Installing the Raymarine Rudder Position Sensor

Installing the Raymarine Autopilot Rudder Sensor (RPS)

This starts off techy, but read it to the end.

As mentioned in the previous post, the plan is to mount the RPS on the underside of the Aft Locker Shelf Support Beam. 

The RPS arm must be parallel to the Steering Radial Drive Radius when the rudder is amidships. There is a small amount of adjustment of the sensor (it has 3 extended slots in it's mounting base)

Schematic of RPS
Connection to the Steering Radial Drive

The vertical alignment of the RPS and the Tiller Pin has to be within +/- 5º Max. I'll make several Starboard Mounting plates of different thicknesses and use those that are needed to get the alignment within tolerance. I have several thicknesses of Starboard, so this should be easy. 

Well that first layout didn't work. The vertical alignment of the Tiller Pin would move everything down too low on the Steering Radial Drive - there would be huge chunk of starboard on the underside in order to clear the ridges.

Second design: Duh, looks a lot simpler.

This pic shows the underside of the Steering Radial Drive, that hole with the cable poking through is the problem for the 1st design.

Duh - Just make a bracket that can be held in place using the Thru bolt (center of the 5 in the pic) 

Basically an L shaped bracket made from 2" x 1/4" Aluminium Bar and mount the Tiller pin near the end of that bracket. There's a flat surface behind the head of that center bolt, so the bracket should be solid enough. I'll add a few brazed shims to the bracket if needed to ensure it's soli

Schematic of Tiller Pin and Support Bracket

Down at the boat again this morning with a makeshift Tiller Pin Support Bracket, just to figure out the size of the RPS mounting plate. We'll also check the max Rudder Angle, it has to be less than 60º from Center to Port and Starboard. The pic above shows the dimensions

To make the Bracket, I purchased a 24" piece of 2" x 1/8" Aluminium Bar Stock from Lowes. Marked the bar about 6" from the end. With the bar held in an Oven Gloved hand, and a plumbers Butane heat gun in the other, I heated the bend mark for 5 minutes. Then set the hot bar between a couple of garden stepping stones and bent the bar to shape. After cutting the bar to size, drilled the end hole and the Tiller mounting pin holes. Aluminium nuts and bolts hold the Tiller Pin in place, Loctite to keep them there. 

I added the two SS screws and lock nuts to add stability to where the plate is attached to the casting on the bottom of the steering radial drive. Plan is to attach the bracket using the center rudder post bolt, then tighten up on the two stabilizing screws and lock them in place with the lock nuts.

In addition to the Tiller Pin Bracket, I need to make a shim on which to mount the RPS and then mount it under the Port Side Shelf support beam.

1/4" thick Support shim 
I made 2, the other is 3/8" thick

The Install process will be:

• Remove the Thru Bolt which prevents the Steering Radial Drive from rotating on the Ruder Post.
• Install the new Tiller Pin Bracket on the bolt and reinsert the Bolt and secure in place.
• Mount the RPS on the new Shim.
• Align the shim so that the Pin on the RPS and the Tiller Pin are aligned and the RPS arm, Tiller Pin mount form a Parallelogram.
• Run the Connector wire from the RPS forwards over the Aft Water tank and then join the loom of wires that reach the APU.

With everything prepped, I just need to get down to the boat early enough to be the heat or late enough for it to have started cooling down. Currently, the daily noonday temp is typically in the high 90ºF :(

Anticipating that I should be able to complete the RPS install in just one more trip to the boat, I'll hold off publishing this post until then.   Tuesday August 10th 2021

Update:  Thursday August 12 2021

Well, after getting all of that prep done, we took a break on Tuesday to get our Vaccinations - not Covid, we did that back in January, no, on Tuesday we got our Shingles Vaccine - shot #1 no biggy. Well, no biggy till Wednesday morning. Couldn't sleep all night and woke up unable to lift my left arm. Ibuprofen did not dull the pain! Wow, it gave me a little insight to what people suffer when they lose control of a limb. So Wednesday was a write off, I was able to steer my electric lawn mower, but very tenderly. So I mowed the lawn single handed.

Thursday almost 100% back in action. Lifting my elbow as high as my shoulder was slightly painful, but I felt I could make progress on this project.

We were down the boat by 10am and quickly got to work. 

Step 1 was to remove the center bolt. This pic shows the two shelf support braces on either side of the Steering Radial Drive. Removing the bolt took some doing, over 1/2 Hour to get it out, glad I'm a skinny guy.  That small USB powered rechargeable battery fan helped me keep my cool.

The bolt was a really tight fit through the rudder post, it needed a little persuasion but there's no room to swing a cat, barely room to tap the bolt with a hammer (of course I had a nut on the end so that the thread was not damaged.)

With the bolt out I took a break. The plan was to divide the job into steps. Step 1 done, got the bolt out.

Step 2  fit the Tiller Pin Bracket.  Step 3 install the Rudder Position Sensor with it's mounting plate. Step 4 fit the connecting stud between the Tiller Pin and the RPS pin.

After sweating for another hour, the Tiller Pin bracket is installed. There was no need for the stabilizing bolts, it's secured really well just using the Center Bolt.

