2011: More Work in the Boatyard

Deltaville Boatyard: Part 2

Series Drogue.  I purchased this last year but, since we only coastal cruised, never got around to attaching any of the 138 drogues to the line.  This is a job to be done before we leave the Chesapeake this year and so many hours, while cruising northwards up the Bay were spent sitting on the back of the boat seemingly endlessly attaching drogues to the line.   It's a simple task and only took a "few" days - I could almost do it in my sleep now.  I only dropped one splicing tool overboard but happened to have a suitable substitute so work continued.  Anyway, the next issue was to decide how to attach the gear to the stern and without pulling the stern off/apart when using the drogue seriously.

Apparently, in a full gale/storm, the forces exerted along the line, and by extension via the bridle onto the boat, can be quite enormous.  So, where to attach the two ends of the bridle?  Some publications advise fixing special reinforced points around the stern, however, in my view, this seemed like a lot of hard work and best avoided if another solution could be found.  My erstwhile son, Boy Wonder, is a RAT (rope access technician – does outside repairs on tall buildings/towers while hanging from ropes) and he suggested a number of lines could be taken from various already-reinforced points around the cockpit ie six winches and two mooring cleats.  By using various sheet and halyard lines/tails already positioned around the cockpit they could be easily attached to the ends of the bridle from the winches and cleats so that there would be something like four lines per bridle end.  Hence any loads are spread about and there is excellent control via the winches so that their lines at least can be equally tensioned.   I haven’t had to test it, thank goodness, but I’m still of a view that it’s a sensible and strong solution.

A good view of the solar panels on the bimini, the self steering post
in place & a RAT (BW) up the mast installing the antenna

Third Solar Panel.  After last year’s experience with our two solar panels we’ve been converted to using this energy source and, as there was room for one more panel between the other two, I purchased another.  The advice from e Marine Systems was that I might exceed the regulator’s capacity of 25 amps but that would only be when the system was producing max amps ie perhaps 28 amps and so I may not get that surplus three amps to the batteries.  My experience was that two produced, for my setup at best, 16 amps so a third would only increase it to, perhaps, 24 amps.  Anyway, we’ll see.  It was a simple task to put in the third, wire it in parallel with the others, and the wiring was adequate for my needs as advised by the yard technicians.  These panels really are great and the more the merrier.

HF Radio.  After much thinking, discussion, research, skipper and crew decided, for a variety of reasons, that we should have a HF radio for the upcoming Atlantic crossing.  So, I purchased and installed an Icom M802 radio plus weather fax system.  It has DSC too so that added the odd complication.  Anyway, it came as a kit from Sea Tech so I didn’t have any problems with wiring or fittings as they were all there (just about) and staff were ever willing to provide friendly advice as and when I needed it.  It’s all installed now so we’ll see how it performs (see comments later). 

I went down the route of installing a KISS SSB ground counterpoise and a GAM antenna which ‘clips’ onto the starboard shroud.  This system is counter to some of the conventional/traditional readings and writings on HF radio grounding etc but, on the other hand, I have read good reports about this kit.  So, for anyone contemplating installing a HF radio, read widely and then make your decisions, knowing that there are so-called experts out there that might disagree with your solution.  You would think by now that we boaties would have our act together on this but, clearly, we don’t. 

Bedding down the HF antenna

Spinnaker Winches.  I found a couple of second-hand Lewmar 44 sheet winches looking for a new owner on the shelves at Nauti Nell’s in Deltaville.  I’d been contemplating adding a couple of cockpit winches to make life easier handling the new spinnaker sheets, furling lines on occasion, etc but had been put off a bit at the price of purchasing new ones.  These two used ones were too good to resist so they are about to be installed on the cockpit coamings.  I’ll comment later on their utility.