SHIP'S LOG:
I rose at the crack of 9am on Friday the 8th and proceeded to make coffee. I was in desperate need of coffee. Despite lots of sack time and a great meal, I was still feeling pretty wiped out. But not being able to afford another night in the marina, I performed my morning ablutions - showers are wonderful - , hit the market, pumped the holding tank, bought some more ice, paid the bill and shoved off. . . . . . . SOUTH. I was headed for a place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland called the Sassafras River about 16 miles away. The wind was light, but from the west and I was going to sail as far as I could before time and sundown forced me to turn on the engine.
I was able to sail 1/3 - 1/2 of the distance toward my goal, passing the Aberdeen Proving Grounds as I entered the Elk River again near Turkey Point. It was in the mid 70's and the sun was shinning and all was right with the world, or at least the little part my boat and I were occupying. I had some greater idea of making this short jump with the intention of cleaning up the boat after the hook was down. The chances actually of that happening were slim and none and slim had left town. I did take a stab at it but really wasn't bale to accomplish all that much. No enthusiasm.
The water up here in the northern Chesapeake is muddy brown. I am not sure if that is normal or the result of the recent storms. Lots of sand cliff faces right down to the water's edge as if the Bay is still being gouged out. Lots of boats and strangely the people down here seem to have a fear of leaving their boats in the water when they are not using them. Most of the boats I've seen not being used are hoisted out of the water.
Got to the Sassafras River about 4:30pm, dropped the hook with LOTS OF SCOPE (line played out) and anchor weights. I took three triangulated bearings that I checked every 15 minutes. I left the GPS and set an anchor alarm that would go off should I move 50 feet. I did everything possible to insure that ABISHAG would stay put short of hoisting her out of the water.
After a congratulatory beer/ale ( Blue Moon Belgian Ale), I made supper ( left over fillet Mignon and pasta from Livia) and plotted out the course for the next day. I did something different this time. Not only did I lay out the course, but I wrote down each of the marks/buoys that I chose for waypoints so that I would know that the GPS was functioning correctly.
Since I could not get a Internet connection in beautiful Sassafras River, I check the anchor for the 100th time, put up the anchor light and went to bed to sleep the sleep of the just!
SATURDAY - OCTOBER 9, 2010
SHIP'S LOG:
Rose with the ducks, of which there are a huge number in this part of the world, and found myself and ABISHAG right where we were the night before. My average is improving. Had coffee and rechecked the course. All looks good. Performed my "morning ablutions", trying to establish a routine. I did my morning boat check - oil, fuel level, batteries, weather, etc - and it was time to get moving.
The engine went on and I raised the anchor weights and then the anchor itself. Once again the clutch lock ( a handle that you twist) for the side of the windlass that raises the rope rode, which I was using , loosened forcing me to raise the whole thing by hand. Actually, I sit down put my feet on to bollards on deck, grab the rode, and straighten my legs. It is a good morning exercise which I will cease doing as soon as I can get the bloody clutch to stay tight.
I motored out of the Sassafras River, about 4 miles, into the Bay expecting to find the NOAA promised "steady 10knots Northeast Wind" and got 5 knots south wind. It would be a day of motoring but my goals was a creek called Bodkin on the south side of the channel that leads into Baltimore. It was a 30 miles trip. I don't want to do any more than that/ There is no reason to rush anywhere.
I'll say one thing for Chesapeake Bay and that word is "crabpots!" Man, they are everywhere. New England and her lobster pots having nothing on these. Not only are the "exceedingly numerous" the floats are very small and hard to see. If there is any wave action they are all but invisible. I was able to avoid them though in 67 degree water, it wouldn't have been really, really awful to unhook. Again it was in the mid to upper 70's and bright sunny skies. Even though I was motoring, it was a great trip.
About an hour out of Bodkin creek, I noticed that the tach wasn't registering. It is attached to the alternator and when I went down stairs to check, the boat wasn't charging the batteries. Now I don't need juice to run the diesel, only to start it, so i isolated the starting battery and ran on just the house. It would run the two GPS and the radio until I got to the anchorage. On one of the trips into the cabin, I must have hit the bilge pump switch which moved from automatic -on when needed, to "ON" which means it just ran. The batteries began to run down, fast because of the pump, and went dead just after I dropped my hook in Bodkin Creek.
