Keeping our boat's Log in the Dark

Sailboat Log Keeping at Night.

I posted a few months ago about the new Ships Log that I created using Google Sheets, here's a link to the first of those two posts.

We've been using the Log Book for nearly six months now and have used it on several night sailings. It has worked out really well.

When keeping the Log at night, the biggest issue is being able to see the pages and write in the dark. The GPS screen and the other instruments at the helm are dimmed almost to minimum in order to protect our night vision, so using a Flash Light to illuminate the pages of the log is not an option.

I found these on Amazon and they are incredible.

The light is plenty bright enough to be able to see the Log Book Pages and the Red Light does not harm my night vision.

I routinely switch through the clicks of the pen to get to the Red Light, and when switching it off, I switch through 3 times to get to the 2nd Off setting which means one click and the light is on.

There was a concern that the Batteries might not last long enough, but we have used the Pen nearly every night during a 3 week sailing trip to keep the Log Book and to write up my blog notes (while Peggy is taking a nap). The batteries are not showing any signs of needing replacement yet. The Set of 3 came with 6 refills and 3 sets of spare batteries. The package is a ziplock type bag, so the spares stay nice and dry as well as all in one place, which is normally a problem for me, I'm not the tidiest sailor on the ocean.

Here's a link to the pen set on Amazon - Yes, I earn an amazon commission on sales from my blog, but hey, it helps me do all of these projects. 

Improving Engine Access

Better Engine Access on Eximius

The Engine is located beneath the Companionway Steps on our Catalina 34. This picture shows how the steps are really in 3 pieces.

The lower two steps (that's the piece with the Documented Number) The Top two steps which are held in place by the two clips that are attached to the Companionway bulkhead.

The center piece, not really at step, more like a hood, or top cover to the engine bay.

To get access to the top of the engine, the top two step piece has to be lifted out of the way after releasing the two rubber grips where they sit on the top of the lower steps.

Then the Hood has to be lifted out. And that's the pain.

I saw where someone had put a hinge on the back of the Hood so that it could be lifted from the leading edge and tilted back to the companionway bulkhead.

Searching around I found these stainless steel hinges with removable hinge pins. They allow the Hood to be raised up and removed if needed. If I'm just checking the coolant fluid level or the Air Filter, the Hood just needs to be raised out of the way, but if I'm tensioning the drive belt, or doing an oil filter change, then the Hood has to be removed.

Hinge is really nice quality and the style keeps the Hood away from the bulkhead behind it.

Another great find on Amazon, here's a link to the hinge.

This shows the center section in the closed position.

I have installed small cleat on the front face of the panel and a Stainless Steel Strap on the bulkhead above where the panel hinges upwards - a simple line is attached to the strap and turned on the cleat to hold the panel open.

The hinge pins are held in place with ss ring pins, but I'm waiting for the Retaining Clips Stainless Steel Fixing Pins to arrive from Amazon.

Here's a pic with the Panel in the Raised position, it's a whole lot easier to swing the panel up and secure it, rather than lift it out and put it somewhere while I work on the engine.

I'll replace the plastic cleat as soon as I get the ordered handles (2 for another project)

Meanwhile, this works great. I had to replace the Alternator after a repair and while at it, I replaced the Raw water pump. Not having to deal with the big Hood Panel in the cabin or out in the cockpit made the job a lot easier. Especially as I made several trips from the Cabin to the Cockpit which would have required either balancing on the top of the engine or replacing the Hood. Being able to quickly lower the Hood in order to step out of the cabin made the work go a lot quicker and safer.

See you on the Water.

What if the Boat Engine fails?

Planning for an Engine Failure

We rely upon our engine to get us from the Dock out to where we sail or to another dock or anchorage. Because we keep our boat over an hour from the Ocean, it's typical for our trips to start under power and navigating the New River in Fort Lauderdale, but what happens if the engine quits as we are transiting the river, passing under bridges or heading in or out of the Port Everglades inlet?

Sadly, it's from experience that we have figured out how to deal with this situation safely, so, to save you from having to make the same mistakes, here's what we have learnt.

Be prepared to tie up alongside anything! The river we transit has sides that vary in structure from home docks, other boats, concrete riversides and empty dock poles. Some of them are unsuitable for tying up just because there's nothing to tie to!