This photo was taken after the install was completed, it shows the Connecting stud already installed.

Peggy had a good idea! Use a clamp to hold the RPS unit mounting plate to the underside of the shelf support braces.

I didn't have a suitable clamp on board, but I did have a velcro strap, it worked like a charm. That probably saved the day, I just don't see how I could have held that mount in place and screwed the plate to the underside of the shelf support brace.

Thanks Peggy.

This shows the completed install. the RPS is screwed to that Green plastic plate which is then screwed onto the underside of the Shelf support brace.

The biggest issue is getting the alignment correct and I'm not sure how accurate it is. This area is really difficult to work in.

The RPS has 3 slots around its circumference, that allows for some adjustments. The Connecting stud also has about 1/2" adjustment due to the two nuts on the connecting stud. 

Now that it's completed, I took this set of images.

But just to give it some context, this job involved quite a bit of Boat Yoga.

Getting into the aft locker / lazarette, takes some doing, but getting down into position in order to be able to reach the underside of the Steering Radial Drive requires a bit more flexibility.

I'm on my second shirt in this pic, the first was sodden by the time I finished installing the Tiller Pin Support Bracket.

Peggy took a couple of pics when I was not looking.

With the Rudder Position Sensor installed, we're ready for the next step. Run the wire from the RPS to the Autopilot Control Unit (ACU) and Install the EV-1 Sensor Core, both those jobs are easy by comparison to this part of the project.

Total time to install the RPS at the Boat -  3½ Hours. Plus the loss of a few pints of sweat equity.

See you on the Water.

Upgrading our Autopilot - Planning

Planning the Upgrade to our Autopilot

As covered in the previous post (Click here to view), we're upgrading our Autopilot replacing the original unit that suffers from Alzheimer's.

I ordered the major parts as a kit from Defender, added the Rudder Position Sensor kit from West Marine and drew a schematic to ensure I have everything.

Autopilot Schematic
Waiting on the SeaTalkng to SeaTalkng Connector

I missed the cable between the SeaTalkng Spur T's It's on order from Amazon. Should arrive tomorrow (Friday 8/6) so the system will be ready to install starting Saturday.

1st step is to install the RPS Rudder Position Sensor - that will be located in the Aft Locker. It will require some fabrication as the Sensor has to be mounted within certain parameters. There's a great how to article on the Marine How To site. So I'm pretty sure that the first visit down into the Bowels of the Aft locker will be an exploratory run, just to figure out how to mount the sensor. The rest of the install is easy, just mounting the various parts and making the electrical connections.

Here's where I'm considering installing the EV-1 the Attitude Sensor. That bulkhead is about parallel with the Helm Pedestal, the old Autopilot ACU is below the Circled area. Would make for a easy location and out of the way if anyone ever slept in the Aft Berth.

Locating it there would also reduce the amount of cable required to connect the p70s and the ACR / SeaTalkng Backbone.

We were down at the boat today progressing the new Cabin Top Winches, the outside temp was 97ºF but with high humidity is was a lot more painful. So no time to check out the location of the Rudder Position Sensor.

At home this afternoon, I did register all of the Raymarine new parts: Wheel Pilot ST4000, ACU-100, Ev-1 and the Rudder Position Sensor. Their site is not that easy to navigate, it's asking to 'Upload Documents' WTF? So I uploaded a pic of each of the Bar Code strips from each of the units. Then asked Raymarine support if I got it right? The Warranty on all of the products is dependent upon getting the Registration right. Now that's a Get Out Of Jail Free card if ever I saw one. Should have an answer in 3 biz days, that will be August 11th. We'll see.

Saturday August 7th. 2021

Took some pics of the area by the Steering Radial Drive where the Rudder Position Sensor will be located.

This shows the distance from the outer edge of the Aft Locker Shelf support beam (2" x 4") to be about 10" from the center of the rudder post.

That 2" x 4" is not a C34 original, a past owner installed them in order to mount a shelf which covers the Steering Radial Drive and improves the storage of the Aft Locker.

I might touch up the finish of the woodwork and the shaft guide post. Probably use the Same epoxy paint that was used for the bilges last January.

This pic shows the distance of the Radius of the Steering Radial Drive to be approximately  8 1/2" inches

The optimum distance of the Rudder end of the Sensor arm is 5.5" 

Looks like I can drill out where marked in this photo. That will allow a plate to be position on the underside of the Steering Radial Drive.  A piece of Starboard screwed through those holes will make it easier to attach the Tiller Pin.

This shows the underside of the Steering Radial Drive where I hope to attach that piece of Starboard.

The underside of the 2" x 4" aft locker shelf support is not quite level with the underside of the Steering Radial Drive. So a couple of pieces of Starboard will allow the Sensor to be mounted (inverted) closer to the Tiller pin, it needs to be no more than 12" from the tiller pin. So that looks very doable.

Might take a couple of trips down to the boat to manufacture and fit those pieces of Starboard.