I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Cliff and Chuck and Don the Magic Electrician but the best we could come up with, with all of testing I did at their bidding, was that either the alternator and/or the regulator are toast. How they/it got damaged it is hard to say but considering the pounding the whole boat took and all the wen that got inside, it is not hard to imagine that had something to do with it. It is not something I can fix on the boat. I don't have the parts, so it looks like I will have to have it done "professionally."
Still and all, it was a good day and tomorrow God is giving me a day to clean out and rearrange the boat!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Right Turn, Clyde!
SHIP'S LOG:
About half way down the Jersey coast from Atlantic City to Cape May, I began to realize that there was no way that we were going to get to Newport News by Saturday and the trains for Bob & Fred. So I suggested that we make a right turn into Cape May, fuel go through the Cape May Canal, up Delaware Bay and towards Harve de Grace/Aberdeen, MD where Doug, who bailed out on the trip lives, and he could get Bob & Fred to AMTRACK in town. So this is what we would do. Unfortunately it meant getting into Cape May in fading light and high wind which wasn't the easiest trick.
The wind continued, but once we got inside the breakwater, the water became very calm and did our "BLIND PEW" imitation inching our water down the waterway to the South Jersey Marina which we got to about 8pm. We fueled up surround by these moving, seagoing condos, all of which were head south too. We hauled the dinghy out, deflated it and secured it to the foredeck. Bob & Fred stitched the Bimini back in place, a permanent fix awaits a grommet kit. I laid in the course for The C&D Canal and we pulled out about midnight to beat the coming weather.
Going through the Cape May canal was a bit nerve racking in that the water was only 14ft deep and it was dark. Bob was on the spotlight , I was on the helm and Fred was asleep. A vote of confidence. The only real problem was when we got to the Delaware Bay end and ran into the wind and the waves from the bay. It was 15 -20 and right on the nosey . . . again.
I did my turn at the helm and then abound our fate to Fred and Bob. I got three hours of more or less sleep before I was back on the helm for sunrise over Delaware Bay. It was actually quite beautiful, though about every 15 minutes or so, we would get a nice wave straight into the cockpit.
Much earlier than expected, we entered the C & D Canal at 11am. We will cruise down the canal until we get to Chesapeake Cit where we will dock at Shaffer's Marina.
LATER THAT SAME DAY . .. .
We got to Shaffer's on the C & D Canal only to fin d it closed! Evidently it has been so for a couple of years, so we decided to press on to Harve de Grace in Maryland at the top of the Chesapeake. We made it to the Tidewater Marina at 5pm. We rook a couple of hours to "clean the boat", actually getting it close to where it should be for me. We went out for dinner with Bob's friend Doug, who blew thew trip off, and got back to the boat at 9:30pm where Bob and Fred picked up their stuff and went to Doug's house so they could catch their trains at 4:19 AM! Me? I'm going to catch some ZZZZ's and then tomorrow head off to a near by cove and drop a hook and really get the boat back together. Then I will head off down the Chesapeake toward Norfolk taking as much time as necessary to get their safely. The really interesting past of this journey will then begin!
About half way down the Jersey coast from Atlantic City to Cape May, I began to realize that there was no way that we were going to get to Newport News by Saturday and the trains for Bob & Fred. So I suggested that we make a right turn into Cape May, fuel go through the Cape May Canal, up Delaware Bay and towards Harve de Grace/Aberdeen, MD where Doug, who bailed out on the trip lives, and he could get Bob & Fred to AMTRACK in town. So this is what we would do. Unfortunately it meant getting into Cape May in fading light and high wind which wasn't the easiest trick.
The wind continued, but once we got inside the breakwater, the water became very calm and did our "BLIND PEW" imitation inching our water down the waterway to the South Jersey Marina which we got to about 8pm. We fueled up surround by these moving, seagoing condos, all of which were head south too. We hauled the dinghy out, deflated it and secured it to the foredeck. Bob & Fred stitched the Bimini back in place, a permanent fix awaits a grommet kit. I laid in the course for The C&D Canal and we pulled out about midnight to beat the coming weather.
Going through the Cape May canal was a bit nerve racking in that the water was only 14ft deep and it was dark. Bob was on the spotlight , I was on the helm and Fred was asleep. A vote of confidence. The only real problem was when we got to the Delaware Bay end and ran into the wind and the waves from the bay. It was 15 -20 and right on the nosey . . . again.
