New Rags

New Rags (Getting a New Set of Sails)

We knew this was in our future, it's time to replace the Sails on Eximius. 

Our choice was to go local, not the cheapest but there's a lot to be said for giving business to local companies. We chose Super Sailmakers in Fort Lauderdale. Their sail loft is only 20 minutes away from the slip where we keep Eximius and the rep lives even closer.

One choice we made was to go with a loose footed mainsail. Instead of the foot of the sail being attached to the length of the boom and at each end, a loose footed sail is only attached to the boom at the front of the sail (the Tack) and the back of the sail (the Clew), this allows the sail to take a natural shape along it's foot. But the Clew is secured to the boom by the Out Haul, and that piece of rigging is 27  years old! Might need to replace it.

Good decision! While inspecting the out haul rigging I noticed a crack in the fitting that connects the boom to the mast (the Gooseneck) so I ended up taking the boom off the boat and replacing the end fittings, 

Here are the new end fittings (top is the back end bottom is the front end)

Nice new castings and no cracks in the steel.

This is the old front end fitting. Yuk!

It was a challenge to get the end caps off. I drilled out the screw heads but could not drill out the screw shaft. In the end, I just punched them through with a nail punch. They were self tapping screws into pre-drilled casting holes.

There's a lot of surface corrosion, the sheave has a couple of broken edges and the split pin holding the gooseneck fitting is a renown failure point.

Of course the tackle looks pretty shot too.

 This is the aft end boom fitting, a bit of corrosion, it's missing the topping lift tang and the sheave has a few broken edges.

You can see the out haul wire, it's in pretty good shape, but I hope never to have to open the boom again, so I'll change it out now.

This shows the tackle that is inside the boom, it's a 3 to 1 purchase and the line is pretty much past it's best by date. The blocks are ok, so I don't have to replace them.

The inside of the boom has typical surface corrosion, but the end where the caps fit (this is looking from the front of the boom) inside need a clean up, a hard scrub should suffice.

Notice the lines have suffered over the past 27 years.

Looking deep inside the boom, nothing other than surface corrosion showing that might bee snagging the lines, so I'm assuming the line damage is just ages of abrasion against the edges of the boom.

Thinking about putting a pvc tube inside the boom, nice clean smooth surface, that should eliminate the abrasion.

Had a really good day working on the boat!

Completed the replacement of the outhaul and the Gooseneck Casting Assembly and aft boom casting.

Replaced the Topping lift control line and the Main Halyard that's the white line with blue flecs.

The line is a bit long right now, but I'll wait till the new sail is installed on Tuesday before I cut it shorter.

Have to find out something to do with the 100' of the old halyard line.

With the new lines in place, I put the Cradle cover back on the boom, the support lines are temporary (the old lazy jack lines) and the cradle is empty right now, waiting for the new sail to be installed on Tuesday.It's starting to come together.

Next projects are:

• Repair the broken stitching on the aft end of the dodger canvas (the blue cover over the cabin entrance)
• Modifying the Bimini beneath the solar panels to eliminate the puddle that forms every time it rains.
• Re-working the jib furler system so that it's easier to roll in and let out the jib as the wind dictates.
• Install hand holds each side of the dodger to make it safer to get out of the cockpit and go forwards without having to grab hold of the canvas (that's why I'm having to repair the stitching on the dodger!)

So today was a really good day, crossed off several items that were bugging me and got the boat ready for the new sail install Tuesday, assuming the weather co-operates.

Talking about weather - do I really need a wind turbine? Hmmmmm.

See you on the water.

Giving Thanks 2015

What a great weekend!

As planned, with a slightly later start, we left the slip and headed down the New River on Saturday morning. Bridge tenders were all on the ball and bridges opened without any delays, thanks guys!