So the planning so far:-

• Rudder Position Sensor can be mounted on the underside of the Aft Locker Shelf support - Stbd side. 
• Tiller Pin can be mounted on a piece of starboard screwed to the underside of the Steering Radial Drive.
• The ACU-100 can be mounted where the old ACU is currently installed on the Aft Bulkhead of the Aft Berth as shown in the pic above.
• The EV-1 can be mounted just above the new ACU-100
• The p70s Autopilot Control head can be mounted where the Garmin Echo Depth instrument is currently located, we'll have to figure out where to move the Echo instrument. The Echo Depth Instrument can be moved to the Port Side Pedestal wing, we'll just remove the temporary cup holder that is mounted there at present.

Next trip to the boat will be to start on the RPS install, it will have to be early in the day as it just gets too hot right now.

We're planning on taking the boat out on August 16th for a couple of nights, it would be nice to have the Autopilot installed ready for testing on that trip.

See you on the water, maybe not even holding onto the helm.

New Bathroom Lighting Pt. 2

 New Bathroom Lighting

What do you do when at Anchor early and there's time to twiddle your thumbs?

Complete the install of the new lighting for the bathroom (head).

Very happy even though I only installed one of the White LED strips and one Red Strip.

The two switches are mounted on the bulkhead just inside the bathroom door with the wires running inside a heat shrink tube that is double sided tape glued to the bulkhead.

Just like in the galley lights, the switches are setup to be Red (Rear), white is the forward of the two switches.

The video shows the None - White - Red lighting.

Oh, and just in case you wondered when I type up my blog posts, Peggy snapped this while I was setting up this post.

It's about 5:45pm Sunday March 28th, 2021, On the boat at anchor at Sunrise Bay. My laptop is networked with my Phone's Hot Spot. Love my T-Mobile service.

The install was completed when we were on Lake Boca yesterday.

What else did I do this afternoon after we motored down the Intra Coastal Waterway from Lake Boca, Florida to Sunrise Bay Florida - I'll post that next - someone has to do it.

See you on the water.

New Bathroom Lighting

Updating the lighting in the Bathroom (head)

I installed LED lights in the bathroom several years ago with some LED Puck lights

They were a lot better than the original Festoon lamp but I would not install them again. 

The light switch was located on the aft bulkhead of the bathroom where the original power cord passed from the other side of the bulkhead, that's the Port Side Cockpit locker.

After installing the Red and White Galley lamps in 2019, we both agreed that they would be better suited for the lighting in the bathroom and having the Red option would improve our night vision if we had to go.  Go - get it?

This past weekend, Peggy reminded me that we needed to change out the lights, a quick reorder on Amazon and the new lamps arrived this week.

These 12" LED strip lights will mount beneath the cabinets in the bathroom.

I purchased 2 packs, one Red the other White, each pack has 4 strips of lights.

I'll use two of the whites and two of the red strips with switches for each color.

I should be able to mount the switches close to the bathroom door or at least convenient to reach when entering.

The simple on/off switch has VHB tape on the back, so easily mounted, the challenge is to run the wire so that as little as possible is exposed, both aesthetically and so that the switch is out of the way when we take a shower.

I might even mount the switches outside of the bathroom.

The switches were available in various lengths of wire, I chose the longest, 78" that should be plenty.

Of course, I'll have to pull out all of the contents from the Port Side Cockpit locker in order to get to the original wiring.

I'll run new wiring back to the electrical panel which is another project that is getting closer and closer.

We might get this project underway this weekend, looks like a storm is heading our way and will leave our weeklong trip to Biscayne Bay in jeopardy, baby steps.

Part II of this post will be the actual installation. If we do get to go down to the Bay, then I guess the install will be while we are on the water.

So, see you on the Water.

Fixing our Electrical System (Part iv)

KUDOS to Blue Sea Systems 

Update on the Reverse Polarity Indication System.

I had contacted Blue Sea product tech support, asking if their LED panel lamps needed to have a resistor included inline.

Blue Seas 110v AC LED

Here's what I asked:-

>>>>>>

Tech support query concerning PN 8034

Does this item require an inline resistor?

Just purchased two of these for use in my 110v electrical panel in my sailboat.

Do I need to include a resistor in series with these lamps?

They will be used #1 to show that the AC power is switched on
#2 to indicate if the shore power is reverse polarity.

Thanks.

Paul

<<<<<<<<<< 

They replied within less than 24 hours even though my question was asked on a Sunday. I probably would still be waiting if the manufacturer had been outside of the USA.

Here's their reply:-

>>>>>>

Thank you for the question.

 

The 8034, and all of the LEDs that we sell, come with the appropriate resistor for the specified voltage in the 6” leads.  For the 8034 you’ll see a section of heat shrink in the white lead, that is the resistor.

 

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

 

Best regards,

 

Avery Stiles

Mechanical Engineer

ABYC Certified Marine Electrician

 

 

Blue Sea Systems

4600 Ryzex Way

Bellingham, WA  98226

 

Main Line 360.738.8230

Toll Free 800.222.7617

<<<<

Following up on that question. Blue Sea confirmed that the resistance inline with the 110v LED lamp is 33KΩ.

Further reading, I found the clearest advice in Don Casey's 'Sailboat Electrics Simplified' 1999.

From that, I figured that the following diagram is correct.

