Wi Fi Amplifier

Although we have free WiFi at our marina their system isn't the most powerful or the fastest so getting on line using just our laptop internal  antenna was often a bit of a crap shoot. We couldn't do much about the speed of the connection but we had been looking for a way to improve the signal strength. There are plenty of inexpensive off-the-shelf amplifiers out there but most of them are for indoor applications. We wanted something with a bit more power that we could mount externally, but all-weather amps tend to be expensive.

While we were looking for a solution we came across an excellent blog that showed, among many other useful projects, a DIY WiFi amplifier that looked like it would be ideal for us. We decided to build a replica.

http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com

We had to make a couple of design changes to suit the latest generation of antenna supplied by EnGenius but otherwise we basically followed the design as published.

The latest EnGenius omni-directional antenna has a different base design to the one specified. We had to make a clamping ring to hold it in the PVC pipe cap. 

All the parts ready for assembly. Strangely, the most difficult item to source was the short piece of 4" schedule 40 PVC pipe. We went all over our area to try and buy an off-cut but nobody had any scrap pieces, only 20 ft lengths! Eventually a local plumber took pity on us and cut us a short length. 

The finished unit. When we get our stern arch built it will be mounted much higher up, along with the GPS and back-up VHF antennas, but even down here on the stern rail the performance is amazing. Using the internal laptop antenna we could see about a half dozen local hot spots, all inside the marina or close by. Of those, only four were better than 'fair' signal strength.

With the amplifier hooked up we were able to see over a dozen hot spots, with a couple showing 'excellent' signal strength and most of the rest being 'good'. At least one of those we know is more than  a mile away!

New Mattress in Pullman berth

In a previous post we described our efforts to improve mattress ventilation and comfort in the Pullman berth by installing Hypervent underlay and a Tufted Topper. The good news is that, so far, the underlay together with the topper we bought as a partial replacement for the original full mattress cover have both worked well. The Hypervent keeps the mattress dry and the topper is nice and warm.

Unfortunately the mattress itself has been a big disappointment. After spending plenty of nights on it, and despite being in generally good shape, we found we just couldn't get comfortable. We both like a firm bed but, even with the two ply construction of supposedly 'firm' and 'medium firm' foams, the mattress was just way too soggy for us. It had to go! We considered getting another foam mattress made with a harder grade, or maybe memory foam, but after we did some more research it became clear that no latex construction would ever give us the firmness we wanted.

So, we started looking at custom inner spring mattress designs.....wow they are pricey! But, after we recovered from the initial sticker shock and started looking more closely at designs and features, we thought that the investment was probably worthwhile. A grand is a lot to pay for a mattress barely the size of a standard double but, as we plan on moving aboard in the near future, we considered a good bed to be an essential piece of our 'dream'. Old Matelot backs aren't nearly as resilient as they used to be plus we reckon a good nights sleep in a comfortable berth will help us tolerate the loss of some of our other shore-side amenities! After a bit more research we ended up at Handcraft Mattress Company in Irvine CA.

http://www.boatbeds.com

We looked at several other mattress builders but finally settled on HMC as we thought they offered the best combination of quality, cost and turnaround plus they offered the most solid solution to the accessibility issues of the Pullman berth. On the B-Plan Freeport the mattress is fully captured by bulkheads at the head and the foot and by the hull on the outboard side. The remaining side only has an opening about two thirds the length of the berth. Making matters worse is a wide shelf that runs the full length of the outboard edge and the foot of the berth.  

This restrictive design of the berth and the limited space for installing and removing the mattress, plus the need to periodically access the hatches in the berth base, sometimes quickly, are all challenges for the mattress design. Getting the old one-piece foam mattress in and out of the berth was a total pain but, as it was very flexible, with a lot of effort it could be muscled through the opening. Obviously an inner spring can't be twisted into a pretzel like foam so a one-piece design wouldn't work. HMC came up with a two piece, centre split design with a zipper to address the various accessibility and installation issues.

Once we had agreed the design we had to make a paper template of the berth base. That wasn't too difficult, although working through the limited access space without ripping the template in the process was hard on our backs and knees! We shipped the template off to HMC and waited. A little over two weeks later a huge box arrived! The photos below are our first trial run, assembling the mattress on the floor at our apartment.

Looking from the foot toward the head. Note the bevel on the one side to accommodate the angle of the hull.  The two pieces aren't zipped yet.

Here is the zipper being connected.

The two halves partially zipped together.

Both halves fully zipped, with the custom mattress cover on. Neat huh!

The three photos below show the mattress installed in the berth. The two separate pieces went through the entry very easily and there was plenty of room to zip them together once in place. There is about 3/4" of space round all four edges. When we need to access the hatch covers we unzip the mattress, pull the inboard half out of the berth and slide the other half out of the way then both hatch covers are clear.

This two piece mattress design is a slick arrangement. It is a good solution for a berth with so many accessibility problems and most importantly it is extremely comfortable. An expensive but very effective upgrade.  

Bilge/Engine Compartment

During the pre-purchase research we did before settling on a Freeport as our target boat we noticed how many owners had either re-powered their boat or were actively planning to. This was a bit surprising to us because the same research had told us that both the Perkins and Pathfinder, the two factory preferred Freeport power plants, were pretty bulletproof. Also, from other personal experiences, we know that with simple and regular maintenance, diesel engines of all stripes are typically renowned for their durability and longevity in almost any application. After we finally got Circe we did hear that her 4-108 Perkins had a reputation for being a bit of a 'drip', usually from the rear seal but, to us, that alone didn't seem a good enough reason for a $12K re-power job! All a bit confusing?

Certainly, our early experiences with our Perkins (new in 1996) have been very good. It always starts instantly, doesn't smoke, is very economical and we don't see any significant oil leaks. In the end we decided that we would give Circe's original engine every opportunity to stay on board until such time as it gave us a very good reason to yank it out!

OK, I know this post is headed Bilge/Engine Compartment, but bear with us....we're getting there! So, while we were happy to leave the Perkins 4-108 diesel in place, we weren't happy with the condition of  surrounding engine compartment and adjacent bilge areas.

Yup...kinda cruddy down there. Although everything is working fine, not only do the pipes, hoses and wiring need some serious tidying up but the insulation on the engine compartment walls and the underside of the access covers is disintegrating and the duct tape 'seals' for the access covers are really cute!! I'm also not too sure about the Rube Goldberg exhaust elbow....Nasty! 

Because the insulation on the underside of the engine compartment access covers is shot, every time we opened one there was a shower of fossilised foam down onto the engine and into the bilge. Perfect lubrication for the bilge pump....NOT! So, first things first. The foam had to come off the access covers and that duct tape had to go.

What a mess! We couldn't believe the amount of adhesive that had been slathered on to hold a small piece of foam. This is another of the tell tale signs that quality was starting to slide  towards the end of the Freeport production run in the early 1980's!

It took literally hours to scrape everything off the five covers.

With all the aggressive scraping we couldn't avoid a few gouges that had to be sanded out.

The masking and painting went a lot faster. We used a Lowes alkyd enamel primer/sealer and satin finish paint which was much cheaper than anything the marine stores were offering, but just as good for this application! 

Hatches drying on the finger pier. 

Felt pads in the corners of the covers finished the prep work. Insulation goes on next.

We never did find out what the duct tape was all about it but it also had to go! As it was antique and had crumbled and de-laminated due to age it was also a bear to clean up!

We used plastic sheets to keep all the junk out of the bilge while we scraped and sanded for hours!

Now that looks a bit better. The next stop is the wiring and the mess on the engine compartment walls.