New Boom

Circe's boom and gooseneck arrangement has been an area of concern to us ever since we first took ownership. There were numerous issues that we wanted to eliminate. When we were in Alameda at Hansen Rigging for the recent new solent stay installation we also ordered a new boom and commissioned them to design and build us a new, upgraded gooseneck arrangement.

The original Kenyon spar always seemed too light for a mid-boom mainsheet. We thought the cam style reefing cleats were flimsy and we saw serious galvanic corrosion where the end cap retaining screws and the vang mount had been assembled  without any corrosion inhibitor. 

We also didn't like the mainsheet routing along the full length of the boom as it was constantly chafing against the vang near the boom mount.

We also thought the gooseneck bracket could be improved. All the pivot holes were badly worn and we didn't like fighting the  sail slugs to use the fixed reefing hooks. Also both the skinny welded aluminium ears on the mast were bent.

We made sure that the job got the best supervision money could buy.... ;-)

Here is the old boom coming off the boat.

The old and the new side by side. The new spar section is a full inch deeper than the original. It will be much stiffer.

The old mast lugs being cut off......

....and the mast being cleaned up. 

(Also visible here on the mast is  the StrongTrack  extrusion. We very "strongly" recommend this, a great improvement for hoisting and dropping the mainsail.)

The new, fabricated gooseneck bracket. Look at those welds, Hansen does top notch work.

The finished boom, ready for paint (Awlgrip).

The new gooseneck bracket installed. The boom mounting ears are now thicker and further apart for more strength, stability and to resist any twisting of the boom.

Everything going back together.

We splashed out for new mainsheet blocks and re-routed it to eliminate the chafing problem on the vang bracket.

To get a cleaner route for the main-sheet we ditched both the boom block closest to the mast and the stand up block on the forward edge of the main cabin. We replaced them with a single block mounted to a small bail anchored in the sail track.

Mainsail going back up.

Finished. Note the two heavy duty Spinlock clutches under the front end of the boom for the reefing lines and the pigtail replacing the reefing hooks. Much more secure and easier to operate than the original set-up. 

Sailing back home to Richmond in 10-12 knots of wind. The new set-up makes it sooooo much easier for Old Matelots to manage the mainsail. 

On to the next project!

Solar Panel

As already noted elsewhere on this blog, our energy independence plan calls for five options to source our electricity; Wind generator, Solar array and Diesel alternator (all DC). Gasoline or LPG generator, shore power (both AC). This post records the installation of the solar power part of the plan.

Solar will be our primary passive power source, so our first concern was how to do the best possible job of matching output to our realistic power consumption on an average day. First problem; what is an average day? Is it sitting on the hook, with 10 - 12 hours of clear sunny skies, a steady 10 - 12 kts of wind and a temperature of 70 degrees? Is it powering along on a wet, overcast day with no sun, a 5kt breeze and temps in the 40's with the lights, auto-pilot, GPS, radar and radios in constant use? Or, how about anchored in thick fog with little or no wind, no sun, the anchor light and radar on with the water maker running for a couple of hours? Our best guesstimates for different  possible 'average days' varied from 70 to 160 amp hours so, in the end, we gave up!

When we talked to some other cruising sailors they all gave us the same story....you can't have too much passive capacity for generating electricity! This is certainly understandable, but the flip side is the long list of 'essentials' that are installed on so many cruising boats, and the acres of PV panels supported by extensive 'scaffolding' that seem to sprout up as a result. Many a cockpit has morphed from a pleasant retreat to an ugly cage, and we wanted to try and avoid that.

So, we decided to look at things another way. We would select a solar panel that would fit the space available on top of the new Bimini (without the need for extensive new support framework) and see how we managed with it for a few months, along with the recently installed Superwind generator. If we found we were having power shortfalls we would 'go active' as necessary, probably with the Honda genset. (We are reluctant to use the Perkins diesel just for battery charging, diesels don't like to run without much load.) Beyond that, if we found we were still short of power, we would break down and revisit the whole solar issue and consider additional PV panels.  

