Look at the big picture

In the grand scheme of things today was just andother day filled with normal successes and frustrations.

Frustrations:

• Ordered the wrong Ryobi Battery which should have been a One+ but is not
• tried using the zipper slides we ordered and failed to get one to work
• The #10 yellow marine grade wire was 75°C not the 105°C
• It was cold, rainy and no sun the past 3 days
• The marina and I had a little issue today about computers & print privileges 

Successes:

• Got to use the new plywood to keeep out the rain
• Met some new friends and had a good talk
• Shoulder felt better most of the day.
• The First Mate cooked a great dinner topped off with fried Plantain.
• One zipper in the aft head worked after a little persuasion.
• The marina IT guy called to say the HP Cloud print worked 
• The new squirrel cage blower was so quiet we can leave it on at will

All in all it was a good day despite the immediacy of frustrations.

Ryobi Smart Charger arrives

We received the Intelliport charger today and I could not wait to plug it in and charger the battery.  I am supposed to be able top charge a One+ in an hour.  I hope so.  Another NiCad battery is on its way.

Ryobi 140153004 ONE Plus 18V IntelliPort 1-Hour Ni-Cd Battery Charger

Today's boat work

Today, on this cold, humid, dreary day we went to the boat to trace back the water supply for the airconditioners.  We were worried about a seemingly crushed or flattened hose at the aft airconditioner unit.  It turns out that the flattened hose goes to the bilge and must be an efluent discarge for the condensate.  Anyway we now know this little area of the boat.

SAM then proceeded to clean an area that was used to hold solvents by the Nav Station and she did a fine job.  By the time we finished with this task lunch was at hand.  After lunch we went to Home Depot where I bought wood to use as a hatch closure when the hatch is removed.  I am making one for the size 60 and one for the size 40 hatch.  Total materials was $20.  These should last for a while and be used in rotation as I either send in hatches for repair or repair them myself.

I am going to try and find a local supplier for the cut acrylic so I do not have to send the hatches all the way to Michigan (SONSET) or South Florida (Florida Rigging and Hydraulics).  If I can get the cut material I am sure I can bed them myself for a fraction of the cost.  The ones I send in I am going to get new handles installed by the repairer (a handle kit is about $60 complete with the right and left handles and outside fittings).  

New Blower Installed today

We received the new b lower for the engine room this morning.  We immediately set out to install it and it was more difficult to  install than we thought it would be.  However, we got her done and will test it tomorrow.  The blower is an AC version and it is attached to the "B" subpanel. and we did not have a shore power line availab le tgo test this afternoon. The primairy use would be to remove heat from the engine room after engine shutdown.  Man, I hate stuff that does not work so it was on the list.

Rainy & Cool.

It has been very rainy, overcast and in the 50's 0 60's this week past.  I spent one whole day researching various parts and Things-To-Be-Done.  I ordered electronic and electrical parts such as shrink sleeve, SS washer kits and crimp terminals.  Nothing special but necessary items to be sure.

The Ryobi Caulk Gun arrived and we went out and bought some butyl rubber sealant and painters caulk ( just to practice with the  device.  That is on the list for tomorrow.  The butyl sealant is to try and reseal the aft hatch that is leaking pretty good.  All the hatch part arrived today so I can start installing outside hatch dogs and rubber O-rings for the hatch handles.

As soon as Lee A arrives with the ages old closed end pop rivets I can re-attach the dog down plate in the aft head hatch.  I was lucky the other day and the old rivets just popped out  - no problems. Lots of work but it is regarding work..

Converting Fluorescent to LED

A good video for converting to LED lighting.:

A successful day

Today we fired up the new ProMariner battery charger and it we as it should (I think).  These new smart chargers are smarter than most people can be. It started in the Condition Mode and continued like this for at least 6-7 hours gradually declining in charge current from about 8 Amps down to 3 Amps and then switched to Ready Mode where it was 2.1 Amps.  The device started in the default mode of Sealed Battery.  Just about dark I switched the mode to Flooded, Profile 2 mode and it popped back into Condition Mode where we left her for the night.

After dark we turned on all the lights and everything worked on the interior. Tomorrow I will try the anchor, steaming and bow/stern lights. I also want to let out all the rode just to check the integrity and to measure all the lengths of the chain and line. Our previous boat had 100' of chain and 300' of 8 plait nylon since I wanted to be able to anchor in 70' of water we encountered at S. Manitou Island on the Great Lakes.

 I did notice that the VHF radio did not turn on so I have to check this out tomorrow.  I intend to purchase the new Stand Horizan GX2200 MATRIX AIS/GPS Fixed Mount VHF Radio.  It is a bit pricey but it does have GPS and AIS included. One of our friends has one and likes it so it has a good testimony from him.  I do have to check the antenna system and cabling for loses and VSWR since everything we have encountered is marginal and therefore suspect.

It was a good day indeed.