Once we got into the Intracoastal and turned North, we headed up towards Los Olas Blvd bridge, past all of the Mega yachts tied up by Bahia Mar Marina. Bridge opens on the 15&45, and no issues despite a really strong current through the bridge fenders. Then a sprint up to Sunrise Blvd Bridge in time for the Noon opening. Wind was building up, but nothing nasty.

As we left the Sunrise bridge behind us, we called Spruce Goose on VHF 68, they were already at anchor. We agreed to raft up tied on their port side. Peggy did a great job of getting us along side, no sweat!

We both had fenders out, just as well as the wind was due to pickup. There were several boats in the bay, 4 rafted up included Valhalla, Cheshire, Kokomo, and Alebrije, Diversion (Bob & Joyce) were between us and the yacht club, Bold Prospect was nearby, Blue Belle and Hullabaloo were in slips. Sorry if I missed anyone.

The club boats had the Blind Man Dinghy race before we got there, hope I get some pics. Around 2pm, we all headed ashore, the dinks back in action acting as ferries, for games at the club.

Hector had setup a Knots Quiz, we all learned something, (like - next time, make sure your partner participates, else you only score half points!) It started to rain, but nothing serious. Bob & Pat from Esprit Du Vent drove down to be with the club members - they probably knew about the food!

We all headed back to our boats (dingy ferry again) to freshen up and get ready for the 5pm BYOF dinner.

If I have not mentioned it before, let me state it here - the HISC knows how to socialize, and that include how to have a feast! We all ate very well and desert was - incredible! Thanks everyone that brought something, (I think it had to be everyone, there was so much food!)

Back to the boats in the dark. Anchor lights around the bay, we all got back to our bunks safely.

Sunday Morning we all ferried back to the club house for Brunch - they told us it was going to be good! IT WAS! We beat the crowd, arriving at the club around 9:45, and not only was the food great, service excellent, but the conversations at the tables were lively, great social.

After brunch, we ferried back to our boats ready for departure. Eximius, Spruce Goose, and Cheshire were about the last boats to leave. They all headed North, while we headed South with Hullabaloo in front of us waiting on the Sunrise Bridge opening.

Getting back to the dock was an easy motor. We spent a while packing up gear to take home and loaded up the car. Home for a shower before heading out to the store for the week's groceries. Back to solid ground.

It was a great weekend, now we're looking forward to the New Years celebration in Lake Boca, should be a good turnout.

Thanks everyone for making the event awesome! Especially the Ferry boats.

Comment to USCG reference New River Drawbridge Regulations.

The USCG asked for Comments to be considered during upcoming meeting.

Comments may be left until December 3rd at:

Here's the link to the Comment form

Here are my comments:

Agency: Coast Guard (USCG)
Document Type: Rulemaking
Title: Drawbridge Operation Regulation; New River, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Document ID: USCG-2015-0271-0010

Comment:
The bridge being closed for 60 minutes will cause a back up of marine traffic in both direction.
The Rule should include a maximum period that the bridge can be closed to marine traffic. eg. the Maximum time the bridge may be closed to marine traffic is 15 minutes. This would help alleviate the back up of vessels waiting for the bridge to open.

There would still be an issue with vessels held up at the bridge forming a backup to the east and west, impacting the opening and closing for vessels at the Andrews Avenue Bridge, and the 7th street bridge and beyond in both directions.

The ambiguity in
2. The bridge tender will utilize a VHF-FM radio to communicate on channels 9 and 16 and may be contacted by telephone at 305-889-5572.
Should be removed.

Replace it with
2. The bridge tender will utilize a VHF-FM radio and telephone to communicate on channels 9 and 16 and Pone: 305-889-5572.

The ambiguity in:
6. When a train approaches, the lights go to flashing red and a horn starts four blasts, pauses, and then continues four blasts then the draw lowers and locks.
Should be removed, it does not clearly indicate the opening sequence nor does it specify the timing of the events.