After all the usual on-line research we found ourselves repeatedly coming back to the eMarine website. They carry a wide selection of power related products for boats and seemed very knowledgeable and helpful when we called to discuss options. Largely based on their reputation for durability, we zeroed in on PV panels made by Kyocera and Sharp. Based on suggestions from eMarine (and remembering that we didn't want a couple of pool tables on the bimini), we selected a single 215 Watt Kyocera panel that would fit comfortably between the legs of the split back stay, along with a Blue Sky 2512 MPPT charge controller suitable to manage the panel's high (33.2 vOC) voltage.

Here is the new Kyocera panel, just delivered to the boat. It looks huge sitting in the main cabin!

There were already a pair of grab rails fitted on top of the Bimini, so we decided to use them as the supports for the panel. This made the mounting quite simple, rigid and kept the panel a couple of inches off the Bimini for cooling. 
 

We fitted split rail clamps to the grab rails and used regular 1" stainless tube and Bimini mounting hardware to connect them. The actual panel support 'Z' brackets and the plastic clamps were bought from eMarine.

Despite all our careful measuring we found that if we centred the panel fore and aft on the Bimini it was a bit close to the boom when amidships, so we moved it back about 4" to give adequate clearance. 

The repositioned panel doesn't hang beyond the transom but it does protrude quite a way past the back of the bimini and bothers our eye for symmetry a bit.....!

From a distance the overhang isn't really noticeable but WE know things aren't quite right....!

To get the wires to the controller we needed another cable clam on the transom. There are now four, one for the solar panel, one for the radar and main GPS antenna, one for the wind generator and one for the back-up GPS antenna and WiFi amplifier.

The recent new bimini installation and this solar panel combined to effectively blanket signals to both the WiFi amplifier and the back-up GPS antenna in their original locations on the stern rail, so we moved them both up alongside the solar panel.









The Blue Sky 2512 controller in a plastic junction box from Home Depot, with the lid cut to suit. We used a single 3/4" strain relief fitting for both the PV and load wires and it all went together for a clean looking installation.

Clean looking but not working.........! When we connected everything up there was no output from the controller. The panel was delivering the specified voltage and the controller status LED indicated a bulk charge condition but there was no measurable charge output? The folk at eMarine weren't able to give us much in the way of technical help beyond referring us directly to Blue Sky, who we called next. Blue Sky told us that the 2512 shouldn't have been paired with the high voltage Kyocera panel.....thanks eMarine! They recommended the model 1524 as more suitable. They informed eMarine who shipped us a 1524. Now for the really good news, it had the same problem.....thanks Blue Sky! 

To cut a long story short, we pulled out the Blue Sky controller and  installed a Morning Star controller, which was twice the price of the BS (sic) unit, but worked perfectly from the get go. 



We'll post an addendum to this post when we get a resolution from Blue Sky on the controller selection problem.

Update 6-19-13
The Kyocera solar panel has been working great since we resolved the controller problem. We went round and round with Blue Sky on the compatibility and pairing of their 1524 controller with a high voltage panel (The Kyocera peaks at almost 29v) but we didn't get anywhere. So, we've kept the controller in case we add another panel at some point. 

Learning to live with the solar and wind systems and matching our power consumption to the weather and the time of day has presented some interesting challenges and lessons.

For instance, our home slip is an up-wind, south facing location. So what?.... Well, as we approach our first summer with the solar panel we have discovered that during a good portion of the late morning the sun track is such that we are getting a big shadow on the aft third of the panel from the backstay mounted radome!
For almost three hours the shadow slashes the output of the panel, to less than 2 amps, even with the rest of the panel in full sun!  If the wind is blowing the Superwind takes up the slack but without wind then we lose a big piece of our recharging time.

Solent Stay

Ever since we first got Circe we have struggled to find a good way to trim the Doyle 130 genoa for the wide variety of SF Bay wind conditions we routinely experience. The sail is in excellent condition and we fly it on a Shaefer 2100 roller furler with good results up to around 15 kts of wind. In those conditions, dependent on point of sail,  we can carry it fully deployed or rolled in a couple of turns (photo above) and have fairly good sail shape and pointing ability. 

