Day 38 Another day of electrical fun

Another day of poking around the electrical system.  Not the most exciting, but a necessity.   I called the company that makes our charging and monitor system and discussed the setup that needed to be done after I installed the new batteries.  I don't want to burn these up.   After being on hold for 20 minutes, I finally got thru.  After 10 minutes of talking, I got cut off--just happened to be lunch time.  Called back--another 20 minute wait.  Got a different tech.  He walked me thru the setup checking lots of things I didn't understand and some I did.  I'd turned off the charger last night until we got this settled out.  Strangely, while we were checking the volts in the batteries, it jumped as though the charger turned it self on. Quit just as quickly.  Now they tell me something is wrong and I need to take out  the charger and take it in for inspection--another trip to Portland.  Don't know how long it will take them to inspect it and get it back.  The company did say they would give me a great discount if I wanted to upgrade to a newer model if this unit is bad.  Oh boy--more money!!

I called the company that was recharging the fire extinguishers.  I'd taken them in over a month ago.  Gotten a call that they would be done two weeks ago--not so.  Checked last week, nope, not yet.  Today when I called, I was told that they were working on them right then and I could pick them up later this afternoon.  They called back a short time later and said they were mistaken.  They didn't have my extinguishers.  They were still in Albany.  I offered to pick them up on Monday when I went thru there on my way to Portland.  Sorry, that wouldn't work as Albany only had the tanks, the nozzles were here in Newport. They decided to just give me two new extinguishers!!  Heaven only knows where mine actually are.  Figure they are lost in the wind but at least I have these.  They will make the insurance company happy.

It rained more today. Gee what a surprise!!

Tomorrow, figure out the new water pump.  

Day 37 Off to Scappose

Off to Scappose to buy our DuoGen(www.duogen.co/uk)wind and water generator.  Imported from the UK, it will generate power with a fan setup when the wind is blowing or when dragged from the stern of our boat as we sail.  We brought it back and stuck it in the storage room we rent.  I first have to analyze our current boat electrical system.  

Our charging system is way out of alignment.  Where most charging systems do a charging system of a high charge, medium charge, low charge as the batteries accept their charge and get closer to being fully charged, ours goes to a medium charge and stays there.  It never drops to a low or trickle charge to simply maintain the battery.  It cooks it instead!!  That's why we had to replace the batteries we had on Zephyr.  We had filled the batteries a week ago and they were down to the plates a week later with water/acid sitting on the bottoms of the battery boxes.  Not a good thing.  

I turned off the charger this afternoon and we will slowly let them discharge over the next week or so.  We can still use our 110 power, it simply won't recharge the batteries until they are down to 12.2 volts.  Then on comes the charger and we see what happens.  If it takes them to 13.4 volts and goes to a trickle charge, all will be fine.  If it stays at medium charge, I will be taking the unit out and into a service center--in Portland of course.  

So tomorrow, I will be taking out the seat cushions to see how Zephyr is wired and make a diagram on what goes where and what switches do what.  These are things that will be very important to know down the road if a break down happens.  After that is accomplished, then I can start the installation of our new DuoGen.  The men that sold it to me are going to help run the wires and set up the electrical connections. All we have to do is get Zephyr to Astoria.  It will be nice to have the help of a professional that knows what he is doing.

Other than that--3.5 hours up, 3 hours at the company,   3.5 hours back, that was our day.   

Day 36-part 2

I messed up on my dates last night.  Oh well.

Here's a picture I took on the way to Astoria Tuesday.  A small break in the gloom.  Once in a while, we got to

 see some nice views of the shore.  

At least the trip was worth while.  The six batteries we bought were installed today.  I carted the batteries down to the boat.   It was actually sunny today.  We had to strike while the sun was hot.  Unfortunately, I had to take the batteries up and down while we were at low tide.  This made getting them up and down the ramp a real exciting trip.  With it being low tide, the ramp to the dock was very steep.  Having the sun out is such a rare event that there was no way I could wait for high tide when the ramp would be a lot easier to go up and down.  The old batteries were shot.  Water had leaked out from the batteries into the battery boxes and the lead plates were exposed.  Even the side and tops of the batteries were bulging. 

 Not sure what went wrong but it was really wrong.  Now I get to monitor the new system and see how they react.