Being prepared means having lines ready to deploy, already on a cleat and Fenders ready to flip over the side in an emergency - there's no time to dig a fender out from a locker and get it secured to a cleat or line where it's needed.

So, we have a Midships Dock line setup on each side of the boat when we are transiting. The Line is coiled and laid over the Dorade in front of the Dodger. Those lines are at least 30' long.

We keep a 40 foot dockline on the cleat at the bow with the line running from the cleat, under the bow rails and back over the top. The line is secured with a slip clove hitch so that it can be quickly released and is ready to toss ashore and there is someone to grab it.

At the stern, we have another 40 foot docking line ready to deploy with a loop that we can quickly put over a cleat on either side. Again, it's secured so that it doesn't fall into the water and cause a problem by tying itself around the prop!

We have a fender on each side at the widest point of the boat (just in front of our Midships Cleat) secured in place and flipped over the lifelines so all we need do is flip it over the top and it's deployed, we have a 3rd fender jammed in place on the Port Side of the Dodger that we can quickly grab and move to anywhere it's needed. (The port side because our preferred choice is to tie up Port Side to. Of course, if we have no engine, then any side will do, but at least we know where the fender is so that we don't have to hunt for it.

We also keep a couple of older throwable cushions in the cockpit ready to use as fenders when a round cylindrical fender just won't do the job.

For those occasions when a tie up is not practical, that's happened a few times, we'll have to drop anchor. This is where local knowledge comes in. We know all of the places where we are not allowed to drop anchor due to under water lines or pipes. 

We lock all top side lockers when the boat is left at a dock, but when we are preparing to depart the dock, we unlock all of them, especially the Anchor Locker! We learn't that early on! I had gone forward to deploy the anchor and the locker was padlocked! I had to rush back, down to the cabin, get the spare locker keys and then back forwards to unlock the anchor locker! Lesson learnt! 

For the same reason, I also make sure that the tethers on the anchor are removed before we set off from the dock. 

We have our Main VHF radio on Channel #9 when transiting the river and our Hand Held VHF on Channel #16 at the same time. If we have an engine failure e call out a quick Security call on #9 in the river or #16 in the Inlet. 

eg. ""Security, Security, Security. this is the Sailing vessel Eximius, We are inbound on the New River at [Location]. We have an engine failure and are anchoring at [Location] any concerned vessels respond on Channel 9 or Channel 16."" 

We did have an engine failure as we were inbound to the 3rd Avenue bridge. Because they were opening for us, we called them on #9 and advised them that we had an engine failure and would not be able to make the opening. We tied up alongside a concrete side while we fixed the problem.

At the helm we have our Rechargeable Air Horn and pump charged and ready to sound to alert any really close vessels. 5 short blasts tends to get peoples attention even if they don't know the meaning of the Sound Signal.

Of course, we also have unlimited towing from BoatUS in case we cannot fix the problem quickly. Luckily, we have only had to use them once in 15 years, but that's another story - it's a good one.

So, be prepared and have a plan - your crew will thank you!

See you on the water.

Alternator - Internal -v- External Regulator

Alternator Failure - Updating wiring

Our Balmar 100Amp Alternator failed on July 4th. After leaving the dock, the Tach showed Zero RPM and the Analog Voltage Meter read 12.4v (ish). 

Upon arrival at the Bahia Mar, we did some fault finding, suspecting that the Field wire to the Alternator had failed, but the wiring and connectors were ok.

I removed the Alternator and took it to Fort Lauderdale Battery & Alternators on 3rd Ave just off of State Road 84 in Fort Lauderdale ( Map link here).

They put the Alternator on their test bench and confirmed that there was no output. Despite the Alternator being setup for an external regulator, there appeared to be a short between the Field Terminal bolt on the back of the alt, and the surface of the regulator. They confirmed that the Regulator was fried.

So I left the Alternator with Greg to fix and it should be ready in a few days, it was - they have never failed me to live up to their word. With repaired Alternator in hand, I headed back to the boat. Thinking about it, I have a really nice Alternator with an Internal single stage smart regulator that is not used and an expensive external smart regulator that is used. But what if the external regulator failed? What would it take to switch over to using the Internal Regulator.  Time for some research.

The good news is that there's a great diagram on the Balmar website that shows how to wire the Alternator to use either the Internal Regulator or an External regulator.

