Checking keel bolts
My boat has a bolt on keel, meaning the lead keel is attached to the rest of the boat via some pretty stout bolts. If they are not in good condition, then this can happen Pretty much an instant, unrecoverable… Continue reading
Maintenance
So long, Wind Chime
Wind Chime is no more. Yesterday, I stripped the letters from Wind Chime’s stern and removed the license numbers from her bow. I also removed the weird Luhrs Yacht sticker on the inside that had… Continue reading
On the hard
It’s been pouring for several days, maybe a week, but it feels like a lot longer. I can hear the slap of raindrops on the hatches. There is a leak on the deck somewhere on the starboard side, near the… Continue reading
Replacing the electrical board LED strip
So when I got to the bottom of my electrical panel – I noticed the middle three backlights were not working. I investigated, and figured out it was the central LED board, and called Blue Seas, who to their credit,… Continue reading
Discombobulation
So, it was finally time to move the boat to Sidney to haul out – Westport Marina is half price until the end of February, so to haul out now would be the most cost effective thing to do, as… Continue reading
Float switch woes
My float switch for the ‘OH SHIT’ bilge pump had always been a bit flaky and just stopped working one day (incidentally this is why it’s worth testing every couple days) Replacing was dead easy – except when I cut… Continue reading
Installing the NMEA2000 network backbone
With the switch to the RS35 radio, I got rid of the only NMEA0183 device in my boat and could start to install a NMEA2000 network. WARNING: NERD SPEAK FOLLOWS NMEA0183 is a serial based communication standard that all boat… Continue reading
Installing new VHF
As part of the huge swath of electronics upgrades I am in the middle of doing, I decided to replace the existing VHF with a new Simrad RS30. My main reason for choosing this model was that it came with… Continue reading