The other reason for going was to take some goodies to the boat. First and foremost, was the new fridge/freezer thingamajig. The second, were my new fenders. I had purchased a set of 4 larger fenders for the boat, to finally replace the old dirty dingy ones, and the two cleaner but undersized ones that were gracing the port side of my boat. Nothing fancy, I didn't splurge on the good stuff, so to speak. What I did, was pick up these:
GoPlus Ribbed Boats Fenders
These do have a little more squeak to them, they're not as hard a compound as some others, but they were all delivered inflated, can be reinflated with standard needles like most others, and seem decent enough. I ordered the 8.5"x 27" size which seem a lot larger in person than on paper.
I drove up Saturday afternoon, and despite the climbing temperature, unloaded the car's contents onto the boat. This was not only the fenders, and the fridge, but my laptop and a bag full of tools. I decided that since there was a nice breeze across the lake, I would head out into open water for the day, and either work on my project list on the lake, or after I came back for the evening. Sunday was forecast to be a bit windier with a possibility of a storm, so maybe I'd sail on Saturday and sweat on Sunday.
I drove up Saturday afternoon, and despite the climbing temperature, unloaded the car's contents onto the boat. This was not only the fenders, and the fridge, but my laptop and a bag full of tools. I decided that since there was a nice breeze across the lake, I would head out into open water for the day, and either work on my project list on the lake, or after I came back for the evening. Sunday was forecast to be a bit windier with a possibility of a storm, so maybe I'd sail on Saturday and sweat on Sunday.
Leaning over the transom, I loosened the kicker bracket, and then unlocked the outboard. As I tilted it up to free it from the shallow-water tilt, I heard a slight snap, and then put it back down and into the water. Raising my gaze, it didn't take long to find what the source was. I hadn't realized how close the engine was, and I had left the fuel line connected. When I tilted it up, it caught on the edge of the transom and snapped the barb off the fitting in the hose clean off. So in that split second, I nixxed all chances of going sailing for the weekend. Oh to be sure, I tried going straight to the fuel fitting on the engine with the hose but without proper airflow from the fitting, it just wasn't going to happen.
Onto the projects. I had loaded the fridge onto the boat - It's strange to be calling it a fridge when it looks like a cooler, and is shaped like a cooler. I had it plugged in, and was watching the usage side of the battery monitor and my Victron App. Since I was already at full capacity and float, the panel was basically doing nothing but every so often it would kick up a few watts to make up for the occasional amp draw of the fridge. The first task was the easy one, just swap out my old fenders for new. I would like to pick up some new fender lines but I re-used the existing ones and so far, so good.
I hopped below, sweating already, and started staring at the existing galley.
This picture shows how it basically started out. Now, I'm pretty sure that the counter-top isn't original, nor the shelf under that speaker. I had basically used all this as storage, from everything to safety gear like flares and a first aid kit, to that Tablet you see on the cushion, to random paperwork and plastic silverware. This area was my catch-all. Catch no more, I say. Step one, was to empty everything out. Step two, remove the sink.
It actually did say Ambassador Marine for the manufacturer, so I'm sure it was completely expensive. It was held in with nothing more than silicone. A bit of fiddling with the utility knife to loosen that, and it came off relatively easy. Next, I removed the shelf in the middle, and test-fit the fridge into place.
One of the thoughts I had was to simply notch out the counter top in a way that would let me open the lid. Or, I could get really fancy and put a hinged notch that I could lift the counter top up in that section, then left the lid of the fridge. The downfall to that idea was that whatever ended up on top of the counter would then have to be moved anyway. And a notch, well.. that would eliminate all usable space minus the sink which I had zero intention of keeping or using. So after a long three minutes of self debate, out came the saws.
Basically just sawed back with the jigsaw which worked perfectly. The guard on the saw contacted the side of the hull with an inch to spare, also stopping the blade below just shy of hitting the hull. THen it was a matter of just yanking it out. And just like that...
Behold the big empty! Obviously there is a lot of cleanup required, which I will do more of once I get some fiberglass ordered to cover the holes up, and then paint. Most of the cabin is still in need of white paint anyway, but for now, it will have to do. I set the fridge up in place to see what it would look like in it's nearly-final resting position.
Now all that's left is to add a couple strips along each side on the bottom to keep it from sliding left and right, or rather fore and aft. And to get a small bracket to screw down to strap down the handles with to keep steady in all directions. The wiring will be tidied up next weekend when I go back. This weekend was all about proof of concept. As far as wiring goes, I will pick up a dedicated 12v receptacle to wire up in what I'm now going to just start calling my technical compartment - the space that houses my batteries and main fuse panel. I currently have two panel mounted outlets to the other side which I use for things like charging phones and the like. They too are wired directly to my fuse panel, but it'll be nice to run the fridge wiring out of all sight and tangling possibilities.
I set the temperature for 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and set it Eco mode. This is the more energy efficient mode, and as I had this plugged in for days ahead at home and in the car on the drive up, there was no need to run it in Max cooling. I chose 30 degrees because the only thing I was keeping in was water, and while 30 degrees is actually below freezing in the world of science, I knew that it wouldn't actually be a true 30 degrees constantly. Eco mode allows for a little more time between compressor cycles, which meant that realistically it was probably 32-33 degrees on average. What I can say though, is that through the nearly-90 degree day, and in the cabin with very little airflow, it was such a nice change of pace to be able to pop the lid and pull out a cold bottle of water. Well, to do that, without it being plucked from melting ice water. The other issue was power draw. I checked quite often throughout the day. I would see it pop up a couple amps of usage give or take, and then draw back down for a while. Obviously on a bright sunny day as I had, power was not going to be an issue. I could easily put back ten-plus amps into the bank if I needed to. Sunday turned out to be more overcast, but still plenty left in the tank. I checked in remotely last night after all power was gone, and I was still quite topped off. I left it plugged in when I came home, to see how it behaves and to check the Victron when I go back to see what kind of draw it's had the whole time.
Next stop, the bakery! That's a Pie reference, and then in turn, a Pi reference. I have a Pi 4 set up with Openplotter and OpenCPN chart plotting software, but until now, it's been relatively out of the limelight. Not only because I generally don't sail from inside the cabin, but also because I haven't figured out a good way to mount it. I had a general idea that I wanted it by the main switch panel and such, and since the AIS needs to hook to my VHF antenna cable, the Pi itself couldn't really move far. I've had a Raymarine fishfinder on a TV arm mount that I could swing out into the companionway to read depth which has been my primary source of real-time information. I debated again with myself, and decided that I can always re-mount that elsewhere. Off it came from the mount, on went the monitor bracket. I drilled a couple holes in the liner and fished some zipties through to secure the Pi casing to, tidied the wires up, and other than not having a new keyboard and mouse of the wireless variety handy, it came out looking pretty good indeed.
You can see in the upper right of the screen, there's a solid GPS signal, even with the GPS dongle plugged straight in. Granted it was a clear day and the hatch is open, but even in the event I needed more oomph, I do have a USB extension cable that can be used to relocate it further outside. Even sitting in the slip though, I was able to draw AIS targets from 30 miles away, which I always find kind of interesting. You may even be able to see them on the right side chart, the yellow triangles to the North of the lake. I celebrated with another cold drink, and then loaded all my junk and scrap wood into the car. The new fenders squeak a little, but nothing too bad, and at least I had a South wind holding me against the dock so they didn't bounce around on the side of the hull to keep me awake.
Sunday came, and I had nothing left to do but head home. Time to order the fiberglass mat, some epoxy resin, and a couple extra fuel line connectors for extra insurance.