At home, I complete my research and draw the wiring diagram in Open Office

The SPDT (Single Pole - Double Throw) switch is used to select either the Alternator's Internal Regulator or the External Regulator

I purchased the switch (a pack of 3) from Amazon. It's an On - On switch, so it cannot be in the Off Position which would cause both Regulators to be Off line!

With the Switch in the Internal Regulator position

• The 12v from the Ignition Switch is connected to the Excite connection on the internal regulator. This powers up the Internal Regulator
• The internal regulator senses the voltage on the +ve Output Terminal and adjusts the output of the Alternator as required.
• With the Switch in the External Regulator position

• The 12v from the Ignition Switch is connected to the Reg On connection of the External Regulator. This powers up the External Regulator and Powers down the Internal Regulator
• The External Regulator Field connection to the Alternator now adjusts the output of the Alternator as required.
• The External Regulator Sensor connects to the +ve of the Battery (actually to a shunt close to the Battery) and senses the Battery Voltage, rather than the Alternator Voltage which can be a volt or more different from the Battery Terminal voltage due to losses in the wires from the Alternator to the Battery. So the External Regulator adjusts the Alternator output more accurately. 

The Alternator's Stator or Tach connection is connected to the Tachometer which uses the signal to display the RPM of the Engine.

If the External Regulator ever fails, we simply shut off the engine, flip the switch to the Internal Regulator position and restart the Engine. Now Alternator output will be managed by it's Internal Regulator.

Life is good.

Navigating the New River in Fort Lauderdale Florida

Navigating the New River

We’ve been navigating the New River for 4 years, I’m sharing our experience in the hope that others will avoid some of the pitfalls we have enjoyed in that time.

The New River:
As far as Sail boats with fixed masts are concerned: The New River extends from Sand Bar Park up to the New River Fork and then either the South Fork or the North Fork. The South Fork leads to the Fort Lauderdale Marine Center beyond Davie Blvd Bridge, the North Fork leads up to Broward Bvld. My discussion is in regard to transiting the North Fork of the New River From Sand Bar Park - Upstream (Inbound) to 5th Steet Canal just before Broward Blvd.

Bridges:
There are 5 Bridges on the North Fork of the New River, all are normally closed to sailboat traffic but will open on request.  I say upon ‘request’ because the tenders, understandably, get a bit grumpy when someone ‘demands’ an opening. Hailing the bridge tender on VHF Channel #9 normally gets a quick response. The procedure we use that seems to get an appreciative response is:



[Bridgename, Bridgename] Sailing Vessel Eximius [Inbound/Outbound] [location] Requesting an Opening, Over.

-Tender’s Response-

[Bridgename] Eximius – Roger, Standing by on 9




Because our boat has an unusual name, we have it spelled out phonetically at the helm, just in case the tender asks how to spell the boat name.

Echo - eXray - India - Mike - India - Uniform - Sierra

Upon clearing the bridge, we always thank the tender with a quick

[Bridgename] Eximius - We’re clear, thanks for the opening.

The 5 Bridges are:

• 3rd Avenue Bridge
• Andrews Avenue Bridge
• FEC Railroad Bridge
• 7th Avenue Bridge
• 11th Avenue Swing Bridge
• 
  

3rd Avenue Bridge:

3rd Avenue Bridge is a double span bridge and when transiting up the New River, it does not come into view until within about 300 yards of the bridge, so, we don’t wait until we can see the bridge before requesting an opening. We call the bridge as we cross over the ‘Tunnel’ and add our ‘location’ to our call. eg. 'Just passing The Tunnel'

Once the opening starts, it gets to fully open pretty quickly.



Andrews Avenue Bridge can be seen before passing 3rd Avenue, so we request the opening of Andrews bridge before we clear 3rd Ave. It’s a short run and Andrews Ave bridge is slow to open. It’s a single span bridge, the hinge is on the Southern, left side as going up river. We hug the North side fender, we’ve seen sailboats nearer to the hinge side, but it’s not so obvious if the mast will clear as the fully open bridge overhangs the river.

Caution: There is a Pumpout Outflow on the North side of the river just downstream of Andrews Avenue Bridge. That Outflow will push us across the river unless we have sufficient speed through the water. 

