POSEIDON SPEAKS TO ME: Part Four

So it has finally come down to this. Because of the battery problem which delayed launch. Followed by the surprise of the failed EP Controller. These issues had pushed the idea of sailing even further out in the season. Yes, I could just replace the controller but, Dave at Annapolis Hybrid Marine said they no longer use that controller because several others had  surprise failures too. They are using a new controller but it requires a bigger enclosure box. He had one in stock and I could have swapped it out pretty quickly. But, I had other considerations to take into account. Namely a girlfriends beach vacation and a cruise to Bermuda for my grand nieces wedding reception that would take me away from the boat for additional weeks. I'd not be able to start to fix  things  until mid September. Since I'd probably be pulling the boat in mid October anyway it would not leave much time for sailing even if the weather cooperated. So I decided to scrap this sailing season and use BIANKA as my floating harbor home. I don't have to put the large sail up and I have plenty of projects to keep me busy. Plus I could jump over the side for a refreshing swim anytime. Actually, It's not a bad place to be. Perhaps Poseidon is right.

POSEIDON SPEAKS TO ME: Part One

Well, this ninth season with electric propulsion has certainly been one of two steps forward and one step back. Looking back at how things have gone it certainly seems as if the Gods are conspiring against BIANKA venturing too far off the mooring after eight years of pretty trouble free operation. To recap:

Spring outfitting was going well as usual until a few days before I was planning to launch. I plugged into grid power to do one final charge in the boatyard before launch when I noticed one of the batteries was not reaching full charge. Some further testing showed it was going bad and would need be replaced.

Since all the batteries in the bank were eight years old replacing only the bad battery created my first dilemma. By only replacing the bad battery in older 48 volt battery bank results in the older batteries degrading the new battery. So in a few years I might have to replace all of the batteries again. So I decided since the battery bank was eight years old I'd replace all of them now. So that's what I did.

Unfortunately,  shipping damage made two of the new batteries unusable and required replacements to be ordered further delaying installation of the new batteries. Poseidon must have had Thor or whoever the God of shipping is throw the batteries around in the truck to damage them.

Since I would be removing the old batteries. I decided now would also be a good time to reconfigure the position of the batteries so they will be easier to access and service in the future. But, I needed to extend the the battery platform to do this. This was the time to do this but, it meant an additional delay while I worked on how to extend the platform.

Once that was done it was time to install the new batteries which went well. With the new batteries installed and rewired it was time to head out to the mooring. I turned the systems main power and then the key switch to engage the contractor relay. Nothing! For some reason the relay was not energizing and providing battery battery power to the controller and motor for operation. Poseidon is laughing at this no doubt.  I'd been at the boatyards work dock for a week and the boatyard was getting antsy for me to move out of the way.

I thought it would be a simple problem with the Key switch that tells the controller to engaged the contactor. Certainly eight years with the switch exposed to the elements had caused the switch contacts to fail. Something I could easily fix while at the mooring.  It was now already well past July 4th I was also anxious to get out to the mooring where I would also be able to jump off the boat for a swim in the summer heat. So I told the boatyard to tow BIANKA out to the mooring where I thought I would be able to quickly fix the switch issue and finally start the sailing season. Unfortunately this was not to be the case...

TO BE CONTINUED

ASSUMPTIONS

So I started my first cruise of the season. It's late and I'm chomping at the bit to get out of the harbor. My first leg was a twenty five mile trip to Mattituck. Since I was in the hurry and plenty of water even with one tank dry I did not bother to stop at the dock for to refill it. My plan was to splurge and tie up at a marina dock at my destination where I could refill the water tanks, charge my electric propulsion and house bank etc...

The trip was mostly without wind. So I fired up the Honda 2000 generator and pretty much motored the whole way at around four knots  under electric propulsion along  with a favoring current. I was thinking maybe I should also charge the house bank when underway since I was using the generator as part of my poor man's hybrid propulsion. I can normally electro sail and charge my 12 volt house bank at the same time as long as the house bank is not really low. In which case it tends to trip the Honda's breaker. Nah, I thought I'll be at the dock soon enough and can charge to me hearts content. I arrived at Mattituck inlet at sunset and by the time I meandered up to the harbor it was dark. I tide up to an outside dock and went to plug in the power. But, my 30 Amp 3 prong marine plug would not fit. There was a cryptic warning not to try and connect a 30 amp plug into the 120/240 outlet. No doubt for some much bigger motor yacht to dock here. Turns out there was going to be no charging overnight as I had planned because I assumed the electrical outlets would be the same as my home marina. I was able to get things charged in the morning with the help of a dock hand and the fact that I had a 50 amp to 30 amp pigtail adapter on board which fit an outlet on the other side of the power post. Since the time need to charge cut into getting a favorable current to get around Plum Gut I decided to stay another night at the dock. It was another reminder never to assume too much until you actually reach your destination and to charge things up whenever you can.

OH HAPPY DAY!

 Oh Happy Day!

After another email was sent I got the good news that the parts for the Honda 2000 generator are on the way and should be arriving sometime next week. So there is hope I might actually be able to get out on at least one more cruise this season. But, first I have to get the remaining seized screws off the Honda 2000:

Once that is done replacing the pull cord and reassembly should go much faster.  At least that's the plan.

THANKSGIVING 2010

I am very thankful this Thanksgiving as I look back on the sailing season. Earlier in the year I got several months work rebuilding a High Definition TV studio that ended in May right before a planned sailboat charter in the Bahamas. The trip to got my sailing juices flowing again. After returning from the Bahamas the revenue from that job also allowed me to sail BIANKA all summer into the fall without feeling the need to seek out employment in this troubled economy. As a freelancer there is no such thing as unemployment benefits. So one needs to keep their wants, needs and budget in check. But, the upside of being a "freelancer" is the emphasis on the word "free". As in freedom. Which is what I had during the sailing season. Most importantly freedom from schedules except those I imposed. I am also thankful for the things I learned. As I  found out schedules (even when of ones choice) can be dangerous things. Like my insistence on joining the Reid Stowe flotilla in June. But, I did learn from that experience that sometimes it is better to sit still rather than push things because of a self imposed schedule. I followed that advice while waiting for and riding out Hurricane Earl in East Hampton in September. I also learned that changing plans is a good thing too. Like when I made change of course and headed to Hamburg Cove up the Connecticut River. A truly nice spot on this earth to experience as a sailor which I visted the first time with BIANKA this year.  I am thankful I finally got there. So there was a lot to be thankful for as I look back and a lot to be hopeful for as I look forward to next season.