Short lived

It seems so recently that I posted the unfortunate news about the marinas here in NY being closed down, and the uncertainty about the season. The night, I received the word via FB feed, as well as the e-mail from the marina that the governors of NY, as well as Jersey and Connecticut, had issued that marinas may re-open. They classify them as essential services. I'm not sure about essential in the meaning of life shall cease without them, but it's definitely a welcome bit of news. I'm not sure if it's just because of the crazy nature of the world or what, but even though the official opening date was April 17th, it feels like half the season is already lost when in fact it has only just begun. Perhaps it's because we haven't been allowed to go work on our boats yet? I'm not sure, but I'm glad that I'll be able to get pretty much a full season in, even with precautions being in place. Once I leave the dock, I'm not worried any more. Granted it will mean no gatherings for the foreseeable future, which is a shame when Fair Point has always had a great tradition of bands and dinners and the like. I'm actually more interested in the restroom and shower facilities. Those places are prime targets for stricter rules, but also are rather almost a necessity, so that will be interesting. They said in their e-mail last night that they will get cracking on getting the docks in as soon as they can, and that we'll be seeing more information about scheduling launches and whatnot. I'm ready to go, myself. So time to load up the outboard and the rest of the things to work on - battery tray, the new solar panel, and little things like fittings - and then put me in coach, I'm ready to play.

I drove up to the marina on Wednesday, amidst snowing blustery temperatures and aware of the near 40 knot gusts on the lake, trying to formulate the plan of attack, some sort of order in which to accomplish my goals. This could get interesting. Step one: LAUNCH THE BOAT! Ok, that seems easy enough. Short of mounting the outboard on the bracket, that's about it. I'd still like to stuff some foam up the bottom of the mast to silence the little bit of wiring that clang. The only other thing I need to do is to re-run the halyards. I completely removed them at the end of last year since I had sort of put them on backwards. Instead of my headsail halyard on the port side, I had them flipped. Oops. It was more an inconvenience, but I want to correct that for this season. They are new, at least, but I need to have them in the right place! But aside from that, the mast is ready to go. I wanted to make a mast base for some turning blocks and a boom vang, but that's something that can wait until next season, when I'll have more time to build a template and have one custom fabricated. After the halyards are installed, that's all the mast is needing. I'll get new pins for the shrouds and stays, I've meant to already but I don't have the diameters handy, so I'll use the ones I have to at least get the mast up and ready, and then order the more appropriate ones.

I'd like to get the battery box mounted before the boat goes in the water, but they won't go careening around causing havoc in the meantime unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong. I took another step towards that goal, and recently ordered a Ryobi cordless tool set consisting of a circular saw, drill, reciprocating saw, and a couple other bits.

I also ordered their multi-tool to go along with it. Being cordless should make it at least a little easier to not only transport, but also maneuver and not need to worry about the inverter. Don't get me wrong, my little Harbor Freight special inverter does show some good legs in running regular power tools. However if I can spare it some grief, I feel I should. Eventually I'd like to add a jigsaw and a cordless grinder to the arsenal but until then, a jigsaw off the inverter is fine. The primary purpose of the purchase is to make sure that anything I might need to trim from a store, be it the metal bars to support the new solar panel, or the plywood flooring for the battery compartment. It's easier to trim these down prior to loading into the car. And with the way the social distancing and precautions are taken in the stores right now, I'd rather not have to subject employees to doing the trimming for me. The kicker is I saw "delivery date: Tuesday" and my brain stopped reading. See, I placed the order Sunday and thought sweet, I'll be able to break them in! Turns out that it's next Tuesday. So in the car with me on the trip are my corded sawzall, jigsaw, and angle grinder. Say what you will about Harbor Freight tools, and goodness knows I have. I consider their Chicago Electric line at least to be disposable power tools. I find that if I start out with almost no expectations then I can't be too disappointed. That said, this angle grinder which cost me probably twenty five dollars, is still going. I don't know how. It spent this past winter outside sitting on a broken hammock. Snow, rain, you name it. Still going. And I bought it three or four years ago. I've never treated it nicely, but it just keeps going. And strangely all the power tools I have from there - a corded 1/2" impact gun, the sawzall, grinder - they all are generally neglected and yet still try to impress me. In that regard, I sort of am impressed. Just don't tell them that.