Replace it with something that could be adhered too:
6. Within nn seconds of an approaching train, the lights go to flashing red and a horn starts four blasts, a pause of XX seconds followed by a 2nd set of four blasts, then after YY seconds and if the waterway is clear of passing vessels, then the draw lowers and locks.

My input on these articles does not endorse the concept of giving the railroad operations a free pass on how long they may obstruct a citizens right to use the waterways, they simply indicate the need to provide rules that will hold the railroad operators responsible for unreasonable delays to marine traffic.

Because marine traffic may be held up for a considerable time, the railroad should maintain signage that indicates where vessels may anchor in the New River adjacent to the Bridges (all of the bridges on the new river as a backup at the East Coast Railroad bridge will impact marine traffic at the other bridges on the New River.) Vessels cannot be stopped on the spot in the way that Road Traffic is held up when a Bridge opens for Marine traffic. Vessels are on a moving roadway! They only way they can remain safely on station awaiting a bridge opening for more than a few minutes is by dropping anchor or going along side.

Unlike the Intracoastal waterway, the New River traffic has to deal with multiple bridges within a short distance. Marine businesses and businesses that rely upon the New River Traffic will be impacted if the New River navigation inhibits use of the river. Many of the recreational vessels that use the river have to do so when the water depth permits. Adding more restrictions to navigation of the New River will result in many vessels moving out of the area, further impacting businesses on the New River. Visitors will be impacted by navigation restrictions as businesses that provide visitor services will be impacted.

Getting this bridge opening and closing management right is vital to the area residents, businesses and visitors.


This information will appear on Regulations.gov:

First Name: Paul

Last Name: Alcock

Must do - upgrade the shore power plug

Seeing yet another sailboat destroyed by fire today, and suspecting that the shore power system had something to do with it, I must get to do the install of the new Smart Plug Shore Power Connector before the weekend.!

Plans for going to the HISC Thanksgiving Cruise 2015

Thanksgiving Cruise with HISC

Last year we celebrated Thanksgiving with the HISC on Joint Decision, our Catalina 250, this year, we're taking Eximius, our 'New to us' Catalina 34. We have spent the past few months working on upgrades and repairs on the boat, it's time get her out of the slip and down the river.

I'll spend some of Friday (day after Thanksgiving) on the boat finishing off the Water Filter system, replenishing the water tanks, and cleaning the cabin, generally making it look nice. Cooling the Fridge Freezer down and stowing food & drinks for the weekend. Making sure all of the necessities are on board and stowed: Pots, Pans, Bedding, Linens, Towels, Toiletries, Books, Electronics, etc. etc. I'm working on building a check off list to make things easier in the future.

The plan is to get to the dock before 8am Saturday, final few bits to be loaded on the boat and cast off by 8:30am. We'll check all of the Electronics and the Engine before disconnecting the Shore Power and casting off the lines. The Dodger windscreen will be in place, we're expecting some crummy weather, but it will be fine. 

We'll head down the New River, past the Swing Bridge, 7th Avenue Bridge, East Coast Railroad Bridge, Andrews Avenue Bridge, and 3rd Avenue Bridge, that will get us through the New River Bridges and it's clear till we get to the Intracoastal. When we reach Sand Bar Park, we'll pass on the North side keeping clear of the shallow waters there. It's really skinny inside the markers, on Thanksgiving day there'll be a good crowd of power boats, anchors hanging just off their bow, partying big time. 

Once past Sand Bar Park, we'll head up the Intracoastal, ok, we'll be motoring East, towards Los Olas Blvd Bridge, that opens on the 15 & 45 minute marks, so we'll time our arrival. Next bridge is at Sunrise, that opens on the hour and half hour, 00 & 30 minute marks, so we'll have 15 or 45 minutes to get between those two bridges.

Our destination is the lake on the North side of the Coral Ridge Yacht Club. So that's only a few minutes North of the Sunrise Bridge on the West side of the Intracoastal Waterway. We have read about the shallows on the southern side of the lake entry, so we'll be entering closer to the North side of the lake.

