BILGE PUMPS AND OIL SPILLS

Like a lot of boat owners I have an electric bilge pump with an automatic float switch lurking in the depths of the bilge, to insure against accidental sinking when the boat is unattended. Coupled to two deep cycle golf cart batteries, which are connected to two solar panels, that little pump should keep working until the cows come home.

However, I often feel concern over the fact that if my fuel tank leaks and floods the bilge with Diesel the float switch will come on and merrily pump 33 liters of fuel overboard into the marina. Having seen what a cupful of fuel does in the water, I shudder to think of a whole tank full!

A little research turned up a float switch that is operated by having two electrodes that complete a circuit when immersed in a conductive solution (salt water) but will not activate when submerged in Diesel oil. Water Witch is one of these. I like the way it straps right to the pump, as shown in the picture below.

The one downside I see is that pure rainwater (does such a thing exist?) will not activate the contacts. But as I have a conventional stuffing box and there is always a dram of salt water in the bilge I don't see this as a problem.

I think this would be a worthy upgrade ... one of those little things you never see or think about while on the boat, yet providing peace of mind when the boat is unattended. Needless to say, before I make a final purchase, the usual research will be done to make sure this product is a "best choice" for my application.

July 2011.
I have installed this switch and it works well .... very simple and effective. Contrary to some reports it does respond to fresh water as well as salt water.

ANTIFOULING PAINT

Every couple of years I haul my boat to re-apply a coat of nasty toxic ablative antifouling paint. I use a full face respirator, disposable suit, gloves ... the whole works ... in an attempt to minimize my exposure to this stuff. In the back of my mind I always wish there was a better way to protect the bottom; one that does not leave a cloud of toxins floating in the water each time I sponge off the hull.

The latest issue of Good Old Boat Magazine published a letter from Robin Benjamin, who claims a paint called COPPERCOAT is the solution to this problem.The author had his Pacific Seacraft Dana coated with it and swears by the stuff in this Blog .

I've been thinking about hauling my boat home again to re-paint the deck and cockpit areas, as the gel coat has worn thin in places. It would also be a good time to strip and re-paint the bottom, again, this time with COPPERCOAT. The extra expense would be more than offset by the longevity of the product.

"HOLD FAST"

An interesting ezine on sailing a well-worn Pearson 30 around the Bahamas.... I thoroughly enjoyed it!

STERN LIGHT REPLACEMENT: ONLY TWO DAYS WORK!

I must be getting old ... this kind of job used to take me a couple of hours at most. This one took a couple of days!!
While attempting to move my stern light from the pushpit to the upright tube on the Navik vane (it was being blocked by the vane) I managed to terminally destroy the light housing. In days gone by I'd cobbled it together with epoxy and liquid electrical tape, but I finally had to let it go. Besides, the lens was in two pieces and leaked salt water all over the electricl connections.


After much searching, I came up with a reasonable  replacement, made by Perko. My only beef with the design:

Who on earth uses #4 screws to attach anything ? !!

THE JOYS OF A.I.S.

A couple of years ago I installed an AIS receiver in Sin Tacha, and, connected to my GPS and laptop running Memory Map Navigator, it provides real-time position information on ferry and large shipping traffic. My position is also on my screen, and each target has a 15 minute position vector indicating where it will be at that time. If any of these vectors cross mine, an alarm rings to warn of a possible collision.

As I frequently cross the busy traffic lanes along Juan de Fuca and Haro Straights, I find this little device provides valuable information, allowing me to navigate away from danger involving large ships, towboats, and ferries. Even larger pleasure boats are now using AIS transponders to broadcast their positions. My unit is a receiver only, and does not advise other ships where I am.

10th ANNUAL PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALBIN VEGA RENDEZVOUS

(Please click on any picture for a larger view.)

This year's Rendezvous was at Port Browning Marina, on North Pender Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands. The venue has undergone some great improvements since our last rendezvous there in 2005, including new washroom and shower facilities.

WARNING: NOTHING TO DO WITH BOATS! - HOUSE CHIMNEY RE-LINE,

OK, the blog is called MOSTLY About Boats, but every now and then I like to throw in a project that may be of general interest.

We live in a home we built ourselves back in the early 80's. Our focus was on energy efficiency, using superior insulation, passive solar gain, solar assisted water heating, and a wood stove for warmth and hot water in the winter. (Our stove, an RSF HF-65, is a massive piece of ingeniously designed welded steel plate, complete with an electric thermostat damper control, 1" stainless steel water coil, and a catalytic combustor unit to reduce emissions.) We have reaped the benefit of these methods for the last 27 years.

BUILDING A DODGER (SPRAYHOOD) FROM SCRATCH: a general outline.