I did my turn at the helm and then abound our fate to Fred and Bob. I got three hours of more or less sleep before I was back on the helm for sunrise over Delaware Bay. It was actually quite beautiful, though about every 15 minutes or so, we would get a nice wave straight into the cockpit.
Much earlier than expected, we entered the C & D Canal at 11am. We will cruise down the canal until we get to Chesapeake Cit where we will dock at Shaffer's Marina.
LATER THAT SAME DAY . .. .
We got to Shaffer's on the C & D Canal only to fin d it closed! Evidently it has been so for a couple of years, so we decided to press on to Harve de Grace in Maryland at the top of the Chesapeake. We made it to the Tidewater Marina at 5pm. We rook a couple of hours to "clean the boat", actually getting it close to where it should be for me. We went out for dinner with Bob's friend Doug, who blew thew trip off, and got back to the boat at 9:30pm where Bob and Fred picked up their stuff and went to Doug's house so they could catch their trains at 4:19 AM! Me? I'm going to catch some ZZZZ's and then tomorrow head off to a near by cove and drop a hook and really get the boat back together. Then I will head off down the Chesapeake toward Norfolk taking as much time as necessary to get their safely. The really interesting past of this journey will then begin!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Never trust NOAA ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Fred and I got off from TYC at 7:20am Sunday. we screamed down the Sound in 20 knots of wind to Milford and made it by 4pm . We went and had dinner with Bob and his wife, Livia, and made the mistake of eating to much "exciting food an d drink a tad too much.
We left Milford at about 10pm and screamed out into the middle of the Sound in 20 knots of wind and gusts of 30. We had some navigation differences and Bob wanted to use his experience and didn't quite trust the course I had laid in on the GPS. It was pitch black, except for the shore lights and the buoys we passed. we had the main up[ and it jammed and we couldn't get it furled. We used it and a 1/4 Genoa \and eventually got to Little Bay,just South of the Throggs Neck Bridge at 7in the morning(Monday). We anchored and fixed the main(I've had to do it before) retied stuff, re-stored stuff that got thrown around and up anchor about 8;30AM. We head down the East River and through HELL GATE. WE caught the flow and made an uneventful passage. It was really a great view of Manhattan.
By the time we got to the Varazzano Narrows bridge, the weather began to deteriorate. We put up the Jib and Mizzen and headed off down the Jersey coast. The light drizzle and 15 knots winds showed up and after a couple of hours deteriorated into a gale of 30 knots of wind with gust to 60! with 10-11 foot waves. We pounded in that for several hours while Bobby puked and Fred puked. Eventually we furled the jib, an exiting procedure in 40 knots of wind and went under mizzen alone. At times we hit 8.6 knots, under the mizzen alone!
Sometime in the morning 3-4 am, it was impossible to really steer the boat so we basically heaved to and left boat to fend for herself while we tried to sleep. The back cabin for some reason was a soaking mess and the forward cabin, near the working head, was pitching up an d down10 feet and smelled! So we slept on the floor in the main cabin and on the ex\tended salon bunk.
When the weather settled down abit25-30 knots, gust to 40, 5 foot waves, we decided to head for Atlantic City. We motored the whole way and got in ab out 4pm. We anchored in this little cove and once the hook was down, we unwrapped halyard that had broken loose and gotten twisted, repaired the bimini, cleaned up the cabin( everything and I mean every thing we had so neatly and carefully store was o n the floor), fixed the davits, and mourned the passing of the dinghy, which I had stupidly left in the davits and which had gotten a chamber punctured and decided that we would take naps before dinner. We hit the rack about 6:30pm and woke from out naps at 7am the next morning when the Coast Guard paid us a visit to make sure Fred was alive. His fiancee was overly concerned when he missed a check in time and contacted the Goast Guard. We they couldn't raise us on radio, they came looking and found us just after I had called them in response to the message on my phone.
Everybody called everybody to inform them that we were alright. Strangely when I talked to the CG, they were all that concerned. The officer said that he knew Camper Nicholsons and that it would take more that what we experienced to do them much harm . . . . nice to know.
After cleaning the boat up and having "breakfast" - that is whatever anyone could get down be it chicken pot pie or cashews, and a lot of water, we headed out of Atlantic City at 8;30 motoring for the" Magenta Highway" -= the course4 on the chart plotter to Newport News.
More next time. It;s a bitch trying to type on a moving boat!
Fred and I got off from TYC at 7:20am Sunday. we screamed down the Sound in 20 knots of wind to Milford and made it by 4pm . We went and had dinner with Bob and his wife, Livia, and made the mistake of eating to much "exciting food an d drink a tad too much.