If all goes well, we'll be dropping anchor by 10am (ish). Remember the Sailors Motto - Better late than dead on time.

If you're heading over the Sunrise bridge, you might see us at anchor, beep your horn!

See you on the water.

Do you drink that stuff?

It seems that most boaters don't drink the water from their water tanks unless they live-aboard full time.

When we fill the tanks with water from a dock in the USA, the water properties are pretty good, but the hose can be a source of contamination. 70 gallons of water aboard sitting in the tanks for several weeks has the ability to go bad! But if we're filling the tanks with water that is not up to USA standards, then the old garbage in - garbage out concept comes to mind.

So we're tackling the issue in three steps.

1. Clean the tanks, that's simple (not easy, but simple), we just have to empty the tanks and power wash the insides and then flush out all of the water hoses between the tanks and the faucets.
2. Install an internal water filter for a dedicated drinking water faucet by the galley sink. We've purchased a double filter with UV treatment for that. It's pretty big! That'll be an interesting install.
3. Add a water filter to the fill system. Currently the fill system just uses whatever hose is at the dock which gets stuffed down the water fill point on the deck (amid ships and stern fill ports). We've purchased a single high volume filter with adapters to fit practically any type of hose that we expect to meet. The plan is that we'll connect the dock hose to the filter and it has a fixed hose that will get stuffed down the fill port on the deck.

So, here's what I have done so far...

The complete filter system is mounted below the galley counter between the Sink and the Freezer (that's additional foam on the right to help keep the fridge cold.)

The filters can be removed by reaching in through the lower door of the galley draw unit. If I need to replace the UV lamp, it's pretty easy to extract it but does require that I remove the draw unit completely.

The plumbing is compression fittings between the spigot (shown in the photo in the top left hand corner) and the filter system outlet (right front of the lamp unit)
The inlet to the lamp unit is on the left and connects to the output of the Carbon filter (left blue container) which is connected to the sediment filter (right blue container) and then to the water supply T'd into the the Pump output. The UV lamp is going to be powered via the Water Pressure power supply and switched via the pump pressure switch, so the lamp will be on when the pump is running.

The new 'drinking' water spigot is mounted in the starboard corner of the sink, it was easy to drill a pilot hole with a 1/8" bit, followed by a 1/2" bit.

Pretty easy to attach the securing nuts from below, I did have to drill out the corner of the counter slightly to allow the nut and spring washer to get all the way up the spigot pipe and seat against the lower side of the sink.

Looks good. I used a hole cutter and multi vibro saw to cut out the corner of sink cover board. I have it at home to clean up the edges of the new cuts and apply a couple varnish coats.

I figure the wire run from the DC panel to the pump is less than 12 feet so I'm going to replace the existing wire with a larger AWG as the pump and filter may take 8 amps when running. And I'm going to use my new label machine to label all ends so that I'm heading in the right direction working on the boat's electrical system.

Should have it all done on Friday.

Stay tuned.

A little Air Please!

Our first trip on our first boat, JD - 2005 Catalina 250 Water Ballast, was a melt down! It was the first week in July in Biscayne Bay, and it was hot! After one night on the boat, we decided to install Air Conditioning.

And now we are there again but this time on Eximius, we learnt that requirement during the Shake Down Cruise

Maybe I'm not handling the heat so well or maybe it's just hotter and more humid, but any work inside the boat and, well, you would be hoping I'm using a good deodorant.

So time to start installing Air Conditioning on Eximius. It's not rocket science, goes something like this:

Install the AC unit:

• Install a shelf to sit the AC unit (that's going to be under the V-Berth so as not to use up any valuable storage area)
• Mount the new AC unit on the shelf and clamp it in place.