The sun finally broke the clouds as I neared Syracuse on the drive, and the first sight I saw was a strange one. In Syracuse, New York, there's a rather striking sight - the Carrier Dome.

Home to the Syracuse college sports teams, and hosting other events like state championships for high schools and whatnot, it opened in September of 1980. With a capacity of nearly 50,000 people, it remains the largest college dome and the largest domed stadium in the Northeast. So imagine my surprise when, after years of seeing that above site, I crest a hill and see this:

I had to run to the almighty internet and see just what was going on! Turns out that the original roof had a 20 year lifespan which coincides with a new roof project. They had just placed the last of those truss sections on Monday, and while I was trying to envision how the new roof would look when it's done, well... that's it. The picture above is the finished picture, and the only thing missing from my view was the actual roof nestled in the center. Supported by cables from those outside beams, they'll be more transparent for better lighting, more durable, and have a lifespan twice as long. And as the original dome was - and I'm not making this up - inflatable, this one isn't. Yes, the old one relied on constant air pressure to maintain shape. People even say that opening a door could blow a hat of your head. To illustrate my point, here's a clip from when they took it down recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADCm8DCzcCw

To me though, having an exposed skeleton seems like it loses some of the visual appeal. Who knows. Carry on to the marina.

Coming into the bay, I could see whitecaps. Viewing the lake? I saw a washing machine. My first thought was thank goodness the boat wasn't in already and I was out there trying to sail west. It's the kind of sea state and weather you encounter when you have to, not when you choose to. I set up the ladder, and set to work. Step one, re-run the halyards on the mast. The easiest way for me to do it is to remove the cover on the top of the mast head, and feed them through the sheaves that way. I had to secure the mast to the stern rail so it couldn't slide, and then lay the ladder up against the mast. It took only a few minutes - more time was spent running them down the length of the mast and securing them afterwards. Next, I reattached the spreaders. I had taken them off and detached the stanchions so that the tarp would form a better tent over the mast and shed snow easier. Two bolts, done. The last outdoor project was to try to shove some foam into the end of the mast. I tried. Pretty sure I didn't succeed. We'll see.

Down into the cabin we go. Time to get this new battery box in place! Conceptually, this should be relatively easy. I already have the four GC2 batteries. I just need to take them out of the location, put them in the box, and put the box back. The last time I was up, I had brought the 2nd pair of batteries and temporarily braced them in position. This was so I could get everything hooked up, make sure things were going right, and get the solar panel in the cockpit and charging. So when I opened the compartment, here they were, waiting.

In order to fit the box and plywood shelf for which it to sit, I needed to cut off the existing bolts from the non-existent motor mounts. You can see the front two in the picture. What you can't see from there is that between the two batteries in front, and the two in back, are two more bolts sticking up. They presented a headache to get the other batteries around the first time, and the idea of having to somehow lift or wrangle those rear batteries around them to remove was not appealing. Since I only have corded power tools and a hacksaw as backup, I decided that first, I could use the cutoff wheel on the grinder to nix the first two bolts easily enough. I plugged in the inverter, covered the batteries with some paper plates as a spark barrier (probably not needed) and made short work of those. The inverter, by the way, is simply a Harbor Freight (I know, right?) 750 watt continuous / 1500 watt peak model I found on sale a few years back. I'm sure it is far from the most efficient one out there, but it's served it's purpose well. Usually it's main job is to run my laptop and the TV when at anchor or in my slip. I do have shore power provided, but as I do not have an AC panel on the boat, nor working hookup, I don't use it. I suppose I could go buy an adapter to convert the shore power plug to a standard 110v outlet for an extension cord, but I've never had a problem with capacity, and I just doubled it this year. Pretty sure I'll be fine unless the sun stops working for a month. I unhooked and slid the front two batteries out and set them behind me, and then pondered the next two bolts. I could push the other batteries back further to gain clearance, and ended up hooking the two batteries on the floor back together into a 12v bank, and running the inverter off those two in order to cut the next bolts. Finally all four bolts out.