Late this afternoon, Tracy went up the mast!! How's that for guts!!!  We had been planning on installing the cutter rig( a wire for hoisting sails between the mast and the bow) on Zephyr.  Bill (previous owner) had taken it off several years ago and put the rigging into storage.  The way we will be sailing(long hauls), we will need as much sail area as we can.  Plus, it gives us the ability to put up a storm jib should the need arise.

Unfortunately, after she got up there, the pin we needed for attaching the stay(wire) wasn't long enough to go thru the fitting on the mast.  Plus, we found that the messenger line(small line used to reinstall the line for raising the jib) had broken over the Winter so we couldn't get it installed.    

Down came Tracy and away went the rigging until we get to Port Townsend.  With the mast off the boat, we can get it installed much easier. We will find the right fitting and run the necessary ropes right up the inside of the mast while it's horizontal.

The replacement pump for our fresh water system showed up this afternoon.  I checked it out this evening and will get it installed as soon as I figure out the wiring.  The existing pump has three wire while the new one has only two.  Not sure what wire has to go.  I'll figure it out.

Since the weather is to be bad again tomorrow, we figure we will head to Portland to check out the DuoGen I talked about in yesterdays post.  Solar panels are  also on the docket.  

Day 36 Will it ever stop raining?

We've had over 1.5 INCHES of rain today and it is still raining!!!  There is a reason that Oregon is green but my goodness. It needs some sun to stay that way.  Rain is in the forecast for the future.  Sun--come out,come out where ever you are.

Spent some of the day ordering more stuff.  It 

will never stop.

Went in search of the steering problem.  The wheel bound up at 23 degrees on a starboard turn.  Some times on a port turn.  We took up the stern bunk to get at the rudder and see what was happening. Turns out that as the wheel is turned, it turns an arm that is attached to the rudder post.   As it turns, it runs into a bolt that hold the entire steering unit to the boat.  It has to ride up over it as it makes the turn.  For a while, we were concerned that the steering was in need of a major refit and it would have to be done before we leave for Port Townsend.  Instead , all I have to do is file down the top of the bolt a bit and all will be fine.  YEAH!! Big relief.

Read more manuals tonight about the electrical system and the water system.  If it clears up enough, we will install the new batteries tomorrow.  If not, we may be off to Portland 

to buy a DuoGen--a big propeller that sits on the stern of our boat that makes electricity for our boat.  It will also work if we put a different attachment on it and drag it behind the boat as we sail.  Either way, we get electricity to charge our batteries.  A major concern when out sailing.   Our everyday life--just like yours--depends on how much power we can generate for our home.  You get yours thru long wires, we must make our own any way we can.  Solar panels will be added to the sides of Zephyr on a swing up hinge so while at anchor we can get even more power. 

The water pump for the boat is acting up again.  It just keeps on running long after the system should be pressurized.  We've got plenty of water and the lines are fine, so out with the old pump and in with the new.  Earlier, we thought that one of the lines was letting air into the system but after checking the lines and closing off each tank in rotation to see what tank might be letting air into the system(each acted the same-the pump just kept on running), we finally came to the conclusion that the tanks are fine, the pump is bad.  Hey, it's just money!!!

I'm off to bed and it's still raining!!!

Day 35 Too late to blog

Back too late to blog last night, plus Jeremiah Johnson was on.  Love that movie.

We took off for Astoria today.  I would have labeled this blog--rain, rain, go away, come again another day.  The day started out with a glowing orb in the sky and quickly disintegrated to that stage of not quite rain and not quite a mist.  Just enough to use that wonderful intermittent windshield water feature, at least in the early afternoon.  By mid afternoon, it was full on wiper on the drive.  Stayed that way for the rest of the trip.  It was three and a half hours just to get there.  The reason--we'd had enough of the fuss over the batteries so it was off to Costco for a nice set of 6 volt batteries.  We've checked the starter set--both 12 volt and think they are fine for the time being.  We'll see.  Loaded up all 6 and started the trip back.  More rain so the going was a bit slower.  While going through the back roads of Oregon in  a drizzle there was no reason to hurry.  Left everything in the car and walked thru the rain back to the boat. 

Rained through the night and the forecast is for rain for as far into the future as I can find a forecast. What is with this state?  Don't they know about sunshine?  Does mold and mildew rule their lives?  I'm from Colorado.  I know there is a Sun up there--Hey come out and play with us!!!

