I went out and pulled the serial number off the outboard today so that I could start looking up the correct rebuild kit for the carb and new impeller. For future self-reference, it's a 1988 Mercury 9.9HP Sailmate Long shaft. The harder part is that I can't exactly work on the engine in the house, and I have no garage to work it into. Couple that with the cold weather and I'm hoping to order the parts soon, but will likely be a couple weeks before I finally get around to doing the impeller. The carb I can probably get removed in short order even in the cooler temperature, and work on the rebuild inside complete with gasoline odor. The impeller requires dropping the leg and such. I just have to remember to put it back together properly this time around.
I also found another product on clearance in the local Wal-Mart: Schulink Wireless Battery Monitor. Obviously I have yet to play with this thing, but it claims to be WiFi capable, and if you do have it connected to a wireless signal, you can access the state of the charge from anywhere by logging in. Since the marina has WiFi available, and if I can get a good signal on board, maybe this will be another little toy to check on the state of the charge from the house. It won't be nearly as telling as the Victron app from my charge controller, but at least I might not have any more of those trips up only to find something had gone awry and I was depleted. For $19.00, it's worth a try.
I did start putting together a second shopping list for things to do as the season gets underway. As I've mentioned, I have a new anchor, and a new-to-me compass to install. Compass will be easy to install, anchor, less so but still not the end of the world. But in addition to those, there's another group of purchases, most of which I've mentioned in the past. First on the second list - two more GC-2 batteries to go with the pair I have now. Doubling the house bank is never a bad idea. I've gone back and forth on this, since the batteries I have now, along with the single 100 watt solar panel, keep up everything fine. I've never really had any issues with it, but I also don't have any high draw devices. I swapped to a newer, lighter laptop that a) takes less to run, and b) has a newer battery to last per charge. I have a couple more cabin lights to change over to LED bulbs, or swap fixtures out, sure, but those don't add much. I've toyed with the idea of a Raspberry Pi based computer for running OpenCPN and having extra power for those, even as minuscule as they are, would be nice. I'd also like to see if doubling the bank would allow for using one of my 12 volt coolers for a weekend instead of my large one with bags of ice instead. Not to be satisfied with just doubling the house bank, but also I'd like to add another 100 watt panel. The Victron 75|15 controller I have, would in theory handle two panels together just fine, and initially I'll go that route, but I'd like to either size it up, or better yet, a second 75|15 for the second panel. I have to get the boat in the water and rigged so I can figure out if a bimini will serve as a suitable mount for a pair of panels, or if I might need to adjust how things sit.
Back to the extra batteries for a moment. Right now, the pair I have are installed, end to end, in a plywood box/shelf that's mounted in the old engine compartment. I never did seal the wood but it's been no issues. But that should be resolved this year.
This was one of the in-progress pictures as I was throwing it together. It's served it's purpose well, but since I would like two more batteries, they can't exactly stay this way. So in that spirit, only a couple options made sense. Looking in the picture, you can see the old mounts for the motor, the threaded rods sticking up from the floor, etc. There's actually enough room in there for two batteries side by side, and if I'm honest, I could probably fit six altogether in there in a 2x3 configuration. I'm only going for two. My original thought was to shave down those bolts to just above the floor level, and use a solid piece of plywood as sort of a floor, to fill the space. From there, I would mount the batteries on top, using wood pieces as braces on the bottom, and sides, all fiberglass sealed and using the tops of the bolts as anchors. Holes in the corner of the floor with a nut on top to basically bolt the plywood in place. I then found option 1A:
This is a 4-battery box from... well, this one says it's a company called Dyno, sold HERE at Fisheries Supply, for $129.99 with free ground shipping. There's also another one identical manufactured by Century Plastics out of Canada that are sold in a few places, with about the same pricing by the time you add shipping. As another option, there's a company called NOCO that makes much more heavy-duty versions, though they only sell them in a 2-battery box style. If you're curious, those are HERE. So my plan is now, to still build my shelf, or at the very least, use a couple boards as braces over the gap, and mounted or even if I just slot the ends to fit over what little bit of the thread sits up.. I like that idea actually. But get that stuff in there, and then mount this box right to those. Then boom, 4 batteries, fully contained, fully mounted, and sealed in. But there's still plenty of room above to maintain the water. If I get fancy, I'll order one of those snazzy all-in-one watering kits, but that's down the list a ways. I also wanted to link the box here for my father, and anyone else that might be curious about such boxes.
Now how does all this make one bummed out? Well those items in and of themselves don't. But in a bit of bittersweet news, I may find myself traveling to Long Beach, CA for work for the months of May and June. Last year, it was late in the season before I was in the water, July 7th, actually. So in one regard, I wouldn't really be losing any more time this year than last, if I end up out there instead. However, the plus side, is that the marina is working hard to get renovations taken care of, but also they've said they want to launch people as soon as possible to try to beat the rising waters and groundwater flooding that delayed some of last year's splashes. I intend to be on the forefront of those early launches. I'm on the next dock over, this year. The Marina officially opens the season on April 17th, though how soon they'll be putting boats in, I'm not sure. I did take the two weeks at the end of April off, and would like to get the most out of those two weeks as I can. With luck, I'll be able to host my Dad up on the boat, and maybe even get some longer distances underneath our keel, perhaps out to Olcott, NY (some people may figure out why that's on the to-do list). I'm hoping to be kept busy with tidying, and projects, and whatever else we can think of along the way. Granted, the weather early in the season can pick up a little, but hey! I've got an oversize Rocna to play with. Oh, and upgrading to 5/8" anchor rode from the 1/2" I have now, is also on the second shopping list. I'm leaning towards a roller on the bow with the Rocna permanantly mounted with the 5/8" + the 25' of 1/4" High Test chain as the primary anchor, and moving the 1/2" with another length of chain to the stern with the Fortress there. I might even go so far as to make a compartment under the cockpit somewhere, that can house the rode with a hawse pipe in the corner somewhere, so that if the anchor needs to be deployed, it could do so at a moments notice with minimal setup. Or at the very least, a duffel bag with easy access. Who knows. Time?
Anyone in Cali want company on some weekend sailing by chance?
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