Dressing the Mast

Between varnish coats we dry fitted all the mast bands and the new bronze spreaders.   The upper shrouds attach to the toggles on the port and starboard sides of the top mast band. The jib halyard block will hang on the forward face and the upper peak halyard block on the aft side of this same band. Right now we have 7 coats of varnish on and 5 more to go. The first photo shows the sanded mast at the top band.  The next shot was taken after the fog burned off (and it did, just like WD said it would) and we (Jorge) got coat number 7 down.  Above the top mast band the mast is painted white.

The bronze spreaders are attached to the mast just above the bottom band. They sweep aft 3 and up 5 degrees and will direct the 1/4 inch 1 x 19 stainless steel wire upper shrouds to the top mast band.





After Christmas we should be ready to pull wire through the mast and install electrical components.  I still have not figured out how to mount the spreader lights.  Above the spreaders the steaming light will mount to the forward face of the mast.  The steaming light indicates that the vessel is making way under the engine's power.   The Koden radar antenna will be mounted on the mast above the steaming light.  The wire bundle for these three components will exit the mast just below the spreaders.  

Three more wires will have to continue on to the masthead, one for the tricolor/anchor light, one for the wind indicator sensor and another for the VHF radio antenna. The AIS antenna is going to have to live at deck level on the boomkin. 

After the mast is fully dressed we will knock down the tent and step the mast,    Once the standing and running rigging is installed the mast will be unstepped and boat and spars transported to the shipyard. Hope to launch by April but not on the first and not on a Friday.







AC Wiring

Gary and his boys are getting after the re-wire project.  I'd say 75% of ac and dc wire has been pulled to final destination points.  The distribution panel is in as is the battery selector switch.  The shore power outlet is installed on the starboard side of the house top at the sternmost end

The Mastervolt 2000/100 combi (inverter/charger) is also in place under the foot of the pilot berth on the starboard side.  There is some question regarding the need for an external shore power/inverter selector switch. The Mastervolt documentation indicates that the inverter has an internal transfer switch for this pupose. There should be no need for another.   

There is not that much to the AC side of this boat.....three AC outlets on one breaker, another on a separate breaker dedicated to the Contour 750 watt microwave, the 5000 BTU Climma air condtioner/heater,  the Sonicview 17 inch computer monitor and the Allcraft 9 gallon water heater.  Everthing with the exception of the water heater (including the air con) will run off the AC current provided by inverter.

There are two AC outlets from the inverter, the "Short Break" and the "Power". All appliances that can be powered from the inverter should be wired from the "Short Break" side; those that require shore power should be wired from the "Power" side. The water heater is the only appliance that has to run off shore power and should therefore be wired to the "Power" side; everything else goes on the "Short Break" side. Dip switches can be set to "generator support" or "power support" but not both. I will not have a generator so my preference is "Power support". ( I may carry a small honda generator but only as emergency backup to charge a dead engine start battery or run a drop light or two.)

Will post some photos later this week.

DC Electrical System

My original DC system and battery management design has been modified. (Its hard to keep up with all the technological advances but I'm changing my mind as fast as I can (( by the way, I don't put a funny face icon behind my amusing remarks.  I figure that if I have to send a signal alerting you to the arrival of humor it probably wasn't that funny anyway)) :-).   Under sail or at anchor a Mastervolt 2000/100 Combi inverter charger will provide power to a few AC appliances including a small microwave oven, a 17 in computer monitor,  a cell phone charger and the Climma air conditioner.  Hey! You can't air condition a boat away from shore power! Yes we can! (That's a quote from someone.).  Power a Climma 7 from a DC Source. 

The battery bank will also be Mastervolt.  Four 115 amp hour Slim Line AGM batteries will store 460 amp hours of DC power. Each battery is 22 inches long, 4.3 inches wide and 9 inches tall. One pair will be positioned port under the forward end of the quarterberth and the other pair will be positioned to starboard in the same location under the foot of the pilot berth. A separate Mastervolt type 27 will be dedicated to engine start duty and station itself under the bottom step of the companionway ladder.  Battery amp hours will be replenished by the two 70 amp alternators running in parallel and controlled by a single Adverc battery management system with split charging of the two battery banks, engine and house, via 95 amp blocking diodes...... Twin Alternators.  Dockside the Mastervolt combi 100 amp charger will assume regulated charging duties. The Adverc's DCM MKIII will monitor battery status.  Adverc DCM Monitor.

The breaker panel may be slightly larger than it's pre-Ike predessor but its location under the companionway ladder will not change. The electronics breaker will tie to an electronics fuse box in the navigation area.  The Muir anchor windlass will take power from the house bank not a separate battery. The engine start panel will be down below next to the breaker panel not in the sometimes very wet cockpit.

I am sure I am missing some vital info in this article and equally sure that I will be revisiting this topic long before I throw my first Lean Cuisine in the microwave.

Battery Management

The house battery bank will consist of four Slim Line Mastervolt AGMs with a total capacity of 460 amp hours. A separate type one will be dedicated to engine start duty. Battery amp hours will be replenished by the two 70 amp alternators running in parallel and controlled by a single Adverc battery management system with split charging of the two battery banks via 95 amp blocking diodes. Twin Alternators Adverc subscribes to the view that the most effective method of split-charging two banks is the blocking-diode method for charging the batteries combined with a Battery Selector Switch to distribute battery output, combining automatic charging with flexibility in terms of battery selection. Split Charging Systems

I will also use Adverc's DCM MKIII to monitor battery status instead of the Linksys that used to be on the boat.. Adverc DCM Monitor