Thursday, October 24, 2024

Chart Plotter failed

Chart Plotter failed - time to upgrade

Before the Failure :( 



Our 12 year old Garmin 741XS Chartplotter failed, at the dock, it would not turn on after we shut it down. This has happened three times now, once on the ICW, once when heading in from the Ocean and now at the dock while testing it.

Circuit Breaker - On √ 
Fuse √
Power at the connector to the Chartplotter √

It just will not boot up! Grrrrr.

Time to upgrade.

This is our 3rd Garmin Chartplotter, two on a previous sailboat and this one which came with the boat when we purchased it in 2015. 

We have a full NEMA 2000 system plus a Garmin HR 18 Radar. Our helm station is nicely setup with the Chartplotter, GMI instrument to show wind and pretty much any other data from the system, and our Raymarine Evo 100 Autopilot.  So ideally, the new Chartplotter will fit in the same footprint as the old one.

Down to West Marine with the old Chartplotter in hand we browse the available units.

Garmin GPSMap 943xsv
Multifunction Display with US and Canada Navionics+ Charts


Closest in size is the Garmin GPSMap 943 xsv. We spend a while discussing it with the WM rep and were able to confirm with Garmin Tech Support that our older Garmin HR 18 Radar would work with the new unit and that it would physically fit on our helm station. The power connection was also the same and the only other connection we were concerned about was the NEMA 2000 and that is standard.

Thirty minutes later we were walking out of the store with our new Chartplotter. WM confirmed that if it did not work on our boat we could take it back.

That night we both plowed through the install manual and the user manual. We also watched several YouTube videos on how to connect the GPSMap 943xsv to Active Captain and how to get the latest charts.

The new Chartplotter came with a 1 Year Navionics + subscription which means we can get the high res charts and the Auto Guidance feature - very cool!

After registering our new Chartplotter using Garmin Express on my laptop, we were able to log into Active Captain on my Tablet and download chunks of the Navionics + Charts for our area.

So far so good. Now time to install the new Chartplotter on the boat.

Step 1 - Physical mount it to the helm station. Our old Chartplotter mount is almost identical to the new, maybe a couple of millimeters narrower.  So 4 bolts removed, new mounting bolted down, ready to install.   --- 1st issue!

The mount has slots which hold the Chartplotter in place with a couple of large turn screws, but the diameter of the threaded part of those two turn screws are just a tiny bit too large, it's really difficult to get the screws into those slots.  Once I figured that out, it was not a big deal, but installing / removing the new Chartplotter is a pain. Doable but - maybe it will ease with use.   I did have to turn the mounting 180ยบ so that the Chartplotter is mounted from the forward edge of the mounting rather than from the aft edge so that the turn screws would not be obstructed by the instruments on either side of the mounting.

Ok, That's done.

Step 2. - Make the Electrical Connections. This was a none issue! The power connector fit, so did the NEMA 2000 and finally so did the Radar RJ45 connector. Woohoo!

Ok, time for the 1st light test.
Peggy was at the helm and I was down in the cabin. Nav System Power √, the Auto pilot instrument woke up, so too did the GMI and the Echo Depth sounder.  Next was the GPS power - √

Now the GPSMap 943xsv woke up, it took a while for it to boot and first offered Demo Mode, we skipped that.

Next it offered the main setup options. We quickly went through that process, setting the boat dimensions and type.  Finally we got to the home screen.

We saw the new unit on display at the West Marine center so we had an idea of the screen layout.  But we got to see so much more with the unit on the boat where it was connected to our Radar, AIS, Compass, Depth Speed, Temperature, Wind data. There is so much to see!  Peggy asked if Garmin had an online Demo system? I cannot find one ( so if any of you know different let me know too ๐Ÿ˜Š  ) 

Ok, let's keep going on the progress here.    We turned on AIS and that works as expected, probably a bit clearer than the 741xs. Next - Radar - We powered up the Radar then on the GPS Map home screen selected Radar and Single view which just shows the Radar view. On the left is a menu to complete the Radar Setup from the current 'Trxm Off', touch that and the Radar starts to spin up and in a few seconds we had full Radar Display.

Back to the home screen - Click on Vessel and then 'Wind' and wow! Much more info on the screen than on the 741, running data as well as clear current wind displays - shows more than on the GMI but all on a single screen

Sof ar we have Charts, Radar AIS and all of the other NEMA 2000 data. We did not test the Autopilot yet, but that's on the list.


And there's more! Active Captain! We had downloaded a couple of segments of the Charts from Navionics via the Active Captain app. Then with the Tablet set to use the same WiFi network as the 943xsv the system transferred the chart data to the Chartplotter.  Now we have the latest Hi Res chart data on the new Chartplotter. 

