Moving forward four ways

Today was a good day. I made progress on four areas.

My V-berth needs only blanket and pillows to be useable.

My water system is working on one of the three tanks.  Unfortunately I broke the manifold for pulling from the other two tanks.  That will have to be a near term goal to fix that.

I built some stand offs to mount my cook stove, but I need eight (8) screws to mount it.  That should be done tomorrow.

I also removed my starter motor which was damaged due to water.  My battery died some months ago and water filled the bilge until it covered the bottom of the starter.  My solenoid is is fine, and the starter actually worked for a few month before quitting recently.

So I am looking into getting a new starter tomorrow, and also getting this one rebuilt, so I have a hot spare.

Near Term Goals: Sleeping and Dog Bed, Bathroom, Stove, Computer/Navigation/Electric

Sleeping and Dog Bed

If I am living on the boat, at least a few days a week, I'll be more likely to be working on the boat making it better.  So I want to be comfortable over-nighting on ECHO.

Making ECHO's V-berth functional for sleeping has been my near term priority.  Last week I cleaned the V-berth and the forward head.  I wiped down all the surfaces. I also taped off the forward hatch on the outside with shrink wrap tape to make it more weather proof.  I noticed some white drip marks on the teak slats on the inside of the hull.  So that means the caulking was worn out--at least in a few spots.  So today I  caulked the toe rail on each side from the bow back to the mast.  I'll do the back of the boat on another warm day. Caulking and taping the large hatch should eliminate any leaks.  Dry V-Berth--a very good thing.  It has a duplex AC power outlet, so I can plug in my electric heating on medium or low and it is within reach while sleeping.  I could also run a charger for an iPad or iPhone.

Yesterday, I pulled my V-berth cushions out of the attic, I unzipped them and found there was no plastic wrap around the foam.  So today I bought some plastic sheeting and yellow duct tape.  I will wrap them up, trim to fit with a razor, tape the seams, and reinsert the foam into the cover.  Then these cushions can go down to the boat, and even if they get wet, the foam will not.  It makes a little noise when you move around, but is well worth it for a dry bunk.

I have used an acrylic blanket as a soft, warm, and dry top sheet--mainly to protect the upholstery.  I have a couple of cotton Indian blankets and a down comforter more blankets for me.  With everything tucked under the hull side of a berth it holds together well when sleeping.  I thought I might use a lead ankle weight to keep my down blanket from moving around--it is worth a try as that is the blanket that tends to fall off.

I think I will buy an electric blanket, and I might build an insert to fill in the gap in the V-berth, but I could not rely on that alone.  I need a few pillows and I'll be ready for anything. The V-berth will be cosy and an inviting space to hang out or sleep.

Kokini seems to like lounging around deck while I'm working--when it is sunny, but she does not seem to like it below.  The problem is she doesn't have a clean, comfortable, warm place to lay down.  I will bring her smaller dog bed to ECHO.  A a supply of treats, chew strips and chew toys will keep her occupied and happy. 

Today for the first time, Kokini climbed out the companionway on her own.  But she can't climb down--it is too steep.   It is a rise of 6.5 feet and with a run of 3 feet.  She puts her paws on my shoulders and I grab her rump to carry her down stairs.  She did it twice with only a little urging.  Clearly though, she will need a way to come in on her own using another route.  My idea is she should come into the boat using the starboard cockpit hatch which is mounted vertically just above the cockpit sole.  She can step in if there is a platform there and a step halfway to the floor.  I will have to make something out of plywood and carpeting for these landing pads, and perhaps a drapery to keep out the cold, once she learns how to get in and out this way.

Bathroom

The next most important thing for me is to get a marine head (toilet) installed on the boat. This involves buying a marine head, painting the shower pan, cutting an access panel, buying through-bolts and fender washers to secure it, buying and installing the various hoses, and a sink/shower head, running a DC circuit to the head and installing two lamps for redundancy.

A new electric marine head can be expensive.  But a step on a switch to flush will be easier for visitors and me too.   It will only be used for urination until I can install a holding tank.  I have no immediate plan to install a holding tank. 

So painting the shower pan will be the first step and I have the paint ready to go.  Installing the head is second.  I will need to buy large diameter hose and 1/2" hose for the inlet hose. and four stainless steel bolts.  I will use a T fitting and a ball valve to control feeding it fresh water when used in-shore and sea water when offshore. 

Another interesting things is that I have a new 6 gallon hot water tank.  I might as well temp that in and use it.  I like the idea of having hot water on board at all times--particularly while I'm at the dock.
 