110v AC and Reverse Polarity System

Finally, I'm close to completing the system layout. So the next step is to get to work doing the upgrade.

One of my objectives is to prevent electric shorts or electrocution because of the open nature of the AC circuit breakers. The concept that looks like it will work is a sheet of acrylic that is formed to cover the AC Circuit breakers which would prevent a tool accidently shorting the connections or shorting me to 110v. But that's the final part of this puzzle.

Still looking for a decent weather window so that we can take the boat out.

See you on the Water!

Paul

Fixing our Electrical System (part iii)

Time to work on the layout of the AC segment of the Electrical Control Panel.

Two major objectives are 1) Update the wiring so that they have the correct terminations, correct wire size, only one terminal connected to the switched side of the Circuit Breakers. 2) Reduce the risk of short or electrical shocks by covering the AC Circuit Breakers.

The Neutral and Ground AC wires are currently positioned on terminal blocks that will be removed. The new terminal blocks will be on the new Terminal Box Bread Board that will be secured to where the existing terminal blocks are located.

Terminal Block Bread Board

The three horizontal 5 port terminal blocks on the left of the panel are for the 110v AC connections.

The top block will be home for the Neutrals (note the jumper that joins all of the 5 terminals)

The lower block will be home for the Earths (similar jumper joining all of the 5 terminals)

The middle block, lower connections will connect to the Circuit Breakers on the control panel. 

The middle block, upper connections will connect to the appropriate devices (Outlets Port & Stbd, Water Heater, Inverter Charger, and the Air Conditioning System.)  

The three 110v Terminal blocks have insulating covers (the existing blocks do not).

110v AC Terminal Block Schematic

Next I need to make sure I have enough Terminals, Wire, Heat Shrink, Labels etc. to start the project. I'm hoping that it will only take a couple of days to complete - but I'll make sure I have plenty of wiggle room as some of the wires will need to be changed from the blocks to their destination device. I would not be surprised to find that the '110v Outlets' have to be completely rewired and I will be installing GFCI's in each circuit (port and starboard). 

Still hoping we can go sailing before we start this - I say 'we' because it will save a lot of time if we can both get our heads around this project.

So, See you on the Water!

Paul

 

Fixing our Electrical System (Part ii)

Next step: Prepare the Terminal Block Bread Board.

The Electrical Panel is mounted to a wooden frame that had a hole cut into it that is pretty snug around the switches and circuit breakers in the panel. 

When completed, that panel will have some 'handles' on the front. That will allow the panel to be unscrewed from the supporting woodwork and pulled away to be laid flat with the front now facing down. That will expose all of the switches and breakers while keeping them elevated from the surface of the chart table. Hopefully, that would avoid accidentally operating any of those switches or breakers. The electrical connections from the switches and breakers will be via a loom that's long enough to facilitate pulling the panel away from it's supporting woodwork.

Oh, currently there is a hinge on the bottom edge of the panel, that is supposed to make it easier to get behind the panel, but it doesn't do it very well. Being able to pull the panel away will make it a lot easier to get both to the back of the panel and to all of the terminal blocks that will be mounted on the Terminal Breadboard attached to the hull brackets outboard of the electrical panel.

Cardboard template cutout. I was hoping to be able to make the breadboard 9" tall, but that's not going to fit. So I'll trim it to 7.5" tall.

Next time we're at the boat I'll check to see that it will go in through the gap when the electrical panel is open.

Like many boat owners, I watch a lot of YouTube videos on everything from Cruising stories to Boat repairs, from Rope splicing to Electrical how to's.  Watched one about a new boat on the market, and typically they have nicely done electrical systems. Because of one image, I got the idea of modifying the way that the Electrical Control Panel pulls out.

Right now the big issue is that the panel is only able to hinge out and down by about 50º and that restricts the access both to the wiring on the back of the panel and to the wiring that is on the bulkhead behind the panel.

Right now the big issue is that the panel is only able to hinge out and down by about 50º and that restricts the access both to the wiring on the back of the panel and to the wiring that is on the bulkhead behind the panel.

If I remove the lower hinge, then the entire panel could pull away from the bulkhead. To prevent the switches touching the Nav Table Surface when the panel is laid down, I could attach a few 'handles' that are deeper than the switches. So that's the plan. I would also clean up the edges of the hole in the bulkhead so that there is better clearance between the panel switches and the hole.

Next. Closer review of the wiring.

This photo shows the top most Circuit Breaker which is a double throw for the AC power. It connects the Hot and Neutral lines to the AC Distribution Breakers (A/C, Water Heater, Outlets and Inverter/Charger) 

The switch (back) in the foreground is the Reverse Polarity Test Switch and, just to the right, the Reverse Polarity Indicator Lamp.

If the Shore power Hot and Neutral lines were incorrect, ie. Reversed, then the lamp should light. 

The Test switch is simply to test the lamp.

The problem is that there is that missing connection on the left side of the switch! That switch should connect the lamp to Earth (the neutral and ground are connected on the boat) and the Neutral input at the main AC circuit breaker. If the Lamp illuminates, then that would mean the Neutral side of the breaker is actually a Hot connection! Wrong! Big time!  

