Then it became, when a pig flies, we will leave Stuart.
Our "final" provisioning was done, our freezer was full of meat, then the following day our Frigoboat (refrigerator/freezer) malfunctioned.
I was able to trace the problem to the SSC (Smart Speed Control) system which varies the speed of the compressor to make it efficient in terms of energy used.
I was able to temporarily bypass the SSC by running 2 wires from the thermostat in the galley through the companionway, then through the lazarette to the controller on the compressor. Although this didn't look too good, it saved our meat. While this set up allows us to keep using the fridge, the compressor will only run on it's lowest speed without the Smart Speed Control. So we still have SSC, but now it means Stupid Speed Control.The next day I tore the boat apart just enough to do a permanent wiring job. Turns out Frigoboat doesn't make the SSC anymore, and they have replaced it with something that looks like a mid-seventies era 8 track player. We are holding out on that option for now.
I was able to temporarily bypass the SSC by running 2 wires from the thermostat in the galley through the companionway, then through the lazarette to the controller on the compressor. Although this didn't look too good, it saved our meat. While this set up allows us to keep using the fridge, the compressor will only run on it's lowest speed without the Smart Speed Control. So we still have SSC, but now it means Stupid Speed Control.The next day I tore the boat apart just enough to do a permanent wiring job. Turns out Frigoboat doesn't make the SSC anymore, and they have replaced it with something that looks like a mid-seventies era 8 track player. We are holding out on that option for now.
As soon as we set our 2ND departure date, our ships batteries crashed. I had been nursing them along for a while, but thought we could stretch them out for a bit longer. We have AGM (absorbed glass matt) batteries which on the surface, are ideal for sailboats. Among other things they aren't wet cells, they are sealed so don't release corrosive gases during charging, they are maintenance free and they accept a faster charge rate. But they are expensive and the failure rate on them is all over the board (that's with captains that understand the complexities of battery maintenance better than I ever will).
Because they are sealed, many engineers do not recommend equalizing AGMs (a controlled overcharge which ticks off the guts of the batteries enough to make the voltage in each battery within a bank equal). Now, some manufacturers allow it so long as it's tightly controlled (monitoring the battery temperature, charge voltage and time).
Anyway, I did this shortly before leaving for Delray a long long time ago. This did improve the battery performance, and it looked like we would get another half year or so out of them. But that was not to be.
I had been contemplating switching to the highly regarded Trojan T105s which are wet cell 6 volt golf cart batteries, but when push came to shove I went back with 3 of the 131 pound 4D AGMs. The 131 lbs each is another reason to go with the golf cart batteries, but oh well.
At 4:30 pm I bought new batteries from an outfit in Ft. Lauderdale. It just so happened a friend of the salesman was on his way to Stuart and he offered to deliver the new and pick up the old. He would be in Stuart by 6:00. So I put it into high gear, emptied the lazarette, unscrewed some wood, disconnected and extracted the batteries dinghied them to the dinghy dock, then dollied them up the ramp with 10 minutes to spare.
We have this light weight aluminum folding hand truck rated for 220 lbs, which I got specifically in case we needed to move batteries. It only worked by going totally horizontal, me pulling and Lisa pushing up the ramp. Otherwise the aluminum handle would have bent in half. The wheels did work, though it was iffy.
Installing the new batteries the following morning.
I had been contemplating switching to the highly regarded Trojan T105s which are wet cell 6 volt golf cart batteries, but when push came to shove I went back with 3 of the 131 pound 4D AGMs. The 131 lbs each is another reason to go with the golf cart batteries, but oh well.
At 4:30 pm I bought new batteries from an outfit in Ft. Lauderdale. It just so happened a friend of the salesman was on his way to Stuart and he offered to deliver the new and pick up the old. He would be in Stuart by 6:00. So I put it into high gear, emptied the lazarette, unscrewed some wood, disconnected and extracted the batteries dinghied them to the dinghy dock, then dollied them up the ramp with 10 minutes to spare.
