Our sailing experience on a 1987 Catalina 34 which we named 'Eximius' which google showed as the Latin translation for 'Special' We hope that our posts will help others looking to take their boat beyond the local waters as well as provide entertaining reading. I'm a Brit, so my view of entertaining may not match yours ;) See you on the water. The Journey Starts Here Paul
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Keeping track of Boat Work
Friday, October 9, 2020
Cabin Upgrades (Part ii)
Upgrading the Cabin Table.
Selecting the Resin
- Prep the table top (the primer should be fine)
- Setup a workstation with a drip tray to catch the surplus resin run off
- Make a Tape Dam around the edges of the tabletop
- Mix batch #1 of resin and makeup 3 cups of colors and 1 of clear resin
- Apply 1st layer of colors and clear and style (arty bit) the top
- Remove the tape dam and wet the edges to allow for overflow to carry the art over the edges
- Eliminate any bubbles with heat gun (my heat gun should do the trick)
- Allow to dry before adding 2nd or final coat of resin
- Allow to cure for about 72 hours more is better.
- 1 Gallon Totalboat Tabletop Resin $65
- 2 Quart Totalboat Tabletop Resin $50 (because 1 gallon is not enough)
- Mica Black Diamond Pigment Set $18
- Disposable Mixing cups $9
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Plan to sleep better with our electrical system
OR - Fixing our Electrical System
Where we started
The Main Electrical Control Panel (Before) |
The solution - at least - my solution.
The General Concept of the Panel Upgrade |
- Main AC Power & Reverse Polarity Switch power
- Reverse Polarity indicator lamp
- 110v Outlets Power
- Inverter/Charger Power
- Water Heater Power
- Air Conditioning Power
- Nav table Light
- Stereo Memory Power
- Weather Clock Power
- Dry Bilge Timer
- Power from Battery Selector Switch
- Power to DC 1 Circuit Breaker Busbar
- Power to DC 2 Circuit Breaker Busbar
- Power to DC 3 Circuit Breaker
- Power to DC Fuse Block
Layout of the Terminal Block Bread Board |
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Cabin Upgrades
Time to update the Cabin of our Catalina 34
Current Cabin Style |
Mockup of bulkhead, table and cushion |
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Labor Day Cruise 2020
A Great Weekend with the HISC (Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club)
The initial tally for attendees according to the RSVP's was 4 boats and 14 people, some arriving by car. Not so bad considering we're in the middle of the Pandemic. The final tally was 35 people and 6 boats (one was a dinghy). It looked like everyone brought something to share, the table was quickly covered with everything from chips and dips, tortillas and pulled meat, crackers, cheese, cookies and more cookies. The Ice creams were kept in our freezer until the crowd had made a dent on the table top food supply.
Each club member received a 'thanks for coming' gift: a wine bottle LED lamp kit, they just needed an empty wine bottle to complete the project. Of course there was more Beer than Wine, but after seeing Gettin' Nauti's wine rack, it won't be a problem for everyone.
One of the best parts of these club cruises, is the opportunity to visit the other boats and find out what things that have done to personalize their boat. Rob and Nicole's "Gettin' Nauti" has undergone a lot of projects that make it a one of a kind - I got some great ideas from what they have done.
Rob took the time out to work on his tansom, the newly applied name looks very cool. Suits the crew!
The dockside at the Bahia Mar was alive with club members doing their best to stay socially distant or wearing a mask. Food, Drinks, Jokes, laughter and even some boat work kept us all engaged for the 3 day weekend.
It took some coaxing to get a few members to accept the mini ice creams, but at least we got a laugh out of them.
Sunday evening, we gathered on the dock astern of Gettin' Nauti for an ad hoc social, it just happened. More stories, more jokes, and more enjoyment of being out and with other club members.
Some people did not get the memo about bringing chairs, but we did ok.
(Notice that Gettin' Nauti's stern is naked in this shot.
A few ventured to the pool, some stayed, it was a bit crowded for others, but at least it was open.
Monday the 5 boats were still there:- Eximius, Affection, Windpunk, Cookie Monster and Gettin' Nauti. Amanda came by dingy Sunday afternoon. Other's included:- Bob & Pat Schuldenfrei, Ross & Astrid Hunton, Paul & Regina Chasse, Pierre & Ava Holstein, and the Mckisick bunch plus a few more guests.
Cruising points for the club members will be applied for each night they attended. When a club member participates in a club cruising event, they earn a 'cruising point' for their boat, when they have 10 points they earn the year's Cruising Flag.Member's earn an additional Cruising Point for writing an article for the Inlet Outlet Newsletter and for hosting a cruise.
Member's fly their collection of cruising flags with pride.
Our next cruise is Octoberfest, that may be a surprise venue. So stay tuned.
Friday, August 21, 2020
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.
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Updating the Solar System - Part 3
Putting it all together
- 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
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.
- 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
- Put Blue Sky controller on Craigs List