Today, read up on installing the new batteries.  With all the charging equipment on Zephyr, I want to make sure I do it right.  If I don't get them installed til tomorrow, that's fine.  Off to the manuals.

Day 34 Lube it

Today started out with a misty rain.  Lasted till after noon.   So we worked inside in the morning. Organizing and stowing many thing that had accrued over the past week.  I worked on the things on my work bench.  If I touched it, I used it and then stowed it.  Tried to put thing away in a logical way.  Tracy cleaned and stitched on a project and organized things throughout the boat.  It's amazing how cluttered a place can get if you're not careful.  

I spent the afternoon on deck.  I lubed anything and everything that had a ball bearing or a hinge.  I used a product we came across called Corrosion X.  Supposedly binds with everything it touches and make a super slick surface.  I started at the bow and worked toward the stern.  Every block and hinge got treated.  I straightened out crossed lines and line stoppers.  I made sure to carry lots of paper towels.  When I work with any type of liquid, I will always spill some and today was no different.  Now everything flows much easier and smoother.

Clouds and cold came in by 5pm and that was the end of the afternoon working outside.  Retreated inside for another great dinner.  Home made potato soup with chocolate cake and strawberries for desert. That new stove sure works great.  Tracy loves it!

Tomorrow--off to Portland if the weather is bad or work on the boat if it's nice.  More rain on Tuesday and Wednesday so we may wait till then.  Do what we can while the weather is nice and do other things when it's not.

Day 33 A stinky day in Newport

Started out the day clearing out the "garage"--also known as the storage hold on the bow  of the boat.  Several feet wide by three feet by 5 feet deep.  A great place to keep things that you need but want out of the way.  This is also where the tank is for the forward head.  You remember--the tank that split a seam and needed to be fixed?  The same place that the pump out for the tank lives.  Lucky me--I got to take everything out of the "garage" and dismantle the pump.  It still acted like it was pumping--going up and down--but it wasn't pumping anything off the boat as it is supposed to.  To make a long, smelly story short, I got it all cleaned out and parts replaced and now it will work fine.  Unfortunately, I can't fix the seam on the tank until it warms up enough to use the fiberglass repair kit.  It needs at least 65 degrees and we are no where near that.  Low to mid 50's at best.  Today was totally cloudy--never saw the sun.  Afterwards, everything back into the garage.   Maybe tomorrow but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Ran errands in the afternoon.  Hit up the local marine supply store.  They had been closing on Saturdays at 3pm but expanded their hours to 4pm today for the Summer.  Wow--open clear to 4pm.  Still closed on Sunday as is most of Newports businesses.  Try that in Denver and the customers will have many bad things to say to you.

We expect to be heading back to Portland on Monday.  We know some battery experts there. I'd talked to them several times in the past and bought some electronic for Zephyr there back in December.  Nice couple of guys--ones an engineer and the other use to work for NASA if memory serves me right.  Getting batteries here is just a no win situation.  Anything you want just takes to long.  With two shipments coming in wrong, we have had enough and will be off to the big city.

The fun continues tomorrow.  Every day, we learn more and more about Zephyr and her many systems.  That's all part of the fun of going sailing.  It's not all fun in the sun, let me tell you but you do get a great feeling of accomplishment after seeing how things work and getting them back up and running.  We are learning what all her different sounds are.  Everything from the refrigerator coming on to the water pump to the bilge pump.  Each has its vibrations and tells you "hey--I'm still here". We've laid in a dozen of each filter for the engine.  Both diesel and oil.  We'll be prepared once we get off shore just in case we need to replace anything.

We order a new water pump today.  We've had a problem with pressurizing our water system.  Tanks full-runs fine.  Tanks half full-runs all the time.   We'd started isolating the tanks one by one to see if one of the tanks had a bad hose and that was why it was malfunctioning.  We'd close off three tanks and see if the fourth caused the problem. Tanks one acted up with the pump just continually running.  Tank two did the same.  Since we can't believe that both tanks had the same problem and since the pump was making really strange noises, we just ordered a new one.  We'll see if it corrects the problem once it gets here.  At the worst, I have a backup pump for the boat.  Can't have too many backup parts you know.  ;-)