Next up, making a tray. This was going to be the easy part. I had spare plywood left over, and a jigsaw. I was even smart enough to bring a tape measure with me. Aside from the wind blowing the sawdust into my face, it was an easy cut. Adding a small support brace on the back to bring the panel up to a more level position, it took only a couple of minutes to cut and fix into place with a couple screws down into the old rails. All I had to do next, was to put my ratchet strap underneath and position it out of the way.

It was about this time that I realized that I had accidentally snagged the solar feeds coming into the Victron and pulled them free from the terminals. Luckily nothing touching or anything, but I then realized that I never had marked which was the positive lead. And since it all weaves through underneath the cockpit and along the hatch before disappearing up the transom to the deck gland, tracing out which was which proved to be very troublesome. So much so, that at one point in frustration I completely emptied the locker and ended up plunging headfirst into it, on my back with my feet hanging out the opening. And I still couldn't reach up around and determine which was which was which. Ultimately this led me to unintentionally unscrewing one of the fittings off the entry gland so I could get more play in the wire to figure it out. I was right annoyed at that point, but since I had the brilliant moment back when of "I can use 5200, I don't need to remove this EVER...", there's no one to blame but myself on that. With the wiring sorted though, I focused on the box itself. My first plan was to put two batteries in the rear of the box, propped up on the lip of the shelf, and then put two others in. The issue with that is that I had no way to prop up the box, and the moment I let it angle, the batteries would slide on the plastic anyway. So, all four went in the box as it sat ready.

It was at this point that I knew I had made a mistake. Looking at the box up in place, I realized that there were a few issues. I needed to cut an opening for the negative solar line, no big deal. But then how to I actually hook things up? The batteries are tied together, but I still need all the positive and negative feeds for the boat side, the charger, and the Schulink monitor hooked to the posts. The negative I managed to do while it was propped out. The positive would be interesting. Not to mention that it didn't get any lighter with all four batteries inside. Even with one end up, I still had to lift the other end while then pushing it back onto the tray. Luckily there are physics in the world that means I wasn't lifting a full 250 lbs. I don't even know what the math breaks down to. I do know that it still wasn't very light. Once in place though, and by feel and not sight, everything was once again wired up. I slid the top into place, got the strap on, and tightened it down. The only thing left to do now is to attach small blocks of wood on the front and back to keep it from sliding, but then it'll be very secure. I didn't hook the inverter up, I'm still working on the logistics of that part. That might be much better done when the boat is more emptied out and not so cramped.

I brought the new panel on board and set it inside. I also unhooked the existing panel and brought it below. It was just laying on the cockpit seats and when they go to launch the boat - this is being done without customers present as much as possible to limit risk - I didn't want anyone to have to clamber over it or anything like that. And with a fully topped off battery bank, no reason it can't be disconnected for a week. I also put labels on the outboard. This might be silly, but since I discovered a much easier way to start the motor, I thought it best to pass on the information to the yard guys at the marina. Whenever it sits, it seems to take longer and longer to pull-start, and I never have figured out why. I did though discover that if you just shoot a spray of gas into the carb, it fires right up and runs just fine. It's like it isn't priming on its own, but once running is ok. So I left a spray bottle with a little gas in it in a locker. Sticker on the outboard now reads

TO START: Spray a shot or two of gas from the spray bottle into the carb. May need to do twice.

Spray bottle located in starboard cockpit locker.

Hopefully it makes sense to anyone else reading it. I'm sure that if they can't get it started though, they'll just line-walk it or tow it with their yard boat to whatever slip I end up at. It dawned on me, that in every year I've been there, with both boats, I've always been on the eastern fingers on the docks, so I have always made a turn to port into my slip. Luckily my time on Cayuga lake was always the opposite, so let's hope if that happens this time, that I'm not rusty.

Stockpiling

And just like that, there was none.