We left Milford at about 10pm and screamed out into the middle of the Sound in 20 knots of wind and gusts of 30. We had some navigation differences and Bob wanted to use his experience and didn't quite trust the course I had laid in on the GPS. It was pitch black, except for the shore lights and the buoys we passed. we had the main up[ and it jammed and we couldn't get it furled. We used it and a 1/4 Genoa \and eventually got to Little Bay,just South of the Throggs Neck Bridge at 7in the morning(Monday). We anchored and fixed the main(I've had to do it before) retied stuff, re-stored stuff that got thrown around and up anchor about 8;30AM. We head down the East River and through HELL GATE. WE caught the flow and made an uneventful passage. It was really a great view of Manhattan.
By the time we got to the Varazzano Narrows bridge, the weather began to deteriorate. We put up the Jib and Mizzen and headed off down the Jersey coast. The light drizzle and 15 knots winds showed up and after a couple of hours deteriorated into a gale of 30 knots of wind with gust to 60! with 10-11 foot waves. We pounded in that for several hours while Bobby puked and Fred puked. Eventually we furled the jib, an exiting procedure in 40 knots of wind and went under mizzen alone. At times we hit 8.6 knots, under the mizzen alone!
Sometime in the morning 3-4 am, it was impossible to really steer the boat so we basically heaved to and left boat to fend for herself while we tried to sleep. The back cabin for some reason was a soaking mess and the forward cabin, near the working head, was pitching up an d down10 feet and smelled! So we slept on the floor in the main cabin and on the ex\tended salon bunk.
When the weather settled down abit25-30 knots, gust to 40, 5 foot waves, we decided to head for Atlantic City. We motored the whole way and got in ab out 4pm. We anchored in this little cove and once the hook was down, we unwrapped halyard that had broken loose and gotten twisted, repaired the bimini, cleaned up the cabin( everything and I mean every thing we had so neatly and carefully store was o n the floor), fixed the davits, and mourned the passing of the dinghy, which I had stupidly left in the davits and which had gotten a chamber punctured and decided that we would take naps before dinner. We hit the rack about 6:30pm and woke from out naps at 7am the next morning when the Coast Guard paid us a visit to make sure Fred was alive. His fiancee was overly concerned when he missed a check in time and contacted the Goast Guard. We they couldn't raise us on radio, they came looking and found us just after I had called them in response to the message on my phone.
Everybody called everybody to inform them that we were alright. Strangely when I talked to the CG, they were all that concerned. The officer said that he knew Camper Nicholsons and that it would take more that what we experienced to do them much harm . . . . nice to know.
After cleaning the boat up and having "breakfast" - that is whatever anyone could get down be it chicken pot pie or cashews, and a lot of water, we headed out of Atlantic City at 8;30 motoring for the" Magenta Highway" -= the course4 on the chart plotter to Newport News.
More next time. It;s a bitch trying to type on a moving boat!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
On You Mark, Get Set, GO > > > > >
SHIP'S LOG:
There are still a 101 things to do, and they will get down, but not before departure. If I took the time to do all that needs doing, I would never leave. So everything that absolutely need to get do got done and tomorrow we leave. The boat is fueled and provisioned. The course is all laid out. There will be plenty of wind tomorrow and so we are going.
There are still a 101 things to do, and they will get down, but not before departure. If I took the time to do all that needs doing, I would never leave. So everything that absolutely need to get do got done and tomorrow we leave. The boat is fueled and provisioned. The course is all laid out. There will be plenty of wind tomorrow and so we are going.
Friday, October 1, 2010
D-Day Again . . . Maybe!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well everything seems to have fallen together to make departure for the Southland eminently possible. I survived last night and that wasn't easy. Last night the "tattered remains of Hurricane Nicole" arrived in Connecticut and was actually more nasty than "Hurricane" Earl! Surviving would have been a no-brainer if I was on the mooring. As it was, I was tied up to the dock. Loading all the last minute stuff and getting through all those last minute projects required that ABISHAG be tied to the dock. And with the launch not running during the week, ferrying a lot of stuff out to her on the mooring would have been difficult and surely, as these things always seem to go, some recently purchased item would have disappeared overboard during the transfer from dinghy to boat. Again, being at the dock made it so much easier.