Reverse Polarity Switch Circuit

Reverse Polarity Circuit Diagram

This picture shows what I believe is the correct wiring of the Reverse Polarity Indicator system.

Note. It does not show the additional parts of the boat shore power and Inverter power distribution nor does it show the Galvanic Isolator. The sole purpose of the image is to show the wiring of the Reverse Polarity indicator system.

The 'red' wire is not included in the current wiring on the boat (that's the empty tab on the Lamp Test Switch.)

And now the good news! While at the boat yesterday, the template for the Terminal Bread Board fits easily. So I can go ahead and cut the board then attach the Terminal and Fuse Blocks.

New Terminal Block Bread Board

 The New Terminal Block Bread Board is cut to size and the terminal blocks, fuse block and +ve Busbar are all a attached. I used 3/4" #6-32 S/S Dome headed screws and Captive nuts.

I'll drill the holes for the screws that will attach the bread board to the existing wooden fillet that is currently fiberglassed onto the inside of the hull.

Every little step is just that, a step forward. Right now, I'm working on the overall wiring diagram of the bread board. My intent is to get all of the wiring locations figured out before I start ripping into the existing panel wiring. 

This image will auto update if I make any changes.

We're hoping to get out on the water pretty soon, a few days of grumpy weather are already forecast. Looks like sometime next week. 

So, see you on the Water.

Paul

Plan to sleep better with our electrical system

 OR - Fixing our Electrical System

Since we have owned Eximius, we have installed quite a few upgrades and my guess is that we're not the first to upgrade the boat and certainly not the first to make changes to the Electrical System. Every time I open an electrical panel I repeat - I'll have to fix that one day. Well that day is nearly here.

Where we started

We have installed or upgraded the following parts of the Electrical System

• Click here to see the list

And all of that during the past 5 years of ownership. (or should that be 'ownerboat' ?)

During that time the state of the electrical system has improved simply because I have endeavoured to do the right thing and replace any wires where it was necessary and it was in most cases.

Now that we are aware of the kind of issues involved such as:- Incorrect Wire sizes, unnecessary butt joints in the wires, incorrect wire colors, inappropriate wiring terminals and buss bars and missing fuses (by missing I mean there are some systems that should be fused and they are not)

Example of poor wiring (in the bathroomf)

Here's an example.

There are many similar situations on the boat where wires have been joined rather than use a continuous run, the joints are typically twisted, soldered and then wrapped in electrical tape.

Worse are the 110v AC system wires that are joined with Wire nuts used in homes.

There are multiple wires that have nothing connected, just wires dangling.

Tie Wraps are abundant and it's not unusual to have 20 or more tie wraps within a 3 foot loom. That would be ok if they were each functional and neither redundant nor unused.

The Main Electrical Control Panel (Before)

So many things wrong here.

No separation of AC and DC panels.

No protective cover of AC breakers.

Incorrect terminals on lots of wires.

Kinda labeled wires.

Wrong size wires in many cases.

The solution  - at least - my solution.

So far, I have upgraded the wiring that supplies power or data to the device that has been upgraded. But that does not have the kind of impact that I'm looking for in order to sleep well at night.

The big question is, "Where do we start" and I say "we" because this really is a joint effort. Peggy has a pretty enquiring mind and is happy to ask why I'm doing something. Peggy was a Nurse for about 40 years, if you see the amount of technology that Critical Care and Cardiac Care Nurses have to deal with on a daily basis, it's pretty obvious why I explain why I'm doing something or what I intend to do.

If we were to buy another boat, then one thing I would inspect with a much more educated eye would be the Electrical System. Our Boat Surveyor never mentioned it other than noting something that was not working.

Ok, to the task - The Solution.

I posted a question on the C34 Forum and the Association Secretary suggested reviewing the Wiki Links - Wow, there are at least two great examples of what owners have done to solve this issue.

From the Wiki, I learned about a great idea of installing a breadboard at the back of the electrical panel area to mount the Terminal Blocks rather than having them float around behind the panel creating unreachable locations. That will simplify a lot, the board can be made to secure with just a couple of screws then removed, mount the terminal blocks and reinstall it. 

Here's a pic showing the concept.

The General Concept of the Panel Upgrade

The idea is to have enough length of cable looms from the circuit breakers to the terminal blocks that the Breaker panel can be unscrewed from the framework and pulled away to provide access to the wiring terminals as well as make it easy to access the back of the panel.

AC Terminal Blocks (3 - Hots, Neutrals, Grounds)

• Main AC Power  & Reverse Polarity Switch power
• Reverse Polarity indicator lamp
• 110v Outlets Power
• Inverter/Charger Power
• Water Heater Power
• Air Conditioning Power

DC Fuse Block (for normally on services)

1. Nav table Light
2. Stereo Memory Power
3. Weather Clock Power
4. Dry Bilge Timer

DC +ve Busbar

1. Power from Battery Selector Switch
2. Power to DC 1 Circuit Breaker Busbar
3. Power to DC 2 Circuit Breaker Busbar
4. Power to DC 3 Circuit Breaker
5. Power to DC Fuse Block

The existing wires mostly go directly to the Circuit Breakers, some have inline fuses. So there should be plenty of wire to cut off the terminals and then label and connect new terminals with heat shrink tubing to reduce corrosion penetrating into the wires.