Plumbing:

• Put a two new Thru Hulls and shut off valves for the AC Supply & Discharge water (they'res going to be under the V-berth too)
• Install the new new AC water pump in the V-Berth, it has to be below the water line.
• Connect a hose from the Supply Shut off valve to the Pump via a sea strainer
• Connect a hose from the AC Discharge to the Shut off valve on the Discharge Thru Hull (above the waterline)

Electrical Installation:

• Connect the AC unit electrical control box on a bulkhead under the v-berth
• Connect 110v from the AC Aux circuit breaker in the Electrical Distribution panel to the AC unit electrical control box
• Install the AC digital control panel at the Nav station
• Connect the AC digital control panel to the AC unit electrical box

Ducts & Return Installation:

• Manufacture a Teak Box to go on the V-Berth Stbd hanging locker top with vents into the V-Berth and through the Main cabin bulkhead - they will provide air to the V-berth and stbd side of the cabin.
• Connect Duct T to AC unit
• Connect Flexible Duct from one side of the T on Stbd side to a box on the top of the hanging locker
• Connect Flexible Duct from other side of the T on Port side to another T in the area beneath the V-Berth draw unit.
• Manufacture a Teak Box to go on the V-Berth Port Draw unit top with vents into the V-Berth and through the Main cabin bulkhead - they will provide air to the V-berth and port side of the cabin.
• Connect Flexible Duct from the T below the draw unit up to the box on the draw unit top.
• Connect Flexible Duct from the T below the draw unit aft behind the bench back storage shelves, behind the Nav station, behind the head (inside the head storage lockers) and then over to a vent in the Quarter cabin.

Phew! I find that on bigger projects, it's best to write out a plan, then, on site, walk through the process to figure any gotcha's. It also helps to identify which tools are needed, supplies and fittings etc.

We'll have to haul the boat out to install the new Thru Hull for the AC water Supply, but as we need to replace the Depth/Speed/Temp transducer, we'll be able to do that at the same time.

I'll update this post with Pics of the Process.

October 11th.

Step1. Clean out the V-Berth Storage and mark up the location of the shelf support beams.

I had measured up the beam dimensions and cut them out of ply at home this morning.

After scribing, glue them (one of the rare times I'm open to using 3M 5200 adhesive.

Need to let the glue cure for 24 hours.


Pretty pleased with progress today. (Sunday Oct 11th.)


I plan on going down to the boat mid week to make the shelf template.

Monday October 12th.

Quick visit to the boat tonight, I took several sheets of cardboard to make a template of the shelf. The 3M 5200 had cured and the support beams were firmly in place. In reality, the weight of the AC unit will be spread around the edges of the shelf so the point loading on the beams will be minor. I will glass them into the sides of the hull as well as glass the shelf to the hull and the beams. This is one of those 'do it once, it'll last forever, so do it right' things.

I emailed Dometic yesterday asking about the pump size, I was a bit concerned that the pump I purchased might be too big. They confirmed, I need to move down a size from the 3CP to the 2CP, it's about the same price. I went back to West Marine to return the pump and ordered the correct one. While at WM, I picked up the materials to glass in the shelf.

Possible Change in plans

After discussing my project with several other owners, the plan to pull the boat could be  off the table. Originally I had intended to T the AC Supply (input) into the Head Supply hose and save having to cut another Thru Hull in the boat (and save having to haul the boat to do so)

Other owners consensus is that it's ok to T into the head hose.

So I'm going to see if I can run a straight line from the head cupboard to the V-Berth. If successful, then take that route, if not, stay the current course and plan to haul the boat.

Marked up the ply using the template, ready to cut that and paint the surfaces with Resin.

We're hoping the weather forecast improves so that we can take the boat out this weekend, if it does, we'll relax, if not, I'll get more of the AC install done.

