What O'day for a snow storm!















Well spring is staying away! I can't do any wax work and it is really cold by the river side. I was down there today and two boats are in. No one is working on their boats. I stripped off some teak rails and sanded and then refinished them with the heater on in my garage. I took the binnacle apart several weeks ago. I finished cutting the two instrument pods away and machined the piece ready for paint. I built the aluminum box that will mount at the top of the binnacle. It will have cut outs for the autopilot and the depth/log instrument. The GPS chart will hover over it. A few more hours on the mill and it is ready for paint. All the wiring is pulled out of the center tube of the binnacle. No longer will my wiring sit precariously close to the greasy chain that wants to mangle it in some medieval manner. I have aluminum tube with threaded ends to carry the wires up to the box.

 I picked up a Raymarine i40. This instrument is compact and gives both depth and speed. It comes with two thru hulls. I found that they are very similar two the originals from 1985. Over the weekend I installed them using 3M 5200. I ran the new leads by tying them to the old ones and pulling them thru to the back of the boat.

The autopilot you see here is long gone I installed a new Raymarine smartwheel . The computer is mounted inside and a seatalk cable runs to the instrument which I had mounted offset to the left up top. I had a chart GPS hovering over all that mess. 
It is very hard to get around those giant pods and the wheel. 
The plan is to build an enclosure that is centered over the compass. It will enclose the two Raymarine instruments with the map GPS over the top of it. The two pods will be removed and the plate they sit on will be machined away to increase the ability to get around the wheel.

Continued to work on my "Retracting TV idea. I picked up an RCA 15 inch. flat screen. It works between 12 and 18 volts so I can hook it right to the boats batteries without worry. It worked but the reception sucked.  Any how these are the machined parts that I drew up in AutoCAD. 

 Date stamp correct YES!


The parts are machined from aluminum
and painted Ivory to match the boat..








With the pieces assembled you get an idea how it works, the thumb lever pulls out to lock the
TV up . You push it in to drop the TV down on its hinges.

Finally it is shown attached to the little TV set.

I finished my weather course with the local power squadron and hope to get this installed and complete a thousand other jobs. HOWEVER IT IS FREEZING!!! This is nuts, I hate winter.

My amp reader came in. It will be fitted  along side the battery selector switch. There is a 'shunt' which the current flows through. The meter gives you a direct reading from this short leg. I lost the charge in one battery last year during a week long trip. I want to monitor the rate of Amp usage better. So I can run the motor at the right time.

I got the date stamp right..YES!!


I will make a face plate for it and the temperature gauge reader that I am still waiting for. It will have a 'K' type thermocouple running to the outlet of the exhaust so I can monitor the Temp.

I went down to the boat yard , my cover is falling apart but still covering the topsides nicely. I will be happy to tear it off and dump it next month!! I would like to get a proper cover but jeez... $$$. I found everything dry downstairs.

I worked out where the TV will go and        
started drawing that up. There will be a 15
inch TV which draws 25 watts @12 volts.
I want it to fold up and lock horizontally.

I found a Digital TV antenna for it.
It sits flat in a plastic case/slip.
I will just have a 12 foot coax that I can 
roll up and leave under the set. When I
use it at anchor it is just a matter of
placing it out in the cockpit. If there is 
no reception, plug in the computer
 to the HDMI outlet. the bracket for the TV
will go under here 'xCuse the mess.

When I tried to remove the Cutlass bearing , no joy! The old one had to be slowly peeled out with a small sharp chisel and other implements of destruction. Sort of a root canal (but I couldn't bill anyone) I recognized a chemical smell as I worked it out and noticed a white chalky residue. LOCK TITE proclaimed I !! When I inserted the new bushing and lightly tightened the set screws, it was in there somewhere between a tight slip fit and an easy press fit. I think the person who changed it last didn't take into account that pushing the shaft back through expands it slightly more and is just about right. Very happy with the results. I checked the engine alignment and it looked good. I will do it again when she goes back in. two more months...I HATE WINTER! I am looking at a device that monitors exhaust temp and gives a didgital read out. it uses a K type thermocouple. Ordered it on e bay along with a shunt for reading amp draw from the battery in use.

I am heading down to the boatyard tomorrow to check on my poor frozen boat. Knock a little snow of the cover and such. January is almost over, two more months and it is wax and bottom paint time. Hard to grasp right now. MAN it is colder than a politicians heart out there. I am building a bracket to allow a 15 inch TV to fold down and clip up when not in use. I will work out how the mechanism will work on AutoCAD after I get some measurements from the boat tomorrow. Stay warm. 

More photos of tranny rebuild. I have taken a Marine weather course. It started last week. So far so good.
Like I said when I started this, it will start out slow and build from there. This is a long term plan and I want to record it for myself and anyone who might give a s^&t. I have read many books on sailing and long distance travel but I think one of the best resources available are Blogs!. I learn a lot of little things that add up to a clearer picture of the realities of moving a 5 ton boat all the way to the Carribean from the great lakes

and (someday) back again. My plan involves clearing up all debt, finding the right Sailboat for the right price and moving aboard. My wife and I learned a great deal about the costs from peoples blogs. I don't think I could ever be that open about money but I thank them for the info. By the time I go in 10 years, much of the info will be out of date. The cost of operating a boat in..say Sint Martin is going to skyrocket. The simple fact is that they are after the 'MEGA' crowd, not the unwashed. Antigua is getting to be that way now. I guess it will depend on how many Plutocrats and Saudi princes get into boating! The trick is to stay informed. I will do my best. On a sadder note. I was reading the blog BLAME BUFFET about a retired couple who purchase a 40 Island Packet in Ohio and headed south. Very good blog, it is over. they got as far as Florida and the Skipper had a massive heart attack. All I can do is watch my weight, stay healthy and hope for the best. What happened to him is a bummer and you always hear "Just go now". Can't. But, you have to have something to look forward to or you might as well just expire. Rant over.