Layout of the Terminal Block Bread Board

The -ve, return, busbar is located in the area above the control panel and only requires that the cables are re-terminated, labeled and routed appropriately. I'll still check them to their source device to ensure they are solid, ie. do not include multiple unnecessary but joints and the wires are the correct size and color. If they do not meet those specs they will be replaced.

The spreadsheet below has the terminations for each of the circuits. I'll update it on progress.

Ok, everything has arrived, even the 1/4" 12"x24" White Starboard. I'll measure the space for the breadboard again before cutting. Moving ahead with our Cabin upgrade at the same time, so progress will shift between the two and I'll report as we proceed.

See you on the water.

Updating the Solar System Pt 4

 Finishing off the Update

Here's where I am at the moment, the drawing includes the 3rd panel that has not yet arrived.

By chance, we watched a Pacific Yacht Systems video that showed the need for a Fuze between the Charger and the Battery. As mentioned in an earlier post, the boat came with wires from the charger to the battery but are incorrectly 12awg and 14awg but should be 10awg. My plan is to trace the wires from the Charger to their final connection to the battery (might be via a fuse or breaker and, no surprise, they may change cable size and color.) I'll replace them with 10awg Black and 10awg Red cables, while at it, I'll add a breaker between the charger and breaker on the +ve line.

Update Wednesday September 2nd 2020

The panel arrived on Friday, took it down to the boat today and installed it. Went pretty well except that I want to change the way the front edge is attached to the bimini, that'll happen on Thursday. 

But today we saw the benefit of the new panel. The Sun was partially obscured by the trees at the dock, even then we saw the power rise to 60watts compared to just 10watts without the new panel. Probably because the port side (old) panel was almost entirely in the tree shade.

The Victron controller keeps track for the past 30 days, I'll make a habit of sharing the data in a spreadsheet. the spreadsheet below shows each month of data since the install Move to the bottom of the page to see the Month Tabs.

Updating the Solar System - Part 3

 Putting it all together

We went down to the boat Tuesday with a 'Left to Do' list

Left to do:

• Install the bimini (repaired and waterproofed.)
• Measure gap between Aft Shade Panel Zipper ends
• Secure main solar power cables to Bimini frame.
• Secure main solar power cables with cable glands
• Clear out Port Side Locker for access
• Feed cables from port locker into bathroom and into cabin and secure to loom
• Restore the Port Side Locker contents
• Install 30amp circuit breaker/switch to bulkhead adjacent to blue sky controller
• Remove Blue Sky Controller
• Install Victron Controller
• Connect Battery to Victron Controller
• Connect +ve main solar power cable to 30amp circuit breaker
• Connect 30amp circuit breaker to Victron controller 'PV +ve'
• Connect -ve main solar power cable to Victron controller PV-ve
• Cover port and starboard solar panel to turn off.
• Make up cables from Port side solar panel to T Branch Connectors (+ve & -ve)
• Make up cables from Stbd side solar panel to T Branch Connectors (+ve & -ve)
• Remove covers from solar panels to turn on.
• Attach Smart Battery Sense unit to Main Battery System
• Setup Victron Controller using Victron App on cell phone or Tablet

And we got all of that done!

We also had the next two items on the list. But by this time I was sopping wet because of the humidity, it was 100º F on the outside of the boat and even the 80ºF inside, because the AC was running, I was totally washed out. Time to head home.

We quickly ran the Victron Connect app to check the state of solar charging and it was less than 1amp !!!! What the heck . But the heat got me and it was enough for today.

Thursday Aug 20th. Back down to the boat. I started to check things.

• Was the Circuit breaker ok - Checked - less than 0.01ohms.
• Check the Voltage from the two panels.
• Port Panel 19v (the Solar radiation must have been lower then the screenshot was taken.)
• Stbd Panel 19v
• Check the Ics at each panel - 0amps!!! or so low it could not read.
• Check the physical connections inside the Panel Terminal boxes - all secure and correct.
• Checked the physical connections to the T Branch MC4 connectors - Ah Ha! both pairs had a termination pin/socket not fully inserted - that's why there was 0amps the probes could not reach the pins/sockets.
• Both pairs of pin & sockets were opened and the inserts fully inserted, they moved in by nearly a quarter of an inch.

With the pin/socket error fixed, the controller showed as per the screenshot on the left.

6.3Amps!! WhooooHoooo!! That's better than we had before from all k3 panels.

We'll check the data again Friday and I hope to see a much better position than over the first two days.

We had no real idea of how the system was performing before this upgrade but the Max Solar charge we have seen for the past few months has been about 1 or 2 amps, and that was with the 3 panels installed.

The new panel from Amazon has not arrived yet, latest shipping info is that it will arrive by 9.9.2020 - Looking forward to see how that improves the system.

 

After this success and as it was not as hot today, I completed two more projects. Finished the install of the new Dry Bilge pump, it works a treat. Then I repaired the Rub Rail on the Port side where it popped out after our rubbing of the dock pylon on our last retur. I'm guessing that the heat softened the soft plastic rail insert and it was under pressure from the nudge on docking.