We did try the Auto Guidance and that is totally sweet! To try it out we setup a waypoint up the ICW and then hit the Auto Guidance, selected go to the waypoint, then selected Auto Guidance, the route down the North Fork of the New River, past all of the bridges, down to the ICW then North up past Los Olas Blvd Bridge, Sunrise Bridge, Oakland Park Bridge and Commercial Bridge and then to the Waypoint. Wow!   Now we'll have to see how that works with the Auto pilot although, there is no way that I'll leave the navigation to the system, it's challenging enough without the Auto Pilot let alone trust Auto Guidance to the job.  But it's really nice to see the route plotted out for us. Of course, I'm pretty sure that it does not consider the Wind for sailing a route, but having the route plotted out easily is a major plus.

Next time we're at the boat we'll check out the Autopilot access - do we have to still control the Autopilot via the Raymarine Control Instrument or can we manage it from the Chartplotter.  Also, we'll setup the Garmin DST 810 Depth,Speed  & Temperature transducer ( we extract it each time we dock ) and see how that data is displayed.

Mainsail is still at the cleaners, so no sailing this week but next week is looking good.

See you on the water. 




Thursday, October 3, 2024

Refinishing the Non-Skid deck - actually doing it.

Actually refinishing the Non-Skid decking

This is a project that I started in 2021 and have allowed life and other more important boat repairs to take precedence. The good news is that the materials that I purchased from Jamestown Distributors has not suffered on the shelves of my garage here in South Florida - ok, one Can did leak a little, probably because the cap was not seals ( shake the can after screwing down the lid ), that was the Awlgrip Awlcat #3 Topcoat Brush Converter ( 1 pint ), so I ordered another pint.

Ok onto the work, it was surprisingly easy!

  • Clean the deck ( I'm just doing the Port Side Non-Skid for now )
  • Sand the deck using 3M Scotch-Brite Ultra Fine Hand Pad 7448
  • Mask off the Non-skid areas using 1" Blue Painters Masking tape
  • Mask off the surrounding areas using 2" Blue Painters tape overlapping the 1"
  • Clean the deck again using Awlgrip Awl-Prep Surface Cleaner
  • Apply Primer with a 4" Roller & 2" Nylon brush
    • Mix the Primer as follows:-
    • 1 Part Awlgrip 545 Epoxy Primer Base
    • 1 Part Awlgrip D3001 545 Epoxy Primer Converter
    • 0.2 Parts Awlgrip Topcoat Brushing Reducer ( yep, same reducer as the topcoat )
    • Allow 12-14 hours between coats. ( Apply a total of two coats)
This was pretty straight forward except for the 12-14 hours between coats! We keep the boat 35 minutes from our house, in South Florida, it's Rainy season ( isn't it always ? ).  So If I apply the 1st coat at 9am, then the second has to be applied by 9pm, that's not going to happen. So I applied the first coat a 8pm and the 2nd at 7am the next day - yep, a very light breakfast.  I did speak to a rep at Jamestown and they advised that if the first coat had been applied 24 hours then the surface would need to be sanded again. I still kept it to withing 14 hours.

Next, the TopCoat, again easy:-
  • Blow the deck clear of the bio dropping from the Palm Trees that overhand the dock, dry off the water from the rain. All of this in socked feet.
  • Mix the 1st topcoat as follows:-
    • 1 Part Awlgrip Polyester Urethane Topcoat Base Paint
    • 1 Part Awlgrip Awlcat #3 Topcoat Brush Converter
    • 1 Part Awlgrip Additive Flattening Agent G3013
    • 1 Part Awlgrip Topcoat Brushing Reducer ( my understanding from reading the datasheets is that this can be less than 1 part of Reducer, I used 0.5 parts )
  • Apply the 1st coat of Topcoat and follow with a 2nd coat at least 16 hours after the first coat is applied. ( This is much easier to achieve, I simply put the 1st coat on a 6pm and the 2nd at 9am the next day. )

Mixing the paint

This was all done when the Humidity was around 74%, definitely not ideal, but as I was applying the paints with a Brush and Roller I figured the humidity was not such a big factor, whereas had I been spraying it, then that would not work out well.