Stove

I brought my "Force 10" 3 burner stainless stove down to ECHO two days ago.  It is sitting in its mounting bay.  I wanted to mount it today, however, I will need to shim out the mounts some to make it fit.

I have all the hoses, regulator, two aluminum propane tanks, and an electrical cut off switch which would go in pretty easily once the stove is mounted.  I would have preferred CNG fuel, but that is hard to find in the Caribbean, and propane is everywhere.  I will need to fabricate a mount for the tanks in the cockpit.

My plan is to make a ladder into the cockpit and put the tanks under the bottom step with the idea that each shut off valve can be reached from inside the boat via the cockpit hatches.

I was hesitant for a long while on bringing the stove down to the boat as I plan to rip out the galley counter over the ice box, but like all things related to boating, it seems you have to do any job twice or three times.  Getting the stove out of the house freed up some space which is much needed.

So the stove went to the boat.  Now it is up to me to get it working.  I suppose I will need another tea pot, one for the boat.  I also have a nice pressure cooker I want to bring to the boat.

Getting the stove working involves fabricating a support for it, two boards should do it although I might need a third or fourth to get it set right, and a few screws to secure it.

My boat's measuring tape is in the car, so I will bring it back to the boat next time.

I will then need to run the propane low pressure hose, install the regulators, and find a box to secure the two tanks until the I can find someone to weld up a ladder with mounts for them under the bottom step.


Computer/Navigation/Electric

My goal is to have Internet access down at the boat, and a functional computer/navigation system.

I have a 24" monitor, VESA mount, and a Mac Mini computer, with a special MacGrab wall mount.  That will be my new navigation system.  For the short term I have a USB GPS antenna.  I have other electronics as well.  One issue is powering this.  I have a 3000 watt inverter which would wear down my batteries pretty fast.  I probably should get an inverter sized for my computer and monitor

For Internet access I have a YAGI directional WiFi antenna and 1 watt amplifier/bridge with it's mac address pre-authorized through Optimum Cable.  I plan to tap into the Optimum WiFi node south of me--with a simple fixed mount pointed to the nearest tower.

This system should go on pretty easy, but it will need a properly sized inverter.

I need to decide what to do with my Heart 3000 inverter back along with a new Link battery monitor.  This should be worth at least $800 if I sold it.  Or I could put this recently repaired component back on the boat.  I could that charger for the house bank and this inverter or a smaller inverter for my computer system.  I'll have to remember to shut off the AC circuits when I leave the boat so a power failure won't run the batteries down to nothing.  If I used this big inverter, I will need two new 4D batteries.  My last pair died along with the old charger.  They froze last winter when the charger died, and I've been using just a starter battery every since.   Two new house batteries might be my next purchase after a new marine head.

So--next up is reinstalling this inverter--which means moving my 20 Amp charger over to be a dedicated starter battery charger.  After that I will need two new 4D AGM batteries @ $500 each.  I think I'll wait on the new batteries and get the marine head next.

Finally, I also have a microwave oven that fits nicely on the counter.  I will probably bring that back to the boat and wire it in directly to the panel.

New Mast

I found a newer mast with in-mast furling and a Pro-Furl unit on the headstay. While this would not be the best for sail shaping, it would be easier to sail and reduce sail. the mast is about 12 feet longer than mine but it could be shortened. Even better it belongs to a fellow I know.

Anchoring out

While it is nice to go into a harbor just to check it out, unless I need a really good shower, or provisions, I'd rather trust to my own hook and pick my spot. Practicing anchoring often is a good skill for situations were you need extra skill.

For example, there some places that are very fun to go but have limited anchoring options. You are stuck anchoring in the outer harbor, a long distance away, exposed, or else on an expensive mooring or more expensive dock or perhaps there is no space for you anywhere.

I like anchoring out. In fact, if I can avoid going into a harbor I will. I like the secluded spots all to myself. I’m “in nature” and there is nothing to disturb it. Life is all around me and there is always something new. It also saves a lot of money, and frankly I think docking and mooring are places to be avoided, less beautiful. Unless you are provisioning or hiding out from a bad storm, I’d much rather take a hot shower aboard, if there is plenty of water and heat, than go ashore. I like the independence of being on my own, with everything I need and no traffic jams, and crowds of people all around me. I feel privileged to be out observing nature. I'm happy on the boat. I'm not in a hurry to get off or go somewhere.

My typical preference is a single hook with all chain, and a often a sentinel when I use a mostly rope rode. If I have chain it is unlikely I have a second all chain rode. So that means the second anchor is a short length of chain and a rode. I use a snubber in exposed situation but not in a protected spot. I anchor often with 3:1 scope, or sometimes 3.5:1, scope which is recommended for all chain. And for a short stay like lunch, or even overnight, I go as low as 2:1 if conditions are light. All chain is great in an outer harbor, if the weather is nice. And 3:1 scope means you can anchor in 60'of water with the big boats, with 200' of chain. Fast and easy, but sometimes the places you visit will have every possible anchorage spot filled with a mooring leaving nothing for those who anchor.

