May 7, 2015

It was a hectic week filled with multi-tasking, runs back and forth between vendors and painful bouts of boat yoga.  A couple of major milestones were reached, however, and one narrowly missed.  I had to go to the battery distributor twice to get the new batteries because they screwed up the paperwork (but I got a $16 discount for my trouble).  I also had to make a return trip via the bank to a local chandlery that was selling off inventory at half price  because they were only taking cash.  I spent a fruitless afternoon preparing for the welding of my watermaker pump bracket and making trips to the yacht club where my friend Jonathan was doing some welding.  Turned out that without 220 volt power, his welder didn’t have enough oomph for the ¼ inch stock.  We’re still looking for a source of 220.

I did manage to get the batteries installed (thanks to my friend Kevin) and wired up, and the new bilge pump and switch installation was completed and tested successfully.  The new battery cables were terribly costly, but they needed to be precise lengths and I didn't want the delay that goes with ordering them from genuinedealz.com.  Tomorrow I drive down to the San Diego area to pick up the watermaker kit and participate in the first outrigger canoe race of the season.  No rest for the weary!























April 30, 2015

I worked myself to exhaustion trying to make sure everything was ready for the scheduled installation of the new batteries and for the scheduled welding of the steel for the watermaker’s high pressure pump mounting bracket.   I almost made it.  It was ironically fortunate that both the welding and the batteries were delayed.  I’m still exhausted, though.  On the bright side, quite a bit was accomplished.  The steel is ready for welding, the house battery side of the wiring has been upgraded and the new high capacity bilge pump has been mounted and plumbed.  I still need to complete the wiring for the bilge pump and make and install new cables for the new batteries to complete phase one of the revamped primary electrical system.  (Phase two will be the starter battery/port side.)  With luck, the welding will happen next week in time for the arrival of the watermaker parts.  I’m hoping I’ll get all these major projects done about the end of the “iron” outrigger racing season at the end of June so I can take off for a while.  Wish me luck!
























April 23, 2015

Despite spending quite a bit of time going back and forth with vendors and modifying plans as a consequence, it was a pretty productive week.  The new bilge pump and float switch arrived, I ordered the watermaker kit, and bought and cut the steel for the mounting bracket for the watermaker’s high-pressure pump.  I also picked up and mounted a couple of new bus bars and a fuse bar for improving and modifying the engine room wiring.

Over the weekend Carol and I went to a Rancho Ventavo Cellars winetasting event and did a little hike through the hills that are gradually becoming Ventura’s new botanical garden.