Down the Cabin I had a paint mixing station, several cloths covered the galley countertop.
  •  A large snap lock container corralled all of the paint cans.  
  • Several 1 liter mixing cups
  • Several Wooden stirrers
  • Paint can opener
  • Pair of Channel Lock pliers ( to open the cans that screwtop lids )
  • Blue Masking tape ( to apply to the sides of the mixing cups )
  • Red Felt Tip pen ( to mark the cups)
I put the Blue masking tape vertically onto the sides of the mixing cups so that I could mark them with each of the paint component levels. I found that putting the horizontal markings at:
  • 120ml ( fill point for the Base Paint )
  • 240ml ( fill for the Flattening agent - it's non reactive with the Base so I added this before the reducer.)
  • 360ml ( fill for the Activator - start the clock ! )
  • 450ml ( fill for the Reducer ) I varied this from 10% to 50% didn't seem to make much difference, they all rolled really well and it did not affect the color.
This way I felt confident that I would get consistent color finishes for each segment of the deck.

I also taped down a plastic sheet on the cockpit storage locker so that I would not worry too much about getting paint onto the white of the cockpit. I also put some dry cloths ontop of that plastic so that I would not step out onto the deck to be painted with damp or dirty socks.

I used a 4" roller on the end of a 6' pole for the major areas of the deck and a 2" nylon brush to get close to the bases of the Stanchions, Deck Fills and the Chain Plates for the shrouds.

Oh! After painfully sanding the deck before getting to the actual painting, I figured out it would be better to wear Knee pads instead of using a Throwable Cushion to protect my knees ( really awkward and it didn't fit where the deck narrows aft of the cabin top.

Of course I wore Nytril Gloves, I'm on my 2nd box already. I applied Baby Powder inside them to make it easier to don the gloves AND I wore long sleeved shirt just to capture the sweat dripping from inside the gloves. I also had a dry rag in each of 4 pockets so that if I needed one to quickly mop up a painting booboo or to dry up the dripping sweat, I didn't have to stop everything and go back to the cockpit.

It took about an hour to clean and dry off the non-skid immediately before applying a coat of paint until I was ready to walk away from the boat. So the actual painting took 4 hours plus the cure times between coats.

Next task is the Stbd side of the non-skid deck, I expect it will be much quicker as I have the mixing down and also feel very practiced at applying the masking tape.  Oh, I did shimmy the Dink that is on the deck in front of the mast, over to the other side of the boat so that it was not in the way of working. It'll probably have to be moved onto the dock before I start to work on the cabin top non-skid decking.

So, progress is good, weather is really wet, I hope I can get the masking tape off easily but am prepared to have to peel it very carefully, perhaps with the aid of a razor knife, we'll see, I should be doing that in the morning.

I broke the deck into manageable areas.
I'll probably do the Port & Stbd Quarters at the same time as the Stbd Side Deck and the Companionway Hatch & Cabin top in one go too.



I had ordered Quart cans of each paint component but only a Pint of the Top Coat Converter, right now I'm confident that is sufficient to complete the project along with the 2nd pint of Top Coat Converter.

It took 450ml for each coat on the Port Side Deck, the Anchor locker lids and the Companionway Hatch Cover, I have about half of the materials left over. Pretty sure I'll get it all done. But .... Jamestown has been really good at shipping orders promptly.

Having completed the Port Side Deck, I'm really pleased with the result. It cleans up easy so the Lizard Poop rinses off really quickly and walking on the deck is at least as grippy as the pre-refinish deck surface.

We had a couple of bad weather spells, so there was a delay in continuing the project but today I finished doing the Stbd Side Deck, now we have to wait 72 hours for it to totally cure and we can walk on it again. Then we'll remove the blue masking tape and reinstall the shroud chain plate covers & bolts, finally re-tension the Rigging.


Here's a review of the progress so far - Blue is done!

Left to do:- 
  • Coach Roof Non-skid
  • Companionway Hatch Non-skid
  • Cockpit Deck - Non-skid
  • Port &Stbd Quarters - Non-skid
Next painting project - White Work ;-
  • Toe rail 
  • Coach Roof 
  • Cockpit



Mystery Ding!

We did turn the boat at the dock this week and noticed a small chunk gouged out of the corner of the transom on the Port Side, very odd! It's too low to have occurred out our dock even during the recent King Tides and the last time we went to a foreign dock was several months ago in Fort Lauderdale. We have scrubbed the Transom down several times since then and never noticed it.

We are super careful when turning the boat at the dock and it absolutely did not happen when we turned the boat on Tuesday, could not as the damage is about 18" below dock level at high tide.  It's a mystery.

We'll go back to the boat in the morning, grind the area and apply some resin. Then add it to the list of touch up work we have to do. Our plan is to work on the 'white work' in November. ( Toe Rail, Coach Roof, Cockpit Combings etc. ) 

Meanwhile we're looking forward to taking the boat out next week for at least one overnight.

So, we'll see you on the water!