17º 29.484s 149º 51.166w
Mon Sep 23 2019
Some
days it blows so hard there’s no real reason to get off the boat if the
objective was some other form of aquatic activity. The water is churned up,
visibility is poor, and a trip downwind to a dive site will mean a really
difficult return to base. Besides, these are the days we’re meant to accomplish
those boat chores we blow off when the weather is spectacular, which it
generally is.
Today
was one of those sucky days. Howling so hard there was no way I was going to
finish my electrical tasks up the mast, so I set my sights on all the boat jobs
l could now do with the lovely parts Shawnee smuggled into the country. First
up – install the new 400 amp 3-phase rectifier in the housing using thermal
bonding paste, then install the alternator and rectifier assembly back into the
port engine compartment from whence it came. Finally done, a 10-minute engine
run to verify alternator output, belt tension, and no unanticipated
malfunctions or other surprises. Afterwards a judicious use of zip ties to
clean up the engine compartment wiring.
Next,
apply power to the new WIFI mast top extender. It comes to life but looks like
I’ll be studying the manual for a bit to learn how to communicate with it.
Shucks, kind of a swing and a miss on that one.
Isabel
and Shawnee want to go ashore and take a long walk. Perfect! Time for me to
turn off all boat power, remove the master house battery relay and replace it
with a new one that will hopefully behave properly via remote control. During
that process a minor “welding event” when I drop a long reach ½” socket and it
arcs across a couple of battery terminals. Could have set the boat on fire, but
fortunately only did a bit of impromptu welding and all ended up OK. The socket
will never look the same; neither will the soft link between a couple of
battery terminals. All that said, it doesn’t look like there was any real
damage to the one battery cell whose terminal contacted the socket when it
shorted to the other polarity. Still, spectacular results and a lesson in
sailor swearing for anyone anchored close by. Another reason not to anchor too
close to JollyDogs.
The
new master relay works! Well, almost; the switch is blinking madly indicating a
malfunction condition, but I’m taking heart that this is much better than no
indication at all, and no remote control capability at all, which is what the
old relay demonstrated. After reviewing the instructions I’m none the wiser but
will “endeavor to persevere” as Chief Dan George said in the movie Outlaw Josey
Wales (my all-time fave). Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have an epiphany and realize
what’s wrong. Nevertheless, we’re light years ahead of where we were this
morning.
That’s
what one does on lousy weather days – attack those boat projects that are
always lurking out there, the ones we blow off to go paddle boarding or kite
boarding or hiking or pretty much anything else.
It’s
not like a real job. . .
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