Ramblings

  • 12mm socket safe and sound

    The 12mm socket that fell off my driver the other day and vanished down the side of the engine has been found safe and sound, and returned to the storage case. Message ends.

  • Fixing the squeak

    Fixing the squeak

    The new alternator has been squeaking at low revs, and by the alternator, I mean the alternator belt. I had initially shimmed the top mounting bracket with a penny washer that I drilled out with a 10mm bit to make it fit. This is the configuration I was using when I first heard the squeak.…

  • Breakfast at Dalkey Island

    Breakfast at Dalkey Island

    Up before 6 AM today, and with a forecast of reasonably light winds out of the south, I decided to anchor off of Dalkey Island for breakfast and to see what it’s like to sit through a tide swing here – it could be a very nice place for the night with the right wind…

  • Sparks fly, broken alternator

    Sparks fly, broken alternator

    A suggestion from Dad was to take the wiring off the back of the alternator, clean the contacts, and reconnect them. Grime/corrosion there might be a reason for the voltage drop I’m seeing at the battery side of the circuit when the alternator is charging the batteries. I duly turned the engine starter battery switch…

  • Battery investigations

    Battery investigations

    Iโ€™ve been suspicious for a while about how hard my batteries for house are losing voltage over a ~ 12 hour day. I know the fridge compressor comes on periodically at 3 amps to keep the coolant moving around, but that doesnโ€™t add up to taking a battery from fully charged to near fully discharged…

  • Flooring contractor fired

    Flooring contractor fired

    For the flooring of my house, I opted to go with MNP Flooring – I had been talking to a different firm earlier in the year about doing engineered wood, and when I reached out to Alex N. at that company, he said they didn’t do laminate or carpet, but that he could arrange that…