The other extreme, which I’ve used a few times is heading up river where it's shallow, as far as you can go. Lots of times I've gone up rivers as far as I could go. Then what? Paying close attention to the tide tables, I find a spot in the channel. They say no anchoring in the channel, and in my opinion the channel ends where I anchor. If that is as far as I can go, nothing bigger is going past me, right? They would risk of running aground. If nothing bigger than me is going upriver from there—the channel ends there, in my opinion even if there are buoys farther up, they are for much smaller craft.

Smaller craft can easily get around me if needed. One of the joys in motoring around is seeing all the sights. I consider myself one of the sites to see. I welcome the site of any nice looking boat anywhere I go--so do other people.

I really don’t get in anyone’s way. No one has complained, although I would not push my luck and camp out in front of someone house for weeks and weeks. I’m more typically moving on to the next spot, never in one place long enough to piss anyone off...

So because such a strategy means it is shallow in every direction but downstream, you need to stabilize your boats position in one fixed position. So that means multiple anchors in a Bahamian mooring-- two anchors set towards either flow of current. This keeps you in one spot. A sentinel or kellet is a weight used to hold the rode down below the keel. I use a length of rope and a spare anchor with a retrieval line attached. Easy to fabricate and no extra equipment and weight needed on the boat. This enables you to anchor in a tight spot with short scope, which keeps your position perfectly.

One particular spot I’m thinking of is Mystic Seaport. A great place to visit and their docks are not always available. I anchored in the channel. On the way out, past the last bridge, hoisted sail, sailed down the river, gybed at the bottom and caught the ebb out by Watch Hill and the northerly wind and favorable current spit us along the coast towards Newport in 5-6 hours, with only a little beating to weather the leg north at the end into Newport. The tide was high, no worries, I could have cut across the mooring field, but decided to honor the red and greens as running aground there at high tide a grounding would have been embarrassing. It was enough fun for me to sail down the channel. It was a weekday with almost no traffic.

So that my friends is the secret to finding a super protected anchorage spot in a river for an over-night stay. The proper solution to the problem is a Bahamian mooring, some rope and a spare anchor to fashion a sentinel and anchor right there in the channel as far up as you can reasonably go.

New Head Stay Coming up!

One of my near term project is a new headstay. I will be using the same size wire, only it will be Dyform wire, which is stronger, and NavTec terminals. So this involves going up the mast, removing a clevis pin, removing the forestay, and then measuring it for some new wire. I could do this after I pull the mast, but while that would be easier, I'd like to have it in place so I can test the furler, and re-cut my Genoa.

Genoa Cleaned

My goal is to do something every day for ECHO. That is not so easy given my other obligations. However it is a worthy goal and one in which I include the many back steps needed to go forward. Today I made a forward step. I took ECHO's #2 Sail, in fact it's Working sail. I guess they called the #1 sail the drifter, which is a lightweight hank on sail--I'll address that later one.

Flopping it out of my truck was easy enough.

Then spreading it out on the driveway.

First the #2 sail is 62' on the luff, 60'3" on the leech, and has a 30'5" foot. To approximate the sail area lets average the luff and the leech. The difference is 21". Half of that is 10.5", so we add that to the lesser of the two the leech and get 61'1.5". The formula for the area of a triangle is 1/2 the base times the height. So the size of the sail is approximately, 15.25' x 61.125' about 932 square feet.

That explained the weight of the sail. I was thinking my Genoa was 78 lbs. Thinking back, I weighed my main and that was 78 lbs and 440 sq feet. So this sail is twice the size, and it is reasonable to assume it is about 165 lbs dry.

I used mild bleach and water in a squirt bottle. I also use Black Streak remover-Oxylic Acid, and Fantastic as cleaners. Later I combined the Black streak remover with the Bleach and water. I used a scrub pad and while I did not get it as clean as I'd like, it is much cleaner than it was.

Galley Cupboard

I am thinking about building a galley overhead cupboard with a cutouts for appliances like a coffee maker recesses and fixtures to hold plates, bowls, cups nested goblets, and cookware, in a compact and easy to clean assembly. Everything will have it's place. Once built, it just needs to be tabbed in with fiberglass tape, or bolted in place. Do I make it out of wood or out of foam and fiberglass? I have an design ready to be finalized. I'll have to scan that in at some point.