sailboat maintenance

Domestic Electric

colin bastable 1 Comment

hot socket

A few months back, I bought a US socket to replace the UK 240v twin socket that came with Frank, but did not get around to installing it. I just used UK-US adaptors.

This lets me run mains-power devices (kettle, power tools, heater, etc) on board when using shore power.

It has been cold, so I had the heater on, as I have done before. There was a strange smell which I eventually localized to the socket.

I have been using UK -> US adaptors to run 110v items. I pulled out one – no problem. Pulled out the left side one… and the GFPE tripped as the plug flashed. So that works!

The 13a fuse in the adaptor had failed to blow and the brass prong was taking some heat:

adaptor plug

Fascinating. The live, or “hot” in the USA, is shown here after I disconnected from shore power, opened the socket and clipped the wire. I have a plug-in circuit tester to check if the sockets are really turned off.

live wire

I found a cool website, The Circuit Detective to help me translate between UK and USA terms (there is a lot of difference besides voltage) and get the new socket wired in correctly.

So I now have a UK-fitted GFPE on board, where the mains power comes in, and two US sockets fitted with GFCI. I wanted to keep a dual 240/110 system, for when Frank is in Caribbean and other Commonwealth marinas, but I think I will look at installing and running the shore power through a US Standard GFPE, and maybe run two systems later.

Gfci socket

I no longer need big-assed UK plug-adaptors!

WiFi Extender (update)

colin bastable 1 Comment

2019-07-28 at 09-35-35

UPDATE: The lovely Bethany at GMN has replaced the unit. I have tested it and it appears to work, so next opportunity I will install it.

Another bit of dodgy tech!

The satcom system worked fine for phones and emails at sea. Expensive airtime, mind you! And a pain to get a reasonable package. My Iridium Pilot came with an Optimizer which works to compress and reduce unnecessary files for email and web browsing at sea.

2019-07-28 at 09-35-42

The marina wifi is pretty crap and Frank’s berth is quite a ways from the wifi hotspot. So I ordered a refurbished  RedPort Wifi extender from GMN on rush delivery back last year. Of course, it did not work – it had not been checked or tested. So it went back on RMA and eventually came back, whereupon it went to the back of the line.

Finally, last weekend, it floated to the top of the “to-do” list.

The lights lit up, but the discovery bit, where the Extender appears on the Optimizer menu, did not work.

optimizer_-_tasks_-_luci_pdf

You can’t see it because it ain’t there.

Cue email..

Ticket Number: 2019073110000983

Hello Colin, 

I think that Optimizer is an older version that has been end of lifed. Do you know what hardware model the Extender is? It will say on the back of the Extender. Either wXa-EXT or wXa-EXT V2

Bethany Headrick

GMN Customer Care

—

Global Marine Networks, LLC

3224 Wrights Ferry Road

Louisville, TN 37777

Web: http://www.globalmarinenet.com

Tel: +1.865.379.8723

Email: info@globalmarinenet.com

—

07/31/2019 14:15 – Colin Bastable wrote:

Hi.

I bought a Halo extender. It was defective and RMAd.

I have connected it to the Optimizer.

Plugged into LAN port. WLAN, LAN and Power blue lights on at Optimizer.

Two blue lights on, and flashing red, orange and two green lights on Extender.

No Extender option appeared in the menu.

 

I then updated the firmware from 1.3xxx to wXa-102 v1.63b8

 

Still no Extender option.

 

See attached screengrab.

 

Please can you advise me how to get the Extender option to display?

 

Thanks

 

Colin

 —

At this stage, I am beginning to suspect that what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate between the Optimizer and the Extender. We shall see.

Wind vane and Sailtimer finally up mast

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When Frank was having her keel dropped, at Hooking Bull in Rockport back in 2016, because this necessitated having the mast down, I planned to install a SailTimer Wireless Wind Instrument which arrived long after the mast was back up and Frank was in her new berth in Corpus Christi Marina

This week, Matt Sebring of Coastal Bend Yacht Services has mounted it, along with a Windex (the one mounted when at Hooking Bull lasted a week, when a pterodactyl (I am no ornithologist, but they are big-assed ugly monsters that share the marina with the boats) decided that the Windex did not belong on the top of the mast.

2019-07-26 at 10-50-51

It took so long for me to get around to installing the Sailtimer that they have redesigned it – I should have waited until now to buy it. But next time I am at the Marine I can see if it actually works, and also see if the Windex has survived..

Stbd port

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Last August I repaired the port side forward port (the big one), rebedding the glass in marine silicon in the alloy frame and repairing the porthole in which it sits. That port was leaking water on the galley side. It seems to be dry now, so this last weekend I did the other side, which leaks water into the chart station, ruining anything not waterproof in the desk and so on.

Gaps filled and epoxied..

2019-07-28 at 09-35-11

Gaps in port frame before thee repair.

2019-07-27 at 16-14-01

The port before repair

2019-07-27 at 13-15-082019-07-27 at 13-14-56

For some silly reason I can’t find or did not take pics of the frame, nor of the finished job, but I will add them later. Neither repaired job is perfect – I need to clean up the silicon from the glass, but it will keep the water out. Four more to go, two each side (smaller).

Fitting the coachroof rails

colin bastable 2 Comments

Today (Sept 10, ’16) I drilled the holes and added the new rails. A couple of the holes were slightly out of alignment but the rails now fit and look good. I have to countersink the coachbolts, and one hole in the coachroof has lost is thread. i will fill the hole with resin and cut a new thread. Then I can cut the rails to length, round off the ends (is that “chamfer?” I shall check!) and perhaps round off the edges as well. 

I do not think there is enough depth to the rail for me to make and put caps over the bolt heads, but if there is, I will use the spare 12″ of teak to make them. Small circles of teak to sit over the bolt heads and hide them.

The next decision is – oil or varnish? Dunno. Oil is more practical, varnish more beautiful.

New Sail Cover! Updated 18 Sept ’16

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Matt from Coastal Bend Yacht Services made and put the new sail cover on this week. 
Frank looks a lot better! Plus, of course, the mainsail is finally getting some protection from the sun. [Update: the lazy jacks are on too. Adjustable at the mast, so they can be dropped out of the way. My original cover/stackpack was torn when the jacks caught in the battens].

Zipper at the mast

Toggles underneath

I decided against a Stack Pak -$700 to save taking the cover below decks seems poor value for money. Next week the lazy jacks go on. 
I met Matt’s wife when I called in at their shop in Corpus – lovely lady. I bought 50 feet of 1/2″ mooring line to go with the new rope floats that I bought.


Because Frank is on a floating pontoon, I need a way to tie up to the pile in the pic. So I am experimenting.

It is probably overkill, but in case a storm hits (this is hurricane season..) I need a way to give Frank maximum security, especially if I can’t get there in time to move her or double up the lines. 

So I bought 20 of these floats and threaded the line through 18 of them, and lassoed the pile. As you can see, they sit on top of the blue fenders that I put there last week.

The idea is that the lines will rise and fall with the tide, whilst still holding Frank in place. Even if the blue fenders snag, the bow line should float freely. Should…

Lastly:


The newly installed Windex greeted me today, on deck.

I was surprised that it had been blown off. Mark explained that the birds (big buggers, not gulls) break them off, because they like a comfortable perch atop the mast! I wonder how long my yet-to-be installed Bluetooth wind instrument will fare..

I also took the new rails to Frank but have not installed them.