Thus it was that ABISHAG was at the dock on Thursday when I brought down the last load of stuff for the trip to the sun. I was actually in the clubhouse check the weather forecast on several different websites as the weather, to quote one of the club members down checking their boat, "reached a new low in crapitity!" It didn't rain but the wind quickly climbed to 30 knots straight up the river meaning that getting ABISHAG out to her mooring would not have been a serious problem but the row back in would have all but been impossible, especially as the "occasional gust" began a steady and swift climb from 35 to 50knots! Inflatable dinghies are notoriously bad for rowing, yet even in a rowing scull, in the time it would take to reset the oars after a stoke the wind would blow you backward past any distance forward you had made. It would have been the old one step forward - three steps back.
And while I was dithering about staying at the dock or on the mooring, the few people here left and that made the decision for me. I would have to stay at the dock. This meant doubling and, in some cases, tippling up on the lines. It meant taking down the dodger and the awnings. It meant spending the nice again jerking and dancing, listening to the boat moan and groan and the lines screeching every time they want taut. It was not a restful night to say the least. But I survived and more importantly, so did ABISHAG. Now all we have to do is survived the day as the storm slowly peters out . . . . and get some more docklines as a couple have seen their last storm.
Tomorrow is food day as I will stock the boat for the trip to Norfolk and then it is departure day on Sunday about 10am. Off to Milford and then to Norfolk and then, to quoted the helmsman in MOBY DICK, "Up helm, and around the world!"
Well everything seems to have fallen together to make departure for the Southland eminently possible. I survived last night and that wasn't easy. Last night the "tattered remains of Hurricane Nicole" arrived in Connecticut and was actually more nasty than "Hurricane" Earl! Surviving would have been a no-brainer if I was on the mooring. As it was, I was tied up to the dock. Loading all the last minute stuff and getting through all those last minute projects required that ABISHAG be tied to the dock. And with the launch not running during the week, ferrying a lot of stuff out to her on the mooring would have been difficult and surely, as these things always seem to go, some recently purchased item would have disappeared overboard during the transfer from dinghy to boat. Again, being at the dock made it so much easier.
Thus it was that ABISHAG was at the dock on Thursday when I brought down the last load of stuff for the trip to the sun. I was actually in the clubhouse check the weather forecast on several different websites as the weather, to quote one of the club members down checking their boat, "reached a new low in crapitity!" It didn't rain but the wind quickly climbed to 30 knots straight up the river meaning that getting ABISHAG out to her mooring would not have been a serious problem but the row back in would have all but been impossible, especially as the "occasional gust" began a steady and swift climb from 35 to 50knots! Inflatable dinghies are notoriously bad for rowing, yet even in a rowing scull, in the time it would take to reset the oars after a stoke the wind would blow you backward past any distance forward you had made. It would have been the old one step forward - three steps back.
And while I was dithering about staying at the dock or on the mooring, the few people here left and that made the decision for me. I would have to stay at the dock. This meant doubling and, in some cases, tippling up on the lines. It meant taking down the dodger and the awnings. It meant spending the nice again jerking and dancing, listening to the boat moan and groan and the lines screeching every time they want taut. It was not a restful night to say the least. But I survived and more importantly, so did ABISHAG. Now all we have to do is survived the day as the storm slowly peters out . . . . and get some more docklines as a couple have seen their last storm.
Tomorrow is food day as I will stock the boat for the trip to Norfolk and then it is departure day on Sunday about 10am. Off to Milford and then to Norfolk and then, to quoted the helmsman in MOBY DICK, "Up helm, and around the world!"
Monday, September 27, 2010
ELECTRICITY IS STILL VOODOO! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
To quote another sea captain, Captain Binghamton of "McHale's Navy" fame, I could just scream! The short is not in the 110AC outlets. The only good thing about that is that when I went to LOWE'S, I didn't have the money to buy the GFI - Ground Fault Interrupter - outlets and it turns out that they were not needed! Disconnecting the white neutral wire from the outlets, rendering them non-functioning, allowed ABISHAG to plug into the dockside power and charge the batteries. Connecting the white neutral wire produced an immediate tripping of the dockside circuit breakers. The fault as it turns out is, by all current indications -no pun intended - in the inverter itself. This was indicated by the fact that the ground connection for the case showed a 80db resistance which indicates a short to the case on the inside. Could be a wire with broken insulating. Could be an extraneous single strand of wire that got inside during manufacturing. Could be a stray screw or washer or some metal part that is loose inside. Chuck had me go down inside the "In-Law Apartment" and disconnect the inverter "from the grid." Bizarrely, the 80db short disappeared when he went looking for it again with the inverter completely disconnected from everything. Re installing it did not reproduce the 80db's, but once again connecting the neutral blew the dock. Unfortunately, if I go south, there simply isn't enough time to send it to the manufacture for repairs. I am going to have to live with a system works to 2/3 of its functions. When I am off dockside power, I can reconnect the neutral and run the inverter and use the outlets. when I am on dockside power, I have to disconnect the neutral and the batteries get charged. What I can't do is do both with the neutral connected.