This morning I woke up to find that the webcam at the marina has been restored - hooray! - followed by the e-mail from the marina that they have indeed been deemed non-essential and are thereby shut down until further notice. There's just no way of knowing when things will return to anything resembling normalcy in this world's situation, unfortunately. It's frustrating, for sure. And for some of us in the areas we're in where last season was delayed due to flooding, to have a 2nd year where things are put indefinitely on hold is agonizing. B-O-A-T. Break Out Another Thousand. Or if you prefer: Boat; a hole in the water into which you pour money. Both are common sayings in the boating community. And I'm sure most owners have heard, and laugh at them as I do. One doesn't buy a boat without realizing that it's almost never going to be an investment with a positive gain (flipping aside), and that yes, you are spending money on recreational value. What we're faced with now though, is a different animal. We still pay seasonal (or monthly) fees, depending on location. For us, it's not the same as saying 'well, guess I can't hook the trailer up yet'. We suffer money loss regardless of if the boat goes in the water or not, regardless of circumstances. A Marina is not going to say "oh hey, sorry about the bad luck, here's your money back for what you didn't get to use." And as a recreational activity, we as owners shouldn't ever expect such. But it does drive one mad, knowing that while we've made the choice to spend money on a hobbie that returns value in the form of enjoyment and entertainment - now we're spending money with zero value in return, without any choice in the matter, short of trying to cut your loss by selling it altogether. Surely some owners are contemplating that. Myself, I've already paid my fees for the year. And just as I did last year, only to wait for months into the season before I could be able to relax away from people, I will wait again. Ironic, that when being told to isolate oneself, we aren't allowed to go to the one place that would be the most isolated. I guess the fear of the bar hopping crowd mingling is more than the few of us that don't. And if you don't think that I'm looking for a cheap trailer sailor to use instead, you'd be very mistaken.

So instead of a trip up on Saturday, my parts on order are starting to pile up in the corner. Other than the battery box, thankfully it's all small things. Small enough in fact that the box will serve as a nice place to hold them all once the time comes to get back up there. While I've been staring at the bits scattered about, I started watching more videos again, and somehow, I don't know fully, I came across some research I had started previously.

On my Excalibur, my first boat, I splurged and bought a fancy 7" touch screen chart plotter, VHF with AIS receiver and hooked them all together all shiny and neat. With this boat though, as I never intended it to be a forever boat, I simply haven't put that same money into the navigation. I'm on Lake Ontario which, while it can get quite ferocious, is still a lake. That means shores in all four directions. I am rarely ever out of sight of land in most cases, instead out for weekends to anchor somewhere in the quiet lake environment. I do have a handheld VHF that reaches plenty for where I usually am. Granted I did run very high quality coax up the mast, but the fixed VHF radio transmits but doesn't receive. While I could transmit an SOS, I wouldn't hear any reply unless it was in range of the handheld. I've considered replacing it with a new AIS receiving model again, but they have a relatively small screen on them to view targets unless you output to a chart plotter. I don't have a plotter, nor do I want to spend that kind of money on one for a boat that I won't be using for more than hopefully a couple more seasons. There's logic to be had for buying one now and then just taking it with me to my next boat, but I'd rather not do that. If I wait until the next boat comes along, I would have a much better idea of what I want, what fits where, what is actually needed versus what might already be equipped, and so on.

This does present the challenge of having no charts other than the paper chart on the boat. I do have a depth readout from the Raymarine fish finder in the boat, purchased solely for that reason. And I am pretty familiar with the local area from where I normally sail, but it would be nice to have larger charts and a better readout. I do have some basic apps on my phone that I've toyed with, I've used OpenCPN on a laptop with a USB GPS antenna, and I even used a promotion this year when I got my latest phone to pick up a Samsung 8" Tablet that I intended to use as a plotter, running either openCPN or a paid Navionics subscription. That's actually how I backed myself into what I was looking at before. So now I have on order, a Raspberry Pi 4, and a dAISy HAT AIS receiver module with case, and a 24" 12v (kind of) TV/Monitor. I am going to make myself a Nav Station, of sorts. I'm sure many have already known these tricks, but here's the scoop:

The Raspberry Pi is a micro computer, about the size of a couple decks of cards stacked. From there it has two HDMI outputs (the Pi 3 has a single large one, the Pi 4 has dual mini's that can run 4k output from them). It also has a bank of four USB ports. I believe two are USB 3 and the others are the older 2s, but either way. On this little guy, is a microSD card, that you load up with whatever version of the Linux / Pi operating system you wish. From there, you can run programs such as OpenCPN, and coupled with a USB GPS module, you have an instant Nav Computer. They also have released a Moitessier HAT which combines AIS, GNSS for GPS, and a gyroscope, which I will likely upgrade to once I've dialed in the system. The beauty of this all, is the very low cost of the hardware. The Pi itself, you can get a complete kit for under $100. Or, in the case of the dAISy Hat since it offers a custom case for it to fit, I can forgo the entire Pi 4 kit and just buy the core board, which put my total cost around $150ish or so, not counting the monitor. That, is a Sceptre 24" Ultra Thin that I found for another $100 on Amazon, and since it runs off a 12 VDC power adapter, I'll be able to go direct to the bank instead of needing to run the inverter. While it does have speakers, the general consensus is that they are junk, so I'll look for an alternative there. OR, I'll just run the bluetooth - I forgot to mention the Pi 4 comes with built in WiFi and Bluetooth - right to the stereo. And, it also means I can run Netflix off the Pi machine to watch on the monitor, or, it does have dual HDMI inputs on this particular model so I can still use my Roku stick for that. I still have to find a much better mounting solution and I do want to build a more traditional station for it to sit at. I know that sounds weird, since I'm not relying on paper charts but instead, digital on screen, but it would still be nice.

And the fun doesn't stop there. You can actually use VNC software or apps to, in effect, remote access the Pi machine from tablets or other devices, giving you what amounts to remote stations wherever you need. In my case, I have that 8" Tablet that I intend to mount on the cockpit bulkhead while under way. And while I could easily fire up Navionics or even OpenCPN on that, I can instead just remote into the Pi for the same setup, with the bonus of having the AIS targets shown thanks to that receiver. Of course, I get to test all that on my desk at home, since I can't go up and do anything yet. And they shipped my new solar panel. I think I need a storage unit to put all this stuff in...

Found money

If only I had found a lot more of it. But I did find some extra money I forgot I had bookmarked, so I went ahead and ordered up a few more things that will hopefully all be here before this weekend, as I'm hopeful to get up for at least Saturday to get more of the projects done. First and foremost, is this newfangled battery box. The shipping was updated and it should be here tomorrow, which I'm anxious for. I think that only boat owners find themselves getting that excited over what must seem pretty mundane to others. A big square plastic box? Looks pretty plain. I've settled on the installation layout though. Starting with the empty engine bay, I'll cut off the existing engine mounting studs protruding up from the rails. I may leave just enough that I can countersink some holes in a piece of plywood to assist in holding fast but no so high that they come through it. I'll add a supporting block under the plywood in the cavity for center support, and then use some thickened epoxy to seal the plywood in place. It'll hold a lot better than if I tried to simply screw the plywood down. From there, I'll screw some wooden lengths onto the battery box so that when the box is placed on the plywood, I can then screw those down into the plywood. This will hold it in place, but still allow me to unscrew and slide the box out later on down the road if I need to. If that time comes, I'll make some support system to slide the box out and down without trying to lift a 250 lbs battery tray, but for now, it'll work. I think I'll have to put two batteries in, get the box up and in place started, then slide the other two batteries in with something wedged under the box and then push it back into place. That's how it'll work in my head. We'll see about in practice.

The other Fortress I ordered for my dad has arrived, and I still have the new flooring roll to take up with me. That'll be trickier, since it really does need to sit out flat in a decent temperature to help flatten it. I have 5 dogs and a football team of cats, so it won't be ideal to do that in the house. I thought about laying the seats down flat in the GL and unrolling it, with weights on it and the heat cranked for the drive, but then I remembered I'm taking the outboard. So unless I lay it down, and then find a lot of plywood to place over it, I may just have to figure that out as it comes. At the very least, take it to the boat and when the weather gets warm, roll it out on the dock in the sun and then install it. Hard to have a project that I can't get to.

