitting the mitred corners for the solid Rosewood edging on the top edge of this hatch liner.
Once the top and bottom edges have been fit, they are all glued and clamped to the liners.
Next day they trim all the Rosewood edges flush with the liner surfaces and they are ready for to be laminated with Rosewood now.
Back onboard and inside the Guest Cabin, Omer and Muhammed work on installing the FastMount sockets on this forward wall where the removable leather covered wall panel snaps in place.
On the far Left of the photo above, this bit of detail was looked after where the now in place wall panel wraps around the Blue Horizon Line Handrail and needs a little solid Rosewood trim piece to finish it off just right.
Over on the opposite Aft wall of the Guest Cabin they are finishing off the cabinetry on the end of the pull out Couch/Bed on the Left and the cupboard on the end of Christine’s Desk on the Right.
For a bit of contrast with all the rich Ro$ewood the two little shelves have been finished in White.
Last detail for the Guest Cabin this week was lowering the bookshelf a bit to increase the efficiency of this little diffuser vent and make it easier to remove/replace the ceiling panels. 
It took a lot of research to find them, but I’ve been very happy with how well these plastic diffuser vents are going to work as we have almost 30 of them spread throughout the boat. 
The two halves fit together with a base that mounts in the ceiling panel and the finished adjustable diffuser fits snuggly into that.
The diffuser has three components, the outer frame, the inner cone shaped diffuser nozzle and the center dome.
By turning these you can adjust the air flow’s direction to be bent 90 degrees and run across the ceiling or more straight down into the cabin. Or it can be shut off completely.
Here is how the base will be secured to the removable ceiling panel once it has been upholstered.
Then you just press the diffuser into the base.
And here is what it looks like when fully in place.
Just right for us; simple, efficient, easy to maintain.
Not bad for a three day work week!b
I’ve got a New Arrival it is so cool it deserves its own post so I’ll try to get that done during the next few days to show you all about it.
Right now I need to go limber up my vocal cords to join all the children and others singing in celebration of this big Children’s Day holiday and Turkey’s Centennial Birthday. We will be doing so well isolated from all or respective balconies but fun none the less to be celebrating together home alone.
-Wayne
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