I also made another disturbing discovery that is sort of electrical. The propane system hasn't been working and I found out why. The propane system which runs the stove and oven, is fed off of two propane tanks set in a lock built into the deck. Two hose run from the tanks into a regulator to which propane flows. At the bottom of the regulator is a solenoid valve that controls the flow of gas from the regulator to the stove. The regulator is controlled by a monitoring panel that opens and closes the solenoid valve on command and which will also shut it off if it detects leaking propane inside the boat. This is a safety feature. Since propane is heavier than air, if it go into the boat it would sink into the lowest part of the boat - the bilge -awaiting a stray spark or flame and then blow the whole place to kingdom come. Following the torrential rains of "Hurricane Earl," something got into the propane locker and plugged the drain. I opened the locker and the water was up to the top. The propane regulator and solenoid are housed in the lock and as a result, the propane regulator and solenoid drown. It means that the propane system wasn't working because it was dead and so it is new regulator and new solenoid time! AH the Fun of boat ownership!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To quote another sea captain, Captain Binghamton of "McHale's Navy" fame, I could just scream! The short is not in the 110AC outlets. The only good thing about that is that when I went to LOWE'S, I didn't have the money to buy the GFI - Ground Fault Interrupter - outlets and it turns out that they were not needed! Disconnecting the white neutral wire from the outlets, rendering them non-functioning, allowed ABISHAG to plug into the dockside power and charge the batteries. Connecting the white neutral wire produced an immediate tripping of the dockside circuit breakers. The fault as it turns out is, by all current indications -no pun intended - in the inverter itself. This was indicated by the fact that the ground connection for the case showed a 80db resistance which indicates a short to the case on the inside. Could be a wire with broken insulating. Could be an extraneous single strand of wire that got inside during manufacturing. Could be a stray screw or washer or some metal part that is loose inside. Chuck had me go down inside the "In-Law Apartment" and disconnect the inverter "from the grid." Bizarrely, the 80db short disappeared when he went looking for it again with the inverter completely disconnected from everything. Re installing it did not reproduce the 80db's, but once again connecting the neutral blew the dock. Unfortunately, if I go south, there simply isn't enough time to send it to the manufacture for repairs. I am going to have to live with a system works to 2/3 of its functions. When I am off dockside power, I can reconnect the neutral and run the inverter and use the outlets. when I am on dockside power, I have to disconnect the neutral and the batteries get charged. What I can't do is do both with the neutral connected.
I also made another disturbing discovery that is sort of electrical. The propane system hasn't been working and I found out why. The propane system which runs the stove and oven, is fed off of two propane tanks set in a lock built into the deck. Two hose run from the tanks into a regulator to which propane flows. At the bottom of the regulator is a solenoid valve that controls the flow of gas from the regulator to the stove. The regulator is controlled by a monitoring panel that opens and closes the solenoid valve on command and which will also shut it off if it detects leaking propane inside the boat. This is a safety feature. Since propane is heavier than air, if it go into the boat it would sink into the lowest part of the boat - the bilge -awaiting a stray spark or flame and then blow the whole place to kingdom come. Following the torrential rains of "Hurricane Earl," something got into the propane locker and plugged the drain. I opened the locker and the water was up to the top. The propane regulator and solenoid are housed in the lock and as a result, the propane regulator and solenoid drown. It means that the propane system wasn't working because it was dead and so it is new regulator and new solenoid time! AH the Fun of boat ownership!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
ELECTRICTY IS STILL VOODOO! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! !!
SHIP'S LOG:
About 99% of all of the electrical systems on ABISHAG, as with most boats, run on 12 volt DC power, which comes from the batteries on the boat. Even when the engine is running, like the diesel-electric motors on the WWII Submarines, the engine merely charges the batteries from which 12 volt DC power is drawn to run the electrics. There is, however, a provision to to run regular household items and appliances, which use 110 volts AC, and that is "there Inverter!"