However, beyond 16 - 18 kts  things start to become marginal and at 20+ kts, which can be a daily occurrence on SF Bay in the summer afternoons, the fun stops and the stress starts. In those higher wind conditions, anywhere above a beam reach, we can easily get overpowered and our choices are either to reef the main and roll the genoa in further, causing both the shape and our pointing ability to deteriorate badly, or we have to constantly play the gusts with the mainsheet, which gets old fast! Neither option is satisfactory so we started looking for other answers. 

The most obvious and simple solution would be to buy a smaller head-sail and put it on the existing furler, but then we would lose the excellent light air performance of the 130 when we needed it, particularly off the wind. We could change back to the 130 as necessary, or even add a Code Zero spinnaker to restore the light air capability, but that would mean new $$$ails plus the additional rigging for the chute and would create extra work for Old Matelots on the deck. Next, we started looking at a double head-sail rig where we could leave the furled 130 in place and fly a smaller hanked-on staysail or jib on a new,  inner forestay. We have seen that solution successfully executed on a couple of Freeports but, in addition to a new $ail, going that route also requires a new tack strongpoint, a permanent or semi-permanent inner fore stay and possibly running back stays to support it plus a new halyard. More 'strings' to pull and more difficulty tacking the 130 when the inner stay was in place. A third option was to fit a detachable Solent Stay and, after some extensive research on-line backed up with discussions with local riggers and sail-makers, that is the route we chose.

Circe's new #3 jib on new Solent Stay.











A Solent Stay is a way to fly a small and relatively inexpensive heavy weather $ail (like a #3 jib) without requiring much in the way of extra rigging and hardware. The foot of this new stay is anchored with a detachable toggle onto a suitable strong point a few feet aft of the headsail furler, with the top anchored close to the head stay at the masthead. In this configuration the existing back stay provides adequate counter-support and no running backstays are needed. Our recently installed extra halyard is used to hoist a new #3 jib on the Solent Stay and because of the position of the existing Freeport sheet car tracks we still get pretty good sheeting angles to it. We considered making the staysail self tacking to solve the issue of two sets of sheets (genoa and staysail) and only one set of winches but, as there's rarely any performance advantage to flying the two headsails together and it might tend to overload the backstay, the extra cost and complexity didn't seem worthwhile. Also, with the staysail tack strongpoint already a bit far aft, making it a self tacker would limit the sail size. In reality, even if the load on the back stay with two sails flying together wasn't an issue, because the Head stay and Solent stay aren't parallel, adjusting the slot between the sails and trimming them flying together is fiddly and likely wouldn't add any positive performance to the boat.

As this project was beyond our competency level we took Circe to Hansen Rigging in Alameda to get the job done properly, by experts. A big thanks to Glenn, Jesse and Jack for a job well done. We also had them build us a new, stronger boom and goose neck assembly together with some other rigging repairs and upgrades, all covered in a separate post elsewhere on the blog.

Step one was to identify a suitable strong point to anchor the Solent Stay. Popular wisdom suggested the best anchor point would be a couple feet aft of the head stay, but the center of the Freeport windlass and anchor locker didn't seem a good spot (Duh!) so we went with the back wall of the anchor well. It was a little further aft than we would have liked but that location gave  us the added benefit of being able to tie into the bulkhead underneath, for extra support.

To ensure maximum rigidity, the narrow interior space between the back of the anchor well and the rode locker bulkhead below it was filled with G-10, a fiberglass and epoxy composite laminate, bonded to both sides.

Here is a shot in the head showing the through bolts holding the upper and lower tangs for the Solent Stay. Not very pretty but not too ugly either......definitely STRONG!

Here is the upper tang assembled to the G-10 reinforcement.

To add even more strength, another strong point was built into the hull at the bottom of the rode locker to hold the end of a tie rod from the underside of the stay tang.

Here is the finished assembly with upper and lower tangs tied down to the hull.

The top of the Solent Stay mounting and halyard block. Simple, clean and straight forward.

The toggle ready to be connected, the single most expensive piece of hardware in the whole project.

Toggle and stay hooked up, ready to re-install the windlass.

A small notch was cut in the edge of the anchor locker lid to clear the tang.

Headsail back up, Solent Stay halyard reeved through, ready to hoist a sail.

Although not ideal, the location of our Solent Stay, at the back of the anchor locker and close to the forward edge of the cabin top, means that either set in place or stowed, it is not intrusive to the  fore deck. The location also helps keep the protruding tang from being a serious trip hazard when the stay is stowed.

