All in a name

One of the things I had been trying to think of for a while, was a new appropriate name for this boat. I wanted something that hinged nicely off the striking paint color, but also simple in nature, and also something that was easy to call a Mayday from if the situation warranted it. I mean, calling the boat 'I'm bluer than you, but it's the color, not the mood' would make for a very confusing radio hail.

Admittedly, it was something that had only been passing back and forth in my mind for a bit here and there, but when it came time to fill out my dock agreement for Fair Point Marina, one of the blanks is for boat name. What better time to figure that out than the present, I figured. So after much consideration that took the better part of five minutes, I have decided that this Newport 28 will take on the name Blue Skye. The 'e' was a suggestion from someone here at work, and I don't mind the addition.

I've spent the last week starting to put together my shopping lists for the refit. If you haven't read any of my past plans, it included a 400+ amp hour house battery bank, 300 watts of solar power, large inverter to tie into the AC outlets on board, possibly a hot water heater. Plumbing in a shower in the head, and so on and so on.

I've ordered a new DC panel - though likely not the permanent one that I would like to eventually get to. I'm also ordering up a new AC main breaker panel, to get rid of the horrible design that is in it now. Until I get more pictures later, it's basically a 30 amp house breaker in a box stuck up in the cabin. Unacceptable to me. Also a new pulpit railing flange, some battery jumper wires to run my GC2s in parallel, and other little odds and ends.

But one thing I have wrestled with, is the scaling back of such a grand scheme. My last boat was powered by a single 100 watt solar panel feeding two GC2 batteries from Sam's Club - so 215 amp hours in the bank. That boat used a 7" touchscreen chartplotter, VHF and active depthsounder that all ran full time anyone was on board, as well as LED cabin lights, the regular nav lights in the dark, cell phone chargers, and a small inverter that would run a 24" LED television. I never once had any issues with power, even after I inadvertently pulled one of the cables from the charge controller and was running on battery only for who knows how long. So why on earth would I need to double the capacity when I have no realistic expectations this year to use any more power than I had before? With the only exception being a water pump for the sink faucet, there's no more draw to this boat than the last. Likely even less than that one, as I don't have the same chart plotter setup - I'm going to stick to a small tablet with Navigation Apps instead which use the same maps I already had, and with just as accurate a GPS fix.

I will be jumping up to 2 panels instead of one, and will likely make it an arch over the stern instead of just mounting them on the rail. Another option would be to let them swivel off the side of the stern instead of the back, but an arch would offer a little more cockpit shade under certain angles, and will still be back far enough that the boom won't shade them at all. I can always add two more batteries later to double the bank up, but for the immediate season, this should be plenty.

Other things I have waiting to be ordered, are just wiring and plumbing supplies, and new lights for the mast, and cabin. I do need to figure out the masthead sheave situation but I need to get back to the boat for that part. I've been trying to compare pictures of the masthead that I've taken, with a few that I found online from what I believe is another N28, and I think I have an idea for one side, but I really have to get to the boat with a second set of hands so that I can maneuver the mast backwards on the boat to where I have access to the masthead for some measurements, and to see what's up. The aft side doesn't appear to have anything in the masthead at all, but the front of it does at least still have a pin, so maybe there's hope.