Now that New York state is in the clutches of Corona fever, it's increasingly uncertain as to what kind of boating season there will be. Officially, the marina is still 3 weeks away from opening, so anything can happen. Because anything can happen, I sat around this weekend debating on if I should be ordering boat goodies, or holding off. On the counsel of my Dad, whom I talked with on the phone this weekend, I decided that holding off would be silly. As he said, at least this way, it's all still there, and really, it makes more sense that way. Sure, it means trying to find somewhere to store the parts in the meantime, since I don't know how soon I'll be able to get up to the boat, but they'll at least be here for when the time comes. So in that spirit, today was shopping day.
First on the list, was an upgraded solar panel. I currently have a 100 Watt panel on it now, sold as an HQST panel. It was paired through a Victron 75|15 SmartSolar MPPT controller and feeding a pair of GC2 batteries from Sam's Club, for a total house bank of 215 amps, or a shade over 100 useable. This setup has worked on my Excalibur 26, and also the last couple years with the Newport. I don't have a massive draw on them, it's typically used for listening to the radio out on the water, running the fishfinder for the depth readings, charge up my cell phone when it gets low, and then at night, firing up the laptop and watching TV on the 24" LCD television with Netflix on a Roku box. On my Excalibur, it was the same usage but swapping out a 7" chartplotter and VHF radio on full-time, but the results were the same. I actually could go a few days with no solar at all on the bank and still be ok. As an experiment, I even powered up a full size desktop and monitor off an inverter. Crazy, but it worked.
One of the nice-to-have's for this year, was additional batteries and more solar to pair with it. I was basically looking to double-up everything. A 2nd set of batteries and another 100 watts of solar. The problem I ran into is that I wanted to mount these on the top of a bimini cover. I also have a split backstay. This could present quite the layout conundrum in trying to mount two panels on top. I decided that in order to manage that, I first need the bimini. And to order that, I need the boat in the water and mast and boom up so I can get a better idea of height, and you can see where this is going. So in the spirit of wanting to spend money, I instead opted for a new, 175 watt panel. Physically, it's about a foot longer and a few inches wider than my current HQST. It also will easily mount on the stern rail in the same exact fashion that the old one did. I can replace the 100 with the 175, plug it in through the existing Victron, and add the 2nd pair of batteries and instantly be set up. The only physical changes will be the new battery box I'll need, and new rails to mount the panel onto. I did go pick up the 2nd pair of batteries, also. Ordered a pair of bimini support poles, which work great to mount off the stanchions up at an angle to the panel which lets you adjust the angle up and down slightly, but also looks more professional.
The other purchase is a roll of fake teak flooring for the cabin:
It's foam, 6mm and hard to say how it'll end up working out, but for the price, it'll at least be better than the industrial rugs/bare paint that is there now. It's very similar to the stuff that Mads used on Sail Life years back on Obelix - Check out that video here: Sail Life - Synthetic teak . The only thing I'll need to do is just to shave down a little of the bilge boards in thickness - the ones there now, I'm pretty sure aren't original and stick up a good almost 1/4 of an inch above the sole. Definitely excited to see what it looks like in person, but it'll need a warmer climate and an actual trip to the boat for that time.
Once the shopping was done, both online and in Sam's Club, I decided to be more productive in the present rather than future. One of the items that arrived courtesy of Amazon - and by courtesy I mean after I paid for it - was a rebuild kit for my Outboard. My experience with small engines is rather limited. To date, I've changed plugs, and tested the on/off switch. So to delve into a full carb rebuild was something new to me. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to watch, which is what guided me to it. It really wasn't nearly as daunting as I feared. It didn't really look that bad online either but as with anything for the first time, it's something you go in with a little hesitation. I bought a drain pan from the store, to act as my catch-all / workstation. The carb itself did come off rather easily. A single bolt holding the choke lever in, unsnap a piece of linkage, remove the fuel line and take off two 1/2" nuts, voila! I brought it inside, and the first order of business was the diaphram assembly. Mine felt like it was being pushed through molasses when it was being depressed, instead of a spring. Once the new pieces were in place, back to normal. I then replaced all the rest of the gaskets and inspected the rest of the assembly. Surprisingly there was virtually no varnish anywhere built up on anything. Granted, I am rather diligent about using non-ethanol and I did run some seafoam through the tank at the beginning of last year. And the previous owner of the boat did say they had someone go through it back then so maybe they had cleaned it up a bit 2+ years ago. I did also buy a new 6-gallon tank and new fuel line. The fuel line on the old tank is fine, as it was also purchased new. The problem I'm running into is the connection for the motor. The Mercury fitting that is widely carried doesn't clip into place. My motor is a 1988 model, but most places only stock a connector for the 98-up versions. So while I did buy one to see if it'll work (it will probably work as long as I'm holding it in place, but it doesn't clip in on it's own), I do need to either order the correct one if I can find it again, or wait until I get the line from the boat and use the connector off that one instead. It won't hurt to have two fuel lines, never know if the bulb will fail or whatever else. But at the same time, it would be nice to do so with to complete lines and not have to swap the connector around. Little details, I guess. Today it snowed, and I'm not inclined to go messing around with the motor and gasoline and freezing temperatures just yet. I actually have to go halfway to the boat on Wednesday for a car recall service as it is, I might just run up and grab the line while I'm there.
The waiting game continues.
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