We looked around for a good used sail but couldn't see anything that would fit without a lot of re-cutting so we went to Domenic and Sylvain at UK-Halsey for a new one. We chose an 8.2oz Dacron #3 jib. Here it is going up for the first time. The new jib together with the first reef in the mainsail should eliminate any drama in 20+ kts, making summer afternoon trips around The Bay more enjoyable. All we need now is a stiff breeze to give it a good work out!

Exhaust Elbow

One item that had been lurking on 'The List' for over a year was replacement of the engine exhaust and water injection elbow. It was an issue during the original survey, due to corrosion, but we never managed to find time for it with all our other more pressing projects. Well, it finally elevated itself to the top of the list when it started to leak! It still wasn't in the project schedule but, no problem, a few bucks worth of pipe fittings and a free day should get things back on track........pause here for hysterical laughter from all experienced good old boaters!

In preparation for starting the job we spent a few minutes each day for a week coating PB Blaster on the rusted bolts that held the flange of the injection elbow onto the heat exchanger. 

We've always had good luck with PBB so we were confident we could easily break loose four rusted 3/8 - 24 bolts .......pause for additional guffaws!

 

In fact, albeit with a little more effort than we expected, three of the four bolts did come out fairly easily. Clearly, no anti-seize compound had been used on the bolts at the previous installation, but three out of four is good, right? 

Located in the most inaccessible spot, the last bolt was longer than the others. Its threads extended right through the heat exchanger flange and 1/4" beyond, and were rusted badly. Using a wire wheel on the Dremel we cleaned up the exposed threads and tried everything we could think of to encourage the bolt to move; vise grips, heat, impact, more PBB with no success. So, at the end of Day1 of the 'The Battle of The Bolt' the bolt held a commanding lead!

To get better access we removed the heat exchanger hoses and core. We sent it off to be boiled out and pressure tested.

We continued the assault on day 2 and the exhaust flange gasket finally disintegrated, allowing us to rotate the elbow and get better access. But the bolt still wouldn't shift! By this time the head was completely rounded off and we were having a problem holding it with the vise grip.

The final desperate move was to use the Dremel with a cutting wheel and chop the corner off the injection elbow flange. This allowed us to completely remove the elbow and gave us much more of the bolt to grip.

Here is the flange after surgery.

With better access, and after more PBB and more heat backed up with a generous helping of profanity, we finally got the bolt to surrender.

 

What a difference 1/2" makes. We delivered 'the bolt' back to the company of it's pals. We were surprised to see fine thread black oxide bolts being used in an alloy casting. Plated bolts and coarse threads would have been much better and less likely to strip, particularly if anti-seize compound is used!

We carefully ran a 3/8"-24 tap through all the holes and were not surprised to discover that the threads in the 'problem hole' were now trashed. Helicoil anyone? 

Also, having destroyed the exhaust flange, we needed to find a new one. After a bit of internet surfing we found TAD in Hayes VA. They supplied overnight a new exhaust flange, gasket and grade 8 cadmium plated bolts.

So, on day 3 we were finally where we planned to be a couple of hours after we started! Having burned up so much time and effort we decided to go the extra mile and replace all the hoses and clamps on the engine while it was torn apart and do an oil and filter change. We got all the parts from British Marine in Alameda.

We started the hose replacements with the elbow that connects the thermostat to the heat exchanger and found it was too short.  Nothing is easy is it?

Here is the new Perkins elbow as received.

And here it is next to the old one! After a call to check with British Marine we found that there was no other part number or part available so we had to get creative. Off to O'Reilly's we go!

After searching their hose rack for 15 minutes we found something that we could modify. No clue what it was originally designed for. 

Here you can see the almost perfect match  with the old elbow.

And here it is in place on the engine. We also changed all the hose clamps to AWB brand. They are more resistant to corrosion and don't have slots in the band that can cut the hose. All the other hoses fitted with no problem.

After repairing the bad threads in the  manifold we were finally able to get the new elbow painted, lagged and installed. We even went with a new piece of  hose to the water lift can. Looks good huh! Another item off the list.