(Please click on any picture for a full-sized version)    (*dodger = eu sprayhood)


I've spent many happy hours in my basement sweat shop doing upholstery work, sail making, and canvas work on an old Pfaff 438 sewing machine. This machine does straight stitch and zig-zag, but has no walking foot, a feature that would be nice to have. But it will sew easily through 7 layers of heavy Dacron, and just as easily through 2 layers of light weight spinnaker cloth.

Several years ago I bought a Lancer 25. I'd never had a boat with a dodger, so thought it might be a good project to tackle. I've seen a few nice looking boats spoiled by ugly canvas work, so my aim was to combine grace with function, and finish with something that added to the boat's beauty, rather than detracting from it.

Armed with Don Casey's book, Canvas Work & Sail Repair, I studied the rudiments of dodger construction, and also built the tubing bender described in the book.

Like most new things I make, trial runs preceded the actual cutting of bought materials. The frame was mocked up from brazed together old electrical conduit, and inexpensive plastic hardware used to attach it to the boat.

To RADAR or not to RADAR.

Radar has been on my 'wants' list for quite a while, but I managed to procrastinate until last week, when I finally got down to some serious research on the Internet.

After making a list of what I would need it for, I came to the conclusion that a low power (1.5 to 2kW) unit with a LCD display would be just fine.  After much reading I narrowed my choice down to a JRC 1000 MKII , a reasonably priced entry level model that would do all I needed it to.

The radome is only 12" in diameter, which makes it a nice compact size for mast mounting. (Being tall, I'm not happy with a radome on a pole behind me in the cockpit, beaming microwaves over, or maybe through, my head).

Unfortunately, this model seems to be no longer available :-(  .... so it was back to the drawing board!

My next candidate was the Furuno 1623 . The radome was 3" bigger (15") but I thought I could live with that, and it got a good review  by Practical Sailor magazine, always a positive sign.

While chatting with a dock mate the subject of radar came up, and he asked if I had heard of the new broadband units. I hadn't, but it sounded interesting, so off I went to spend more time searching the 'net for information.

It appears that Navico (sold under the Simrad, Lowrance, and Northstar labels) has developed a technology, already in use in the aircraft industry, that gives amazing results at closer ranges, which is exactly the area I am usually concerned with.
The unit has many desirable features, such as:
Instant on (no warm up).
Less radiation than a cell phone (mount the radome anywhere).
Targets visible within 10' of the boat.
Sea clutter rejection is up to 5 times better than normal radar.
Crystal clear image, making it easy to interpret the display (less of a learning curve).



After watching several videos, I've decided that "Broadband Radar" was the reason I was procrastinating. The technology has evolved to a more useful and user-friendly stage. Now all I have to do is find the right unit for the right price, which may mean another years wait, and ... more research :-)

The "BLACK FLY" Dinghy 7: First Sail

Today we loaded the 'Fly' on the car, stuffed the rig and sail in the back, and headed down to the marina for the first sail. Pedder Bay is pretty sheltered, and there's always a good breeze blowing, either into or out of the Bay.

Unloading was really easy. The thing only weighs about 30 lbs and was easy to move from the car roof to the dock. With gear loaded in the dinghy I rowed around to where my boat is moored, and installed the mast, boom, sail, and rudder in an adjoining empty slip.

MAST RAISING & LOWERING "A" FRAME.

The following procedure is one I used to lower and raise the mast on my Albin Vega 27. Although the mast is only 30' long, it's quite a heavy piece of gear, and could cause damage and injury if it fell out of control.

I have recounted from memory of what I did two years ago. There may be some gaps, and there may be some changes needed for different boats. I found a slip clear of other boats and had an able helper.

Inspiration for my "A" frame comes from the Alberg 30 group post on the same subject.

Although I didn't take pictures the two times I used the frame, I thought I'd share my design with others who might be interested.

The material for the "A" frame is from a Chain Link Fence supplier, and is 1 7/8" 14 gauge pipe. The nice thing about the fencing material is that each size will fit inside the next larger one, making it easy to sleeve pieces together. Also, it's galvanized for longevity.

I bought two 20' sections and cut them in half, sleeving them together with the next size smaller as inserts. Having them in two pieces made them a lot easier to transport.