Other goodies arriving though, are a new impeller for the outboard, which may find it's way on this weekend as well. It should be fairly easy to drop the lower unit while the boat is mounted to the kicker bracket on the hard. But the existing one does seem to still be working ok, so it might just go in the spares drawer for later. Some flush mounted ring pulls for the bilge boards after the new floor is down, and some rings to mount the new (as yet to arrive) solar panel, and some fittings for the adjustable poles. I also ordered a roller - again for the floor - and 3M Spray adhesive, as I've read plenty of reviews that the peel-off adhesive backing of the floor is marginal at best, and inadequate at worst. I should also be seeing a screen protector for this Galaxy Tab A that will be used as a plotter, though I still need to order a mount for it. Then again, I need to finish up sealing and fairing and painting the bulkhead that it's going to mount to first, anyway. That stuff has yet to be ordered, as it's still just a hair too cold. I did though, order a plug for the water tank. Someone's infinite wisdom, installed hose fitting in the anchor locker to fill the fresh water tank. Aside from being a really, really stupid place for that, it also doesn't have any closure - either it was lost, or who knows what. I have no idea how much water is actually in the tank - there's no gauge, you can't get to it as it's permanently mounted under the v-berth, and has no access ports. I do have a pump that feeds the sink, but frankly, I don't use the water tank on the boat at all. And as there's no real seal around the anchor locker, there's also no telling how much rain water has found it's way down into the locker, and then to the tank - nor what happens when that gets full? Is that water just overflowing into the bilge? I do have water there from time to time, but is it that? is it just leaky toe-rails? Who knows. But I'll eliminate one potential place by plugging the hole, and then running the sink faucet and out the discharge thru-hull for a bit, to draw down whatever is in the water tank.

Still no word from the marina on if it's a definite open, or if we're going to be stuck on hold this year. I did see them working with the crane on the webcam this morning - and then the camera went out. Maybe they were using the crane to do something with the camera? I'd like to think that they were readying docks or something, but who knows.

On a side note - Whitestone Dome Glass screen protectors - I can't say enough about these things, regardless of the cost. It might seem more complicated than the old peel and stick kind, but go ahead and YouTube some videos. And I'll say that the phones I've had it on - including the one I put on today for my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra - perfection.

First Contact

Yesterday was the first official trip to the boat this season, and was done so with uncertainty in these increasingly crazy times. Following a morning spent at the closest dealer capable of performing the airbag recall for my model, I drove the rest of the way to the boat where it was chillier than expected. Thankful that it wasn't snowing, the first order of business was to remove the tarp that was starting to have issues holding up to the wind. Even though it was billed as heavy duty, and indeed it was heavier duty than the standard blue tarps, it only takes one sharp edge to render it silly. Rather than re-lash it into place, I dropped it to the ground for stuffing in the car later. Next was the batteries. These Duracell GC2 batteries weigh 68 pounds apiece. They also do not come with straps. They come with loops for straps, but no straps. As I was not savvy enough to order a strap ahead of time, I was left with the pleasant option of once again, carrying them one at a time up the ladder to the cockpit.

Sitting in the cockpit, I looked at my current to-do list. Figure out the battery situation. Figure out the anchor roller placement. See where the Rocna will sit. Hook up the wifi battery monitor gadget. Grab the fuel connector for the outboard so I can test that at home. Oh where to begin. Since I was sitting right next to the gas tank, I decided I would remove the end of the fuel line to bring home. I had a brand new 6 gallon tank and brand new line, sans connector, waiting to power up the outboard. As I started to unscrew the clamp, my eyes wandered to the other end and I realized the entire hose was the same as the one I bought. I'll just take the whole thing. How simple! I unclipped the hose, tossed it on the seat, and then hefted both batteries down into the cabin, all 136 lbs of them. I removed the old batteries and the make-shift plywood tray I had built two years ago. I had originally wanted to just set the two new ones in alongside, but the presence of the motor mount bolts interfered. So I ditched the plywood, braced a board over the cavity and temporarily slipped the four batteries into the space, and wired them all in. Soon, all four were mounted, a 430 amp hour battery bank, fed by a Victron 75|15 SmartSolar charger converting the sunlight hitting the HQST 100 watt solar panel sitting on the cockpit seat, and hooked through a Schulink wireless battery monitor connected to the marina's WiFi network. That little monitor is pretty slick, considering the cheap cost.