Caution: The FEC railroad bridge is about 200-300 yards from Andrews Avenue Bridge - If the FEC bridge is closed, Andrews will most likely not open, which means we will have to hold station between 3rd Avenue bridge and Andrews Avenue Bridge - that could be for just a few minutes to over half an hour if it's a Freight Train passing! Most  likely we will not be the only boat between the two bridges, and it gets to feel crowded really quickly - we do not have a bow thruster - holding station can be tricky, especially if there’s a current flowing - there normally is for us. (see dock note below) We have tied up alongside an empty dock several times, because our boat has prop walk to Port, we will ideally dock port side too between the two bridges. 



Florida East Coast Railway Bridge (FEC Bridge)

The FEC Bridge is a single span bridge and is not controlled at the bridge - it’s a remote control bridge, however, when Brightline (Now Virgin) trains started using the bridge, they were required to have a tender at the bridge. They respond on VHF #9 to ‘FEC Bridge’

Caution: There is a 2nd Pumpout Outflow on the North side of the river when approaching the FEC Bridge from Andrews Avenue Bridge.

The width of the channel at the FEC bridge is narrower than it seems due to the overhang of the bridge, ther have been several boats that have struck the bridge structure because they strayed too close to the hinge side of the bridge.

There is a Website that shows the status of the bridge at https://www.nrbinfo.com/

It is also available as an App for Iphone and Android (Search for New River Bridge Info)

3rd Ave bridge is a double span bridge seen quickly after passing the FEC Bridge, and rounding Sailboat Bend, the bridge generally opens very quickly, so be prepared to rev up to pass the bridge. There are floating docks at Sailboat Bend, but beware their docksides are not nice! Have fenders out and do not scrape the dock, those are not plastic dock bumpers, they are metal! We have tied up at the floating docks several times. If you plan on picking crew up, then they can park in the big lot opposite the Museum and take the 2 minute walk to the floating docks.

Just beyond the 3rd Avenue Bridge, on the North side of the river is ‘cooley's landing marina’. There are quite a few long term liveaboards in the slips at the landing, the current can be quite strong at that point in the river, and the tops of the ramps are frequently underwater during high tides. There’s a parking lot for boat trailers.

11th Avenue Swing Bridge is the least used bridge on the North fork of the New River, but the tender normally responds right away, traffic can delay the bridge opening for several minutes.

Caution: Stay clear of the shallow area on the North side of the river as approaching either side the bridge.

Caution: Do not try to pass on the North side of the swing bridge - it’s impassible to a sailboat.



Pumpout Options 
There are several pumpout options on the New River, we have only experience at those on the South Side of the river. The first is at Smokers Park. When approaching 3rd Avenue Bridge inbound, going up river, and passing The Tunnel, Smokders Park is on the left as passing the corner. (see map) The pumpout is a Free City Service, but it can be reserved, so either take the chance that it’s not reserved and risk being asked by a city employee to leave, - or - Call the New River Dockmaster and ask to use it.

The Pumpout is controlled by a time switch on an electrical box just past the exercise area to the North of Smokers Park, Have everything ready for pump out at the boat before walking the 150 yards to the timer and set it for about 30 minutes, then head back to the boat and connect the pump out hose. It’s polite to suck a few gallons of river water into the hose before stowing it at the pump out station upon completion.

The New River Dockmaster can be reached on VHF #16 but backup with a phone call if no response on VHF Call them at: 954-828-5423



Notes:We keep our boat well up the North Fork of the New River, the canal is subject to shoaling and we can only get out of the canal within 2 hours of high tide, this means that we are probably going to have current flowing in or out as we transit the New River. Ideally we would time our departure and arrival at the dock so that the current is on our bow, it’s easier to transit the New River against the current - holding station for a delayed opening bridge is a lot easier when against the current.



The New River is used by a lot of commercial traffic. There are probably a dozen or so of River Taxis, Tour boats (Jungle Queen, Go to Sea on the Carrie Be, etc.) and then there are the Tow Boats: Large vessels heading to and from the Fort Lauderdale Marine center are often towed as the turns on the South Fork of the New River are especially tricky for a 55’ to 150’ vessel! The good news is that if you are behind a tow boat, the bridges will open quickly for them. The bad news is that if they are delayed due to the bridges, they take up a lot of river.



All of the bridges on the New River close to river traffic during rush hours between 07:30 and 09:00 and again at 16:30 to 18:00 on weekdays - National Holidays excepted.

During the year there are several events which may close a bridge for the duration, such as Fun Runs etc.

See you on the Water.