OpenCPN free Chart Plotting Software

Thanks to an alert friend, I have discovered a very nice piece of software that rivals my present chart plotting program. It's called OpenCPN and has these features:
* GPS/GPSD Postition Input

* BSB Raster Chart Display

* S57 Vector ENC Chart Display

* C-MAP Vector Chart Display (CM93/2)

* AIS Input Decoding

* Waypoint / Autopilot Navigation

* International Language Support

* Cross-platform support

* Grib Weather Overlay

It works on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. One of my favorite features is being able to see the direction and strength of local currents overlayed on the chart (orange arrows):

THOUGHTS ON A BIGGER DINGHY

My present thoughts on tenders are:

- tough enough to be beached on oyster shells (this would exclude skin-on-frame)
- light weight (this limits size, although a larger two-piece boat would solve that problem)
- row, tow, and sail well
- able to carry two people plus some cargo in safety.
- and most important, should be good looking!
My favorite build method is still 'stitch-and-glue'.


In the endless search for the 'perfect' dinghy, I'm now looking at two-part 'nesting' designs. This would provide for a larger boat with a smaller deck footprint, and the ability to be lifted onboard in two pieces ... ie. half the weight of a full dinghy.

When I did a Google search for "nesting dinghy" I was surprised at how many different ones came up. Some I found interesting are listed below:

Here's a nice fiberglass model, the NestingLite NN10.

and a  pram type: by BATEAU.

The Spindrift is a nice "pointy ended" model.
and a building log of same:

Another nice pram by Offshore Designs Ltd. , CHAMELEON.

The PASSAGEMAKER, by CLC is the same as my Eastport Pram, but a bigger boat. CLC's plans are very well engineered and easy to build. Of my 3 dinghies, my CLC Eastport Pram is my favorite one ... so far!

Another beautiful "pointy ender".

Here is a very basic pram, the Cats Paw, that comes in different sizes.

 NESTAWAY, makes several nice fiberglass models.

Here's a skin-on-frame nesting dinghy called STASHA, and although not as pretty as some, I like the concept. Imagine how light each half would be!
and a STASHA build log.

As usual, more research is needed. But I have all summer to ponder the subject, before buying a set of plans and laying in a pile of materials for a winter build. One thing about dinghies: they don't need much storage space!

The "BLACK FLY" Dinghy 6: First Launch and Test Row.

(Please click on any image to see a larger picture.)

Before doing any work on the sailing rig, I felt the need to test the boat in the water to see how it handled. It weighed in at 35 lbs, a little more than the advertised 28, but that's probably because I built with oak and, ash rather than softwood. Anyway, lifting on and off the car racks was very easy!

And she looked pretty in the water, too.

The "BLACK FLY" Dinghy 5: Painting, Keel Bits, Seat, Centerboard Slot Plug.

(Please click on any image to see a larger picture.)

While investigating paints at a local store, I spotted a pile of cans labeled "Mis-Tints" sitting in a corner. One label that captured my attention said "Elasto Wall". Now that sounded interesting, so for $4, I took home a gallon of beige rubberized paint.

This is a water-based coating that's 45% solids, and rolls on very easily ... no smell, easy cleanup!

After applying the first coat I realized I should have had a light inside the hull to better monitor paint coverage and thickness.

A TRIP IN CHINA CLOUD: Day 3 Deep Bay to Comox Harbour

(Please click on any image to see a larger picture.)

The Route

A TRIP IN CHINA CLOUD: Day 2 Nanaimo to Deep Bay

(Please click on any image to see a larger picture.)

The Route















Not too many pictures this day as the seas were heavy, and it was cold and wet. China Cloud logged up to 14.9 knots, surfing down the backs of the swells, as we made a good run of 40 miles!

A TRIP IN CHINA CLOUD: Day 1 Cowichan Bay to Nanaimo.

(Please click on any image to see a larger picture.)

China Cloud at Pedder Bay, getting new sails:

The Route

WEATHER CLOTHS

I've installed a pair of weather cloths along Sin Tacha's cockpit sides to create a little more shelter in the cockpit. I had shorter ones before, lashed top and bottom to the boat and stretched nicely flat, but this time I opted to go for the "baggy" look because the way I have them fastened makes them easily removable in seconds. Being a bit baggy allows clearance around the winches, and it's easy to lower a lifeline for access to the cockpit.

(Click on any picture for a larger image.)

Side view, shows overall "baggy" look:
(You can see how the Dodger and sail cover material has faded in two years!)

LED CABIN LIGHTING

Tired of worrying about battery drain every time I turned on a cabin light, I've converted to LED's in all Sin Tacha's inside lighting, and the anchor light at the mast head.

Most of my bulbs came from LED Wholsalers  and were a lot more reasonable than many of the bulbs advertised as "marine". The marine ones may be better, but for the relatively small outlay I'm willing to experiment with the cheaper ones. It takes a little digging to find the right bulb for each purpose, but that's half the fun.

The  three dome lights have been modified to accept festoon LED bulbs.

It involved changing the socket to a festoon bulb holder, not too big a deal.