Slight Mod. Someone suggested that I put Anti Vibration matting beneath the AC unit, sounds (no pun intended) like a good idea, but the shelf position is to high to allow that. So I removed the support beams and glassed the shelf directly to the hull (just had to slide it down and aft a bit, fit very like a glove)

After 24 hours, the GFP had set and my neighbor helped bring the AC unit onto the boat, I really didn't want to slip or trip while carrying the unit.

The AC unit is set on the shelf with a 1/2" Anti Vibration rubber mat to help keep the noise down when the unit is running and we're asleep just a few inches above it.

The fan outlet is pointing aft and the raw water supply and discharge ports can be seen to the left of the fan assembly.

Setting it in place gave me a good idea about the location of the ports, the electrical panel and where the ducting will connect. It also indicated that the discharge port (top left) needs a port side thru hull.

The AC unit's return air grill is on the port side.

There's about a 2" gap between the top of the AC unit and the underside of the V-Berth mattress support. I hope to install some marine sound proofing material on the underside of the mattress support. My experience with Dometic AC units has been really good, it's the FAN that makes the noise or rather the sound of the air pumping through the duct work. But I'm hoping the Anti Vibration mat beneath the unit and sound proofing above it will keep noise to a minimum.

We also purchased a Honda EU2000i Companion Gas Generator to power the AC when we're on the hook. I'll have to make a support for the generator so that it can be mounted outside the Cockpit to keep any CO from being an issue. Then a second support to keep the generator in the aft locker when we're underway.

If we ever have to have the AC unit serviced, I'm hoping that having comparatively easy access to the gas ports that are on the top front end of the unit will make service easier.








Next step is to make the Thru-Hull and connect the electrics.

1st the Electrics:

The AC Electrical unit is separate from the Main AC unit.

Easy to install: Cut a piece of ply and rounded the edges. Sanded it and a coat of resin all over.

Glued it to the hull with some 5200

Screwed the box to the ply after connecting the 110v wiring.

The 15' cable from the Electrical box to the AC control unit was too short, but it's a standard CAT 5 cable, so a trip to lowes for a 25' cable. (max length according to the manual that came with the AC unit is 30')

A few minutes with my multi tool and I had cut a hole in the face of the instrument panel at the Nav station and installed the control unit. I'll connect the electrics to the boat's electric distribution panel tomorrow and run the new CAT 5 cable to the control unit. That will complete the AC unit electrics.

I should get the Thru-Hull completed tomorrow too.

Ok, didn't get to the Thru-Hull, need to make a backing plate at home first.

But I did get the electronics box wired up.

The white wire is the 110v supply to the AC unit

The grey wire is a Cat 5 Cable from the AC Unit's electronics box to the AC Control/Display unit.

Nice and neat. gotta love tie-wraps

That's the AC Electronics box complete.

The 110V has to be connected to the Electrical Distribution panel, and I have to research that project.

The Panel has a 110V block of circuit breakers, some are 15Amps and the rest are 38Amps.

The 'Aux' breaker has a wire on it right now, but I don't know where it goes, have to find that. But it's also just a 15amp breaker and I think the AC needs to be on a larger breaker.

The ply panel that the electronics box is mounted is glued to the hull with 3M5200 marine glue. that should hold a lifetime.

Here's where the 110V has to connect in.

Can you spell nightmare? The wiring monkeys were smoking when they put that together.

Ordered a 25Amp Circuit Breaker & a spare 15Amp for whenever.

Going to be fun wiring up to the new Breaker.





Still going: (November 1st 2015)
Over the weekend, I managed to get the raw water hose run from the Head locker to the V-Berth, connected up the Pump to the hose and to the A/C unit.
The challenge was to get the hose run with minimal bends in the hose and a flow generally upwards from the Thru-Hull.
I used a fiberglass bendy rod to fish beneath the cabin floor under the Nav table, shower pan and into the locker in the head where the Thru-Hull is located, that was pretty straight forward, but you know it took a lot of tries to get the rod where I could reach it in the head cupboard.

