Ramblings
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Reconnecting the GPS
A casualty of the wiring locker re-wire was the GPS connection for the Raymarine Autohelm system. The previous install was temporary, and used two chocolate blocks to bridge the three wires for the ground. The existing cable to the GPS uses red (+12V), yellow (data), and black (power ground and signal ground). The Raymarine gear…
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Wanted: non-paddlewheel speed log that doesn’t break the bank
In a recent post, I mentioned wanting to replace the paddle wheel on Blue Opal with something that isn’t a paddle wheel. The two options appear to be ultrasonic and electromagnetic. On the ultrasonic front, the main contenders appear to be nke and AIRMAR. On the electromagnetic front, nke show up again, as do NASA…
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More anodes, and a quick hull clean
When Blue Opal was launched back in April, the yard in Pwlhelli had installed a cone-type anode on the end of the prop for me. With Blue Opal on the slip this weekend gone, I figured it was worth checking that the anode was still present. Spoiler, it wasn’t. A quick visit to the local…
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Voltage drop at the water pump
In the middle of all the re-wiring work Dad and I did over the weekend, I noticed that the water pump didn’t sound like it normally does. It was only once or twice before it returned to sounding like normal, but it was enough of an anomaly for me to start poking at it. With…
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Wiring locker re-do/tidy
Blue Opal’s wiring locker behind the chart table is a combination of neat and messy. All of the from-the-yard wiring is clipped together nicely with small cable ties, the bundles to the switch panels are wrapped in mesh, and it’s all done very nicely into chocolate block terminals. As happens with boats, however, other wiring…
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Changing the head seacock
Blue Opal’s head waste seacock has been recalcitrant since I bought her, and the survey noted this too. In fact, I had the yard in Conwy give it some attention, and they said it had been freed up. However, I’ve always found it hard to move, and K can’t even get it to budge. It…