All the tools cleaned up, boat is ready to take out sailing...

And then along came Tropical Store 3 barrelling up the path from Puerto Rico, expected here Monday. So it's time to secure the boat again. We'll prep the house tomorrow, Friday, and then start on the boat.

Meanwhile I purchased a new pair of Wire Strippers and a new Clamp AVO meter, wish I had them when I started this job, I would have found the issue with the contacts much quicker.

Before I closed up the panel for the new Victron MPPT Controller, I checked the wires from the controller to the batteries. Glum! they are 12AWG and 14AWG. That's bound to cause a voltage loss between the controller and the batteries. I have plenty of 10AWG wire so that will be the next job. 

Oh, and when the new panel arrives:-

• Attach new panel onto Bimini
• Monitor Solar Charge Status (to compare with status after connecting new panel)
• Plug new panel into T Branch connectors (+ve & -ve)
• Monitor Solar Charge Status

After everything is finished.

• Put Blue Sky controller on Craigs List

I'll post a followup screenshot of the status tomorrow.

Stay safe out there!

Paul

Updating the Solar System - Part 2

 Part 2. Replacing the wiring

The existing wiring to the panels is primarily duel cable 10awg wire. The wires are attached to the terminal blocks inside the Panel Terminal boxes using twisted wire inserts. Those connections need to be correctly terminated.

In order to maintain consistent wiring practice between all three panels, the panels will connect to T branch connectors. This means that each panel will have a pair of wires from the terminal box to the T branch connector.

This means that the new panel can be installed at any time and thus allow completion of the system in advance of the arrival of the 3rd panel.

The good news is that the Solar Panel was due between September 13 - 19th, Amazon sent an update today stating that it would arrive between August 13 - 19th. That's next week WooHoo!

The Cable Gland kit from Amazon should have the appropriate size glands to create a waterproof insertion point for the 10AWG cables into the Panel Terminal Boxes.

Just so that it's obvious in 2030 - This is another of the boat projects that is being done during the 2020 Pandemic of Covid19. There's a degree of excitement about the work, it gets us out of the house and should improve the power system on the boat. We're going from 350 watts of solar power that we were told was on the boat when we bought her, to finding that we only had 230 watts of solar panels and then 130 watts after finding that the largest, 100watt, panel is defective. We should end up with 300 watts of solar with a max current of 3.69 amps + 3.59 amps +9.44 amps = 16.82 amps - but it will never get that high. I should be able to get 10 amps when needed.  Of course, the other benefit is that the wiring will be top grade, very reliable and, most importantly as far as satisfaction is concerned, we'll be able to monitor the Solar system which is something we cannot do right now. It's good to know that things are working correctly.

Update Saturday August 15th.

Made good progress today:- After removing the defective panel yesterday, today we worked on the wiring. Once I had detached the cables from the Blue Sky Solar Controller and traced them up into the aft end of the Nav Area covered shelving, Peggy started snipping the tiwraps that held the cables to the loom in the bathroom. Meanwhile, I removed the wires from the remaining two panels and extracted the main wire from the Panel mounting down to the Port Side Combing where it passes into the area inside of the Port Side Cockpit Locker

Once inside the locker, I was able to see where the cable came into it. There has to be a hundred tiwraps holding the loom together and to the large Exhaust pipe that reaches up to the top of the locker.

Just as we have found virtually everywhere in the boat electrical system, the Solar Panel Power wire has multiple connections, one was a 4 screw chocolate block and another was the dreaded twist, solder and cover with sticky electrical tape.

The new wire from the panels will be two pieces of continuous 10AWG wire.

While in the locker I was able to see the original Catalina Wiring for the Stern light glassed into the underside of the Combing area. 

As we make further improvements to the boat, I'm sure we'll fix the rest of the wiring in that area, I cannot think what it must all be for? I replaced the Engine Harness wiring a couple of years ago, so I know that's good.

With a heavy rain cloud in sight heading our way, we quickly stowed the locker contents and closed up the boat. By that time we had the cable double cable entry gland installed and the cables from the solar panels lead all the way into the Port side Locker. Monday we should be able to complete the wiring of the panels and the installation of the new Victron MPPT Solar controller.

When we got home, there was a pile of stuff from Amazon waiting on our doorstep. The Controller, Battery Smart Sense unit, 30 amp circuit breaker/switch, and the box of cable glands.

The only thing left to arrive is the new 170 Watt panel.

Part 3 should conclude this project. We're planning on a sailing trip next weekend the 22nd of August, so no pressure !!!

See you on the water.

Paul

Updating the Solar System

The Solar Problem

When we purchased Eximius, we were told that the Solar Panels were a total of 350Watts with 2 x 100 Watt panels and 1 x 150 Watt panel. The solar charge has never lived up to expectation, and I wondered why!

My first thought was that the supply wires from the panels to the solar charger were undersized and that we were experiencing voltage loss over the length of the wires.

The wires are twin 10AWG and length is approximately 24’ one way, or 48’ round trip.

