DOG DAYS O' SUMMER
Not much getting done. Just sailing
.

We are planning to go up to Mackinaw Island working our way up the Michigan shore line next year
Priorities will be a new refrigeration system and a new GPS. I have an older grey scale Garmin. Sucks.

Drove up to Tobermory. Saw a couple of nice boats 46 footers.
My dog Marley a Briard.

This is a 52 Hlyas. Sweet boat!! I see the owner passed on the gun turrets . This is Bayfield marina on the Bruce peninsula .

Well we had over a week aboard GIMME SHELTER. We traveled down the Detroit river and stayed overnight in Crystal bay. Then onto Scudder marina at the north end of Pelee Island in Lake Erie. Liz and Marley pose for me.

We left Pelee and headed for Kelley's Island off the Ohio coast. No wind all day and temps in the 90's.
We planned on having a fire that night but it was too hot at 10 at night.We spent a night a PUT IN BAY before heading back home to check our lottery tickets and then go back to work.

Days like this make it all worth while.
Even if I can't get the sails up. The next day we had a great sail home keeping the boat between 5 and 6 knots for the 30 mile run across Lake Erie. Then the dreaded slog up the river against 2 knots of current. 
A 13 hour day. The microwave worked great but we realize that we need more battery power to stay on the hook. Also the toilet started acting up (hard to operate) I looked into rebuilding it but it wasn't much more to replace the thing. Did it yesterday and it is working great.

Man it is hot and humid. Marley is staying in the air-conditioning. What did Dogs do before that?
I built a screen door that sits in the slot normally reserved for the wash boards. Cool Breezes Mon.
Finally got the dingy and 4 horse on board. Don't recall if I mentioned the water heater. I probably did. Well it has a new element and thermostat. Working great. The compressor for the fridge is fried, hey it is from '83. That's next years project.

Electrical and Micro install

 Built and roughed in the shelf for the microwave. Made sure there is still room underneath to reach in and grab whatever junk we store behind the seat.
The shelf is milled from 1/2 inch mahogany that was recovered from a 100 year old house, there is a strip of black cherry biscuited through the middle. The corners are supported with aluminum angle pained black. I drilled up into the topsides oversize holes. I pulled out the balsa core around the holes and filled with west system epoxy mixed with thickening agent. let dry and re-drill for the screws on the supporting brackets.

 
Test fit the 700 watt microwave ...looks good.

This is the panel I machined up. It holds a smaller panel on the right that controls the bilge pump.
I installed a flip (float) switch next to the bilge pump and rewired the whole thing along with the wiring for the steaming and anchor lights. I added a Hubbel twist lock plug that handles both lights, allowing them to be disconnected if the mast is pulled. The center of the panel has the amp meter with a shunt that I have been trying to install for ever. To the left is a very heavy duty (overkill) DTDP switch. It allows current to flow to a plug near the microwave. If you flip it up the circuit is rerouted to the inverter. I tried it without the motor running and it is barely making it.This is because the start load of the microwave is overwhelming the inverter. With the motor revving and the increase in voltage and available amps, it works like a dream. I don't have enough battery power to run it long without the motor and that is fine. We can warm things up quickly away from the dock if we wish by just starting the little diesel. For smaller loads like charging the computer, it should be OK without starting the motor up. This was a lot of extra work but it is a better installation and I learned a few things.

Next project. A new panel for an amp meter with a shunt attached  to the battery selector switch above it. Next to that will be a panel for the bilge pump. The switch you see installed is an 8 way switch which will change the circuit going to a  dedicated plug behind the microwave oven. It will allow me to switch both hots and both neutrals with one flick from shore power to an inverter/battery source.  I cut away the ply on the bulk head behind it  in the same manner as the cut outs you see.

I painted it and located it in position. Now I need marine grade 120 volt cable to finish up.

 

Finally got out on Sunday. Liz and I sailed for 4 hours before the rain moved in. MAN, this is a crappy Summer so far. We had 10 / 15 knots of wind and practiced close hauled sailing. Our O'Day 30 will only get within 50 / 55 degrees of the wind direction. One reason is you need a tight as a drum new mainsail but even shelling out for that won't correct the fact the we have a beamy boat. I installed a 1000 watt inverter on Saturday. The plan is to buy a 700 watt microwave for it. I want to run a circuit that allows me to flip a switch. UP-( Inverter of battery). DOWN-(120 volts from shore power).

TAA DAA!

 Finally found some time to install my world famous
folding TV set. I had to search all over town for the correct length of SS screw. Too long and it would pop up on the deck!. I located and drilled, then I used a dental pick to pull out the end grain balsa. I injected a little epoxy into each hole and let it set. Then I re-drilled the holes and bolted it in place.

I think the prior owner had some kind of Dorade box here. I got the boat with one of those cheap snap in white plastic access plates here. I replaced it with a good Quality one. It has a clear cover that threads into place. It throws some light in the cabin. 
I made the bottom trim ring on a lathe from aluminum and primed and painted it white to match. Big low passing through right now. Looks bad for sailing this weekend.