Replacing Steaming Light - Part II

Part II - cleaning up the mess

It was up the mast again on July 5th.

The boat was at the Bahia Mar Marina for the HISC Independence Day Cruise 2019 - and there was a break in festivities on the Friday, so I climbed the mast again to clean up the area where the old lights were fitted in prep for the new lighting fixture.

It took over an hour of carefully scraping away the oodles of silicone sealant that was slathers all around the old fittings.

I countersunk the outside of the holes to give the JB Weld something to grip to. Polished the area with a plastic scrub pad and then finally de-greased the whole area before applying JB Weld to the holes. (that part is not shown in the pic)

Viewed from the deck - telephoto is great - this was after applying the JB Weld and descending the mast.

Since the last climb, we purchased a West Marine Bosuns Chair - it's far more comfortable and allows for a longer time spent aloft getting the job done. But it has a weakness - it really feels as though one could fall out of the chair backwards and there's a constant need to move my butt back onto the seat rather than in the bucket that is formed between the seat and the back of the chair.

I'm thinking of adding a couple of webbing straps to keep my thighs in contact with the seat and prevent sliding backwards.

Meanwhile the area cleaned an the holes filled.

Next trip up the mast will get the JB Weld bumps smoothed down and the holes redrilled for the new light fitting. I should be able to complete the install in just one more climb - at least that's the hope. If it takes two, then OK, but probably just one more trip up the stick.

The Third trip up the mast completed the project
Here's the Combo Navigation Steaming and Deck Light that I purchased off of Amazon.

See you on the Water.

Paul

Replacing the Mast Steaming Light and Deck Light

Replacing the Mast Steaming Light & Deck Light

After a 10 hour trip arriving at midnight, I noticed that the steaming light was really dim, and from previous trips up the mast, I knew it was a bodged job - The Deck light part of the combo lamp must have failed and someone choose to replace the deck light lamp with a new fitting - ie. now there is a Steaming light and a pair of wires going to a separate deck light (Halogen Lamp). So, time to replace both as it's impossible to fix either lamp.

Step 1 was to remove the old lamps

If you zoom in on this pic, you'll see the amount of silicone sealant that had been used to try and waterproof the fitting.

The wires from the deck light (lower) and the combo fitting (upper) are nicely joined and heat shrink tubed, but again, a huge glob of silicone was used to try and water proof the connection.

The lens of the steaming light is cracked from years of UV exposure - these lamps don't last forever!

The two wires coming out of the bottom of the combo unit are actually soldered inside the fitting and then gooped with more silicone. Click on the pic and zoom in.

Yes, that's my Sailrite machine in the background.

Special Thanks to Steffi Shiffer & Peder Sahlin for coming down to the boat dock to act as Safety while I went up the mast.

I spent about an hour up the mast sat in my bosuns sling (not really a chair) and that's not comfortable, the straps grab right where a guy doesn't want to be grabbed. 

During that hour I was able to drill out the rivets that held both fittings in place and scrape away about 90% of the silicone (another tube) off of the mast. 

There are a total of 12 holes in the mast from these fittings and previous fittings, they will need to be filled and the remainder of the silicone scrapped off and cleaned up - I'm going to get a new Bosun's Chair that doesn't try to cut of important blood supply.

This is the new combo fitting.

It has 9 LEDs in the steaming lamp and 12 in the deck lamp.

The mounting only has 2 screw holes and they look to be the same dimension and location as the removed fitting.

I'll mount the fitting with Stainless Screws using anti corrosion protectant between the surfaces.

I'll also use a SS washer to spread the load over the tab of the plastic wings of the fitting.

A trick I figured out a long time ago, is to grind down the sharp point of the screws so that they cannot catch the running rigging lines inside the mast - I'll use my cordless Dremel to cut off the screws and then grind down the edges of the cut so that they are nice and smooth.

West Marine has a July 4th sale on their Bosun's chairs - so we'll visit there before the weekend. 

Then it's back up the mast to tidy up the mounting area, cleaning off the silicone and filling the holes (JB Weld) I'll also apply a bead of silicone in an inverted U above the grommet where the electrical wires come out of the mast. I'll also apply a bead of silicone inside the edges of the new fitting wings just to encourage water to stay away from behind the fitting. Plan is to not be able to see any silicone when the new fitting is installed.

More later - meanwhile, we'll see you on the water.