Looking up in the electrical tables for the voltage loss over that length of 10AWG cable I found that the resistance of that wire is 48’ x .102Ω/100feet = 0.049Ω≈ .05Ω

With the panels connected in Parallel, the max current would be about 15amps

Voltage Drop, Vd, = I x R = 15amps * .05Ω = 0.75v

That's not a huge voltage drop but more than I would expect.

The Solar Panels are mounted on top of our Bimini so we cannot see the underside of them, and we didn’t think to take pics when we had the Bimini off a year ago for restitching. I took photos this week.

The panels are not 350Watts!!!!

We have 2 x BP365U solar panels which are each 65watt panels and 1 x ICP SolarTech 100w panel.

So total wattage would be 230Watts and that was when new, which seems to have been in 2003. They have a 25 year warranty of 80% nominal output. So realistically, we have somewhere between 180watts and 230watts.

So taking a mid point on the 17 year old panels, let’s say we have 200 watts. The panels in parallel should have a voltage of 21v and max current of 14amps. So my calculations above would seem valid.

We have a Blue Sky 251 2i Solar Boost MPPT Controller. Which has a 25v, 25amp capability. Which would seem very capable of handling the output of the panels and the battery charging.

Oh, the Batteries: We have 4 6volt Trogan 105 Batteries connected in series and parallel to provide a total of 12v and 450 Ah at the 20 hour discharge rate.

Upon inspection, we found that the Wire from the solar panels is showing signs of damage and the connections that join the panels in parallel are not up to my spec (they seem to be covered in electrical tape and liquid tape, yuk) also the wire passses through the top of the port side combing through a drilled hole which has been covered with a huge goop of silicone sealant. 

The MPPT controller does not have any management utility, there is an upgraded version that does, but it would be cheaper to replace the unit.

I have decided to replace the wiring, I’ll use individual 10AWG wires and MC4 connectors along with a suitable cable gland where the power line passes through the fiberglass of the boat. I’ll also change the MPPT controller for one that has a remote management facility (most likely bluetooth) in order to correctly tune the charger to the system, which will include a temperature sensor on the battery bank.

Now to decide on the controller and the wiring cables, connectors and the cable clam to provide a waterproof pass through.

• 30' of 10 AWG Black Multi Strand Tinned Copper Wire
• 30' of 10 AWG Red Multi Strand Tinned Copper Wire
• 6 MC4 Connectors Male/Female Pairs
• 1 of 1M-3F Branch Connector 
• 1 of 1F-3M Branch Connector 
• Twin Cable Clam
• Victron SmartSolar MPPT 75/15 Solar Charge Controller 75V 15A with Bluetooth

 Found all of those on Amazon. I don't have a crimp tool for the MC4 connectors, hence choosing a kit that includes the crimper and wrenches. Here's a link to the shared ideas list on Amazon 

  - 

We went down to the boat today to further inspect the wiring. The Wire, Terminals and Crimp kit as well as the twin cable clam had all arrived, time to get dirty.

Step one was to remove the Bimini canvas so that we could get to the underside of the panels. The two 65w panels have terminal boxes affixed to their undersides, with the covers off I could see the connections and the diodes, that's a good start, but the larger panel wire is connected to the Stbd side aft panel (65w) via a hole in the terminal box and a large goop of silicone. Grrrr.

So, we tested the panels.

• Port Side 65w BP Solar panel - 17.9 volts 3amps
• Stbd Side 65w BP Solar panel - 17.9 volts 3amps

• Foward 100w Solar Panel - 0.00volts 0.0amps
• Inspecting the panel, it has no terminal block and I cannot see where any diodes could be fitted! The wiring looks awful and it's connected from the Port Aft corner of the panel to the terminal box  on the Stbd panel. I checked at the inter panel connections that are on this panel and they were all zeros! This panel it no use!
• 
  
  

My conclusion is that the 100w panel is beyond my repair and is probably 13 years old.

Time to look for a new panel. I searched for a panel that was the same physical size 60in x 29in and could not find one, but I did find a 170w panel that uses Z brackets and they would extend the size of the panel by about 1.5" with luck it will fit, if not I'll just have to add a wider brace between the two aft panels and the new forward panel.

Here's the updated materials list

• 30' of 10 AWG Black Multistrand Tinned Copper Wire ✔
• 30' of 10 AWG Red Multistrand Tinned Copper Wire ✔
• 6 MC4 Connectors Male/Female Pairs ✔
• 1 of 1M-3F Branch Connector ✔
• 1 of 1F-3M Branch Connector ✔
• Twin Cable Clam✔
• Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 Solar Charge Controller 100V 20A with Bluetooth 
• Victron Smart Battery Sense Long Range (Up to 10M)
• BougeRV 170 watts Monocrystaline Solar Panel 12volts

• BougeRV Solar Panel Mounting Z Brackets✔

Everything has either arrived or is ordered, the last item to arrive is, according to the amazon schedule, the solar panel due on September 3rd. Meanwhile I can get the other wiring taken care of. 

 

 So there's a few items to arrive, I hope to get as much as I can done before the new pan el arrives in September. I'll take more pics and post another article then. Maybe I can get Peggy to take a video showing what we are doing.

Stay tuned.