Tag: Blue Opal
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Reducing power draw
Blue Opal, as fitted from the factory, has eleven 10W halogen bulbs. Not only do they draw 1.1 amps each (according to my bench power supply, and basic electronics knowledge), they get really hot and heat up the light fixture too. Having confirmed that they’re all G4 bulbs, a quick rummage on Amazon found a…
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Growth and a nice sail
Blue Opal has been in the sea for a year now, and the plant life has taken a distinct liking to her hull. I’ll need to dry her out on the slip in March (when the tides align, and hopefully the air temperature), but for now the club boatman and I took a small garden…
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Winter update
Blue Opal is sitting at her mooring, and I’m looking for a pleasant day to go sailing in winter. So far it’s either been silly windy (and cold), or too damn cold and no wind. Yesterday was looking good initially, but then it started to rain… not heavy rain, just the type of misty rain…
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There’s a rattle in the engine, dear Liza, dear Liza
While out sailing the other weekend, I noticed a new rattle in the engine. Took the step off of the top of the engine, and it looked like the bronze pipe that hooks in to the exhaust of the engine was bouncing up and down. I didn’t know at the time that this pipe is…
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Repairing the locker lid
Today was the last day of the long weekend, gloriously sunny, and I was still tethered to the land by my job. However, this didn’t stop me from bringing Blue Opal alongside for some more maintenance work. First up was tightening the bolts in the Seago canister. A stubby screwdriver just barely fits inside the…
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Replacing the danbuoy
The existing danbuoy on Blue Opal is well past its prime. The plastic cap is brittle, the rope looks like it’s suffered from sun exposure, and the buoyancy disk is dead, for lack of a better word. While in Viking Marine, my local chandlery, buying an extension for the 16A shore power cable, I noticed…