Next was to run the hose beneath the holding tank forwards into the v-berth. I used a flashlight and a mirror to view under the tank from the only area where it's visible. My concern here was having to drill through the bulkhead between the holding tank locker and the locker forward of it, there's a heavy duty fiberglass partition between them. Drilling was only possible from the forward locker, which meant the tip of the drill bit would be out of sight when it broke through the partition, and my fear was that it might penetrate the holding tank, that would be a real mess!
After careful measurement, I figured I had 3 inches of space so using a short hole saw I would be safe. Phew!
Cutting through the two remaining partitions on either side of the V-berth 3 drawer cabinet was easy. Then I used the rod to pass a line through each stage of the hose install and got the hose easily into the v-berth. This was one of the toughest parts of the install so far. I had tried several different routes for that hose, and finding one that worked was a big relief.

Making progress.


Left to do:
.. Mount the pump on it's new shelf (make the shelf)
.. Connect the raw water strainer before the pump.
.. Hook up the pump to the electronics box.
.. Secure the A/C unit to it's base shelf (easy)
.. Hook up the electronics to the Boat's AC power
.. Install the A/C discharge Thru-Hull
.. Install the condensate drain.
.. Turn the A/C on - just so that we know it works - no duct's in place yet, so can only run it a short while to prevent it freezing up.
.. Install Duct into v-berth hanging locker
.. Build the duct in the v-berth that will house the A/C vent
.. Cut holes into the Main Cabin from the v-berth for the A/C vents that will be above the cabin table settee
.. Turn it on (just a short while, no duct installed yet)

We'll see how much of that gets done tomorrow, we're really looking forwards to our next trip away from the dock, it could be anywhere, even lunch at a dockside restaurant!

Update: 11/4/2015
We spent a couple of hours on the boat today, installed the Water Strainer (Pump mounting shelf not ready yet) Then hit a snag, the tube of sealant I had intended to use to seal the Thru-Hull was useless! That's the second tube... Better go buy some new tubes.

I did get a couple of little projects done, but not related to the A/C. Looks like this weekend I'm going to focus on that.

Update 11/8/2015

Finally managed to install the A/C discharge thru-hull, after I went to WM to get a 2nd new one as I cut the first one too short! Grrrr.

That brown goop around the thru-hull flange is epoxy resin with a brown filler. Makes it easy to check that the filler is evenly spread around.

It's really awkward to get into that area, but it's installed, right, and very firmly attached to the hull. That's not going to go anywhere!

That completes the water lines to and from the A/C unit.

Next I installed the new 25amp circuit breaker and connected the power to the Electronics Box, the lamp says it all - we have power!

But sometimes things don't go right. I had assumed that the RJ45 Ribbon cable was a standard straight through connection, but when I hooked up the A/C control panel at the Nav Station, it was totally dead, not a glimmer of power or control.

Looking at the ends of the supplied connector, I could see that it's not quite a standard Cat 5 Cable, the ends are swapped, so Pin 1 goes to Pin 8 on the other end.

I used the old, short, cable and the A/C flashed up for the first time and was blowing COOOOL air!

So I need to makeup new ends for the Cable and then it's time to start on the Duct work. I'll head down to the boat on Tuesday night to make the cable and cut the first duct hole.

I was able to cool the boat from 87 F down to 79 F, that's going to make working on stuff inside the cabin a whole lot more comfortable.

Stay tuned, I hope to complete this project this coming weekend.

Almost there! Peggy & I worked on the A/C system this weekend. All the ductwork is in place, cable is replaced and working, built the wooden duct from the Stbd locker top to the Cabin and V-berth grills.

Last part is to make the return grill beneath the V-berth and varnish the wooden duct on the Stbd locker.

Hope to get these done so that we can take the boat out on Saturday.

So, varnish the new woodwork, put all of the cushions and covers back in their normal location, and make the interior of the boat look nice for visitors.

I'll post a bunch of pics on completion.

Stay tuned.