2019: One Lifeless Generator

2019 in Review

On Board Diesel Generator

In 2018, all efforts to get our Northern Lights generator to run were unsuccessful.  Whenever I had mechanics look at it, both in Antigua and then again in St Marten, they would turn it over but could not get it to start.  (The guy in Antigua offered to take it off our hands, so we had a suspicion that it was not completely worthless!!)  No one knew why and so it remained useless until we arrived in Deltaville in 2019.  I then made enquiries about having yet another mechanic check things out while in on the hard at Deltaville Boatyard.  I was asked if the motor was turning over and I had to answer that it appeared to have seized as, when I checked it that morning (some two months after St Marten), it would no longer turnover.  I then decided to not do anything (out of time that year) other than put automatic gearbox oil into the cylinders after removing the injectors and (as at 2023 in Trinidad) I am only now getting the generator seen to.  I’ll let readers know the outcome just as soon as I know.

Electrical Improvements

While on anchor opposite the Deltaville Marina for an extended period (before our friends arrived) I had a good opportunity to work on the boat’s electrical system.

Apart from purchasing and fitting the new alternator I tidied up all the wiring under the chart table seat.  Over the years, as various work was undertaken by numerous techos, the boat had accumulated a spaghetti like collection of cables which had become a bit of an eyesore and very imposing whenever an electrician saw it for the first time.  I basically tidied it up by cutting and shortening a bunch of the battery cables while at the same time fitting a couple of ACRs (automatic charge relays).  These things take power from the house bank when it reaches about 13 volts and send some charging to the start battery and also the bow thruster battery.  

You might recall that when the Sopromar Boatyard installed the bow thruster they also installed bow thruster batteries but they could only be charged when the engine was running! They could not be charged by the solar panels as the solar panel regulator could only charge two banks – house and starter.  The ACRs solved this problem and so when on shore power, engine alternator and/or solar all battery banks were being charged (providing everything else worked of course – read on).

To give me the capability to cut and fit new terminals on battery cables I purchased an hydraulic swager kit (for not much), a valuable purchase via Amazon/EBay.

Gasoline Generator

We purchased a gasoline/petrol generator, Powerhouse 2000, which we used  when bad weather settled over several days and the solar panels weren't generating sufficient power for our needs.  Didn’t use it much but useful to have as a backup.

Electrical Performance After Improvements

After these electrical modifications, everything seemed to work fine, particularly when testing over short periods of time.  However, while out cruising with friends and running the engine for several hours, I never seemed to get to the full charge that I expected.  Good weather, solar charging and staying at marinas more frequently, kept the batteries up to speed.  See 2023.

2019: Movement at the Station

So, let's start with 2019

The posts to follow cover an extensive period, 2019 to 2023.  Essentially, after a fun time at Deltaville in 2019, there has been little boating activity to report.  Of course, in 2020 – 2021 (due to Covid) we had to stay home in Oz.  And be very good indeed.  

Then 2023 became the year of "will we-won't we" as we chopped and changed between taking WJ3 home to Aus or staying on the East Coast, US.  We decided to stay, though changing course by adding a cruise to Trinidad for old times sake, down through the Caribbean, instead!   

Overheating Engine.

When leaving Norfolk (to meet friends - perfect timing yet again!) the engine overheated.  We crept back to the anchorage and, as quoted from our sailing blog:  “the Cap’n put to work on finding the culprit.   After our Cap’n Resolute crawled all over the engine, cleaned sea creatures from water filters and took a dip in less-than-appealing river waters (to check drains), off we set, yet again.  Only to watch the temperature gauge rise steadily again.  Oh dear, back to the anchorage and time to consult those (many) manuals.  By the time we found the culprits – two not-so-tight hose clips allowing seawater to leak into the bilge when the engine revs were raised as we powered forward.”  Sometimes it's just the simple things!

2109 General

In 2019 we did little sailing and generally remained in Jackson Creek, Deltaville until friends from Oz joined us and we went travelling around the Chesapeake and land exploring.  It was a great opportunity to tackle some burning issues, principally electrical, that had dogged our return voyage from Europe the previous (two) years.

Ongoing Engine Electrical Charging Challenges 

I was still not happy with the charging regime and my work on the smart regulator the previous year still did not provide for reliable charging when running the engine.  As the smart regulator was now working correctly (I thought) I turned against the alternator and replaced it with a new one, a Balmar Series 6, 100 amp hour (virtually same as the old one).  I was going to have the old one tested but circumstances did not allow so I just went ahead and, if the old one was actually serviceable, then I would have a spare which is no bad thing.  (See 2023).

See my entries for 2023 for a pretty detailed analysis of my ongoing electrical dramas but with some pretty good outcomes. 

Photos to follow....eventually