OUTFITTING SEASON: VHF INSTALL

 Spring has come and the winter hiatus has released my gumption to the point where I am finally starting on projects that have long been planned. One of them is to install an additional VHF radio in the forward cabin. The radio was bought in 2018 so you can see I'm a little bit behind schedule. Every year I kept reminding myself I'll be able to do the installation during the summer but, never did.  Now is the time and the VHF install is first of the list this spring outfitting season.

First I had to place the flush mounted pattern that came with Standard Horizon GX2200 in the location where it would be mounted. I checked and double checked the space behind it to make sure there was nothing in the way. 

Once the pattern was outlined I drilled holes in the corners to allow for a jigsaw blade to be inserted.

Then using the jigsaw I cut out the the marked pattern for the radio.

Unfortunately, when I was removing the saw from the space I cut my finger on the jigsaw blade when I removed it.

Luckily it was not that major of a cut that I needed outside medical attention. But, still a painful enough reminder to remember to focus when using power tools.  Injury aside the physical install of the radio was completed without further injury:

  

USING GPS VS THE BRAIN

"Using a satnav to get to your destination 'switches off' parts of the brain that would otherwise be used to simulate different routes, reveals new UCL research.

The study, published in Nature Communications and funded by Wellcome, involved 24 volunteers navigating a simulation of Soho in central London while undergoing brain scans. The researchers investigated activity in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory and navigation, and the prefrontal cortex which is involved in planning and decision-making. They also mapped the labyrinth of London's streets to understand how these brain regions reacted to them." - EUREKA ALERT

I always like to have some type of paper chart nearby when cruising. Even though I do have a chart plotter at the helm. Perhaps keep on plotting on it also like it just might be a good idea to keep the brain functioning well too! 

SURVEY SAYS

While getting BIANKA ready this spring I noticed a ship hanging out off the coast:

It's the NOAA coast survey ship Thomas Jefferson and it is conducting surveys of the nearby waters that BIANKA sails in. Which is good to see. Updated charts are always a good thing in my opinion. Looks like I'll be getting some new chart chips for my  Chartplotter , paper charts and downloads  in the near future once they are released by NOAA:

RUNNING WIRES TO THE HELM

Since I was kind of in a rush to finish the conversion to electric propulsion back in 2008 some things did not get installed as well as they should have at first. One of the things that was done in a temporary install was the electric propulsion speed control. Which at first was just secured with Ty Wraps as you can see here:

  Also the wires for the control ran across the cockpit deck into a hole on the side. Not the best way to operate for long. It worked  fine but, a more permanent solution had to be done. But, how should I run the wiring to the pedestal location where the electric motor control would be? The controls for the diesel engine were run through the pedestal and were wire linkages to the engine. I did not really like the idea of running the wires through this same route. It was tight and there were things like chains moving as one turned the helm to steer. If it chafed through the propulsion control cables who knows what could happen. It also would be very inaccessible. So I borrowed and idea from a fellow Nonsuch owner who ran a separate piece of conduit next to the helm for his pedestal mounted Loran unit.  I modified my design a little where as his was aft of the wheel I choose to install mine just forward of the wheel. Here is what I did. First I marked the location where I would be drilling the access hole in the deck next to the Edson pedestal making sure I would not be cutting into any stringers or supports below deck:

Next I drilled the hole and routered out and sealed the deck core with thickened West System Epoxy so no damage or delamintion would occur  if there should be any water leakage:

The fitting I used I was used a standard deck water fill fitting:

I removed the chain and fitted and secured it into the deck.

The photo above shows the fitting before the securing and chalking but, you get the idea. Then went to the local Ace hardware store and found a PVC fitting that would screw into the deck fitting: 

I then glued this fitting onto a piece of PVC pipe of the length I wanted using PVC cement:

I then screwed the pipe into the deck fitting using some Teflon tape on the threads before I did to help seal the threads. From then on it was simply running the wires down the  pipe from the helm. I used the wire pull rods I carry on board to help make this a little easier:

Hard to see in the photo below but, I cut a small slot down the side of the top of PVC pipe to allow for the wires (NOTE: I also created a drip loop so water would not run down the wires into the boat) and fitted the top with a removable PVC cap that allows for the easy installation of more wires or removal of existing ones as needed:

The nice feature of using this conduit is you can add and modify wiring to the helm as needed. Since I did the original install for the electric propulsion throttle control I added wires for a helm mounted GPS and 12 volt power outlet:

There are still a few more projects to follow.

WHAT THE HELM?: Part 2

As I've mentioned I like to have as much control and information available to the helmsman as possible. Which since I do a lot of single handed sailing is usually me. So after I had the electric throttle secured and installed in it's housing at the helm. The question I asked myself is what other things could I add at that location.
The most obvious answer was my Standard Horizon CP180iGPS chartplotter. I never could understand those boats that had their chart plotters installed down below at "Nav" stations. I've always believed the information belonged at the helm and not relayed up from below. Some chartplotters are large and need to be permanently mounted.  Making it look like the person at the helm is speaking at a pulpit. But, the 180i is small enough to be removable and stored securely down below when one wants to. With an additional power cable one could also operate it down below say in anchor watch mode. This is something I plan to do in the future. So with just three additional screws I installed the stand for the 180i on top of the helm control enclosure.

This now provides the person at the helm with a lot of electronic navigation information including location, speed over ground and course information right at their fingertips. The180i also has a lot of other features that I will want to eventually take advantage of. But, to use some of these features I will need to use the connections into and out of the unit. Happily the helm enclosure allows me the room to interface all these signals in a convenient location as shown below:

Here you can see how I have arranged the various terminal strips for power and the interface for the chart plotter signals that I will need to hook up to the 180i unit in the future.  I'll be posting more about these signals and some other items I'll be adding to the helm enclosure in a future post.

 CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHAT THE HELM?: Part 1 

856 MILES

I was reading the manual looking up some info for a fellow Nonsuch owner on about the Standard Horizon 180i GPS receiver we both have the other day.  I'm not one who tries to use all the bells and whistles of a newly installed technology all at once or rely on it exclusively. Especially when it comes to navigation. I start with the basic use and expand from there as my curiosity increases. While looking up some information about routing I came across the function of the "trip log" that can be configured to be placed on the various data screens of the 180i. Hmmm, I thought since I installed the 180i GPS unit the same time I installed my electric propulsion system in 2008 and I have never reset it. I was curious how many miles BIANKA has traveled since I installed my electric propulsion system. Turns out it is 856 miles. I would have guessed less but, there it is. Certainly, I probably did more sailing than motoring during those miles but, still the Thoosa 9000 electric propulsion system has preformed flawlessly and with virtually $0 dollars in maintenance costs since the installation. I could not say the same if I still had the old diesel on board.