We have this light weight aluminum folding hand truck rated for 220 lbs, which I got specifically in case we needed to move batteries. It only worked by going totally horizontal, me pulling and Lisa pushing up the ramp. Otherwise the aluminum handle would have bent in half. The wheels did work, though it was iffy.
Installing the new batteries the following morning.
This shot is through the engine room. You can't see the engine. There is normally a partition where my left arm is, closing off the back of the engine room. The big hose is the exhaust hose which spits out a mixture of water and exhaust through the stern. The other hose is a conduit for air for the engine.
OK, it's a slow picture day. Two Batteries are in with one patiently waiting.
OK, it's a slow picture day. Two Batteries are in with one patiently waiting.
The back of my head is pressed up against something pointy and sharp--why? Because it's a boat.
Our batteries were shut down for 24 hours, and when I got them hooked back up our freezer was right at 32 degrees, so our meat was saved for a second time.
Our battery monitoring system was acting weird, which ended up being a melted fuse. Oops, I forgot to turn the battery switch off before reconnecting the batteries. Thank you fuse. Mind you, this took a day to figure out and replace + a 4 mile round trip walk.
With that done, our autopilot smacked us a good one. What should have been a tedious but uncomplicated task of getting some air out of our hydraulic system, ended up being mucho frustrationo.
To make a very long ordeal sound short, we bled and bled and bled some more. We had no oil leaks, and couldn't figure out how air could get in without hydraulic fluid leaking out. I pulled the cylinder and had it resealed at a hydraulic shop, reinstalled it, still no luck. Changed the bleed nipples, still no luck. I took the cylinder off again, pulled the bleed tees off (there is one on each end of the cylinder) and put new ones on. Then pulled the fitting off the top of the pump, put a new o ring on it, then the next day everything worked. Trust me, that's the short version. Very short version.
Our batteries were shut down for 24 hours, and when I got them hooked back up our freezer was right at 32 degrees, so our meat was saved for a second time.
Our battery monitoring system was acting weird, which ended up being a melted fuse. Oops, I forgot to turn the battery switch off before reconnecting the batteries. Thank you fuse. Mind you, this took a day to figure out and replace + a 4 mile round trip walk.
With that done, our autopilot smacked us a good one. What should have been a tedious but uncomplicated task of getting some air out of our hydraulic system, ended up being mucho frustrationo.
To make a very long ordeal sound short, we bled and bled and bled some more. We had no oil leaks, and couldn't figure out how air could get in without hydraulic fluid leaking out. I pulled the cylinder and had it resealed at a hydraulic shop, reinstalled it, still no luck. Changed the bleed nipples, still no luck. I took the cylinder off again, pulled the bleed tees off (there is one on each end of the cylinder) and put new ones on. Then pulled the fitting off the top of the pump, put a new o ring on it, then the next day everything worked. Trust me, that's the short version. Very short version.
Part of our problem was not knowing how long it should take to bleed the system. Another problem was spending a lot of time trying to bleed air out of the wrong tee (as per Teleflex), but I suspect we had been getting air through the fitting on the top of the pump. We have declared it fixed. It works at the mooring, we really hope it works in the real world.
This is the cylinder part of the autopilot hooked up to the rudder post. The autopilot motor, the hydraulic pump, the hoses and the bypass valve are out of sight behind the wall on the left. The cylinder looks better here than it did sticking out of the top of my backpack on my 5 mile bike ride to the hydraulic shop.
The pig has flown. It's time to go.
This is the cylinder part of the autopilot hooked up to the rudder post. The autopilot motor, the hydraulic pump, the hoses and the bypass valve are out of sight behind the wall on the left. The cylinder looks better here than it did sticking out of the top of my backpack on my 5 mile bike ride to the hydraulic shop.
The pig has flown. It's time to go.