"The Inverter" is a magical box which transforms 12volt DC from your boat's battery bank and converts into 110 volt AC. The magical "Inverter" will also take 110 volt/30amp AC power that you find on most commercial dockage and, if you "plug your boat in," will convert it magically into 12 volt DC and charge your batteries. A true miracle of nature . . .sort of.
A year ago. the old inverter on ABISHAG, 32 years old at the time, gave up the ghost and was unceremoniously "deep sixed" for a newer model. It was installed rather easily and took over the job and has performed admirably. Or so I thought, o foolish me! It converted 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC, a service that I actually used only rarely for the microwave or using the computer onboard. But having been tied to the dock the last week, I thought it foolish to not make use of the electrical service supplied by the club to keep the batteries happy and full charge. However, I found that whenever I tried to "draw upon electrical sustenance provided," I would trip the breakers on the dock. It was something that made the other users of the system mildly upset to say the least. Obviously, I had a problem, or I should say ABISHAG did!
Not wanting to delve into fooling around with AC voltage, which ever book on marine electrical systems warns in VERY BIG PRINT can kill you, I enlisted the assistance of one of the club's electrical witch doctors to deal with the voodoo problem. Chuck, God bless him, got down in the "In-law Apartment" of a cockpit locker which the "Magical Inverter" lived and through a long process of trial and error narrowed down the problem. I spent the whole time running down the dock to reset the breakers and jumping down bellow to reset the electrical panel switches every time the got trip which was countless it seemed. The upshot of it all - it turns out that among the three outlets that are used for 110volt AC items & appliances, there must be a short. The Inverter is working correctly in all other aspects but as soon as the outlets are hooked up to the AC bus, breakers trip everywhere. So tomorrow, it is off to HOME DEPOT to buy three new outlets with GFI (Ground Fault Interceptors). On Thursday, Church and I will wire them in and if the fault was there, it will be fix. If not, then the old wire will be remove, new wire will be run and all will be right with the world.
About 99% of all of the electrical systems on ABISHAG, as with most boats, run on 12 volt DC power, which comes from the batteries on the boat. Even when the engine is running, like the diesel-electric motors on the WWII Submarines, the engine merely charges the batteries from which 12 volt DC power is drawn to run the electrics. There is, however, a provision to to run regular household items and appliances, which use 110 volts AC, and that is "there Inverter!"
"The Inverter" is a magical box which transforms 12volt DC from your boat's battery bank and converts into 110 volt AC. The magical "Inverter" will also take 110 volt/30amp AC power that you find on most commercial dockage and, if you "plug your boat in," will convert it magically into 12 volt DC and charge your batteries. A true miracle of nature . . .sort of.
A year ago. the old inverter on ABISHAG, 32 years old at the time, gave up the ghost and was unceremoniously "deep sixed" for a newer model. It was installed rather easily and took over the job and has performed admirably. Or so I thought, o foolish me! It converted 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC, a service that I actually used only rarely for the microwave or using the computer onboard. But having been tied to the dock the last week, I thought it foolish to not make use of the electrical service supplied by the club to keep the batteries happy and full charge. However, I found that whenever I tried to "draw upon electrical sustenance provided," I would trip the breakers on the dock. It was something that made the other users of the system mildly upset to say the least. Obviously, I had a problem, or I should say ABISHAG did!
Not wanting to delve into fooling around with AC voltage, which ever book on marine electrical systems warns in VERY BIG PRINT can kill you, I enlisted the assistance of one of the club's electrical witch doctors to deal with the voodoo problem. Chuck, God bless him, got down in the "In-law Apartment" of a cockpit locker which the "Magical Inverter" lived and through a long process of trial and error narrowed down the problem. I spent the whole time running down the dock to reset the breakers and jumping down bellow to reset the electrical panel switches every time the got trip which was countless it seemed. The upshot of it all - it turns out that among the three outlets that are used for 110volt AC items & appliances, there must be a short. The Inverter is working correctly in all other aspects but as soon as the outlets are hooked up to the AC bus, breakers trip everywhere. So tomorrow, it is off to HOME DEPOT to buy three new outlets with GFI (Ground Fault Interceptors). On Thursday, Church and I will wire them in and if the fault was there, it will be fix. If not, then the old wire will be remove, new wire will be run and all will be right with the world.
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