I was scrolling back through some old Sail Life videos this weekend, and in one he had mentioned a CTEK Battery Sense monitor. One of his irks about the app is that it only gives the percentage of charge, which he found suspect to start with, and not a voltage readout. A positive on the Schulink, is that while it gives a percentage of charge, it also gives a voltage readout. It only goes to tenths, but that's still something. Here's a screenshot of what the app shows

They also carry a battery charger that would give another step, but since I am not using theirs, it'll show zero charging, when I know for a fact it is. Now, if I were to give one piece of advice using devices like these, it is this. Because these hook with a simple positive and negative connection to your battery, if you do have a source of charging coming in, it may show an inflated number because it's seeing voltage across the connections. For example, today was a bright and sunny day, feeding a good portion through the solar panel and Victron. Because the batteries are working on still getting topped off, it was putting in some good amperage. The Schulink showed 100% charge, when I know it was more like 75 or so. If this is a setup you have, it's best to wait until you know you have minimal charge coming from outside sources if possible before checking the state of charge through the app. In my case, I just wait until it's dark. Obviously the Victron app is miles more accurate and informative, but for a $20 investment to be able to get a general idea from hundreds of miles away, I can't complain.

I brought the Rocna aboard and got nowhere with that, but I do have a slightly better plan for the anchor roller. That's a topic for another day though. The Rocna stayed below, since it's really not too easy to hang over the bow of a boat on the hard while trying to juggle a 33 lbs hunk of metal with a sharp point.

I swear it looked bigger

It's funny how sometimes you just can't get a good sense of size for something until it's in your hand. This can go either way, really. Take my boat - a 28 foot sailboat with decent cabin room, on the water looks normal. On the hard and on stands, you go "oh it's bigger than I thought." And the anchor roller I bought suffers the reverse effect. I know it's 16" long piece of kit. And I sat here when I ordered, and went "Well, that's about yay big, and then... yeah, should be good." Gets here, and.. nope. Again, it was an experiment and will continue to be, so I can get an idea of what WILL work.

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.

Ever-changing plans

In a world that's rapidly running in circles, sometimes it's hard to remember to sit back and just think. While there's still a lot unknown, and with it a lot of needless panic, the most frustrating thing is having to adjust your own lifestyle and plans around others. It does make the prospect of being a thousand miles into the middle of the ocean a lot more appealing. Rather than get into all that wonderful debate, I'll skip ahead.

As of now, my potential trip to Cali has been cancelled until further notice. Schools and such have been closed for the next four weeks, but that they've cancelled my trip that's nearly two months out seems to be jumping the gun. There's no way to know for sure if four weeks is going to be fine, or if it'll be months on end. The bigger question is things like, will there even be water around to stock the cooler when summer hits? Or do I need to take out a loan for a water-maker... Obviously I have no doubts that somehow, logic will return to the percentage of Americans that are panic buying out of fear and misinformation, and slowly the stocks will return to the shelves. In the meantime, filtered water will do just fine out on the lake.

In the meantime, I'm still brainstorming my bow roller for this Rocna on my floor. I swear it looks bigger every day. The largest issue is the raised toe rail, followed closely by a serious lack of space on the bow. Since I'm not at the boat, I can't give a perfect picture, but suffice it to say, engineering will be required. So far, my plan is to use a block to mount on the deck and then mount the roller onto that. The anchor locker will need to be modified, I may have mentioned it earlier. I'll probably end up cutting it down, maybe in half, or somehow modified, and then the roller can mount on it's position. The other question in my mind, is how to secure the rode once the anchor is deployed. Part of the reason for raising the roller up over the rail is for clearance, but the other is to allow access to the bow chock underneath to feed the rode through at anchor. My preference is to not use the roller as structural at anchor. Normally when deployed, the rode feeds out along the roller, and away you go. My initial plan will be to deploy the anchor, letting the rode pay out until it's where it needs to be. Then, I'll reach forward, and pull the rode back from the now-deployed anchor through the chock and cleat it off. So far that's the only feasible plan I have. Obviously the roller will be mounted with a sufficient backing plate, but I'd rather be safer than broken.

I did order a roller for this week. It's quite impressive, how many different versions, styles, sizes, and makes there are. There are hinged ones, and ones designed to be more effective for certain styles. In my case, I've cheaped out and went with a very basic one, to at least see if my idea for mounting is even feasible. If it is, then great, I can come up with a version 2.0. And if it doesn't pan out, I'm not out a lot of money.

So I can afford more toilet paper.

Bumming

As the season approaches, I find myself anxious but at the same time a little bummed. But then not REALLY bummed? It's complicated.

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?