NEW! I'm in Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui, to be exact. Buddy Bill is visiting
and keeping a diary. You can see what trouble were into at Bill and Ken's Aloha Tour 2003
Monday, 24 April, 2000 - Why Simpson-Lawrence
is on our sh*t list. (Well, okay, not any more.)
Monday, 3 April, 2000 - An update on our
projects: The transmission is out and in pieces, but the mechanic quit; the
anchor windlass and locker are gone, we'll start prepping for the new deck
real soon. The port chainplate is back in, so now we can send out for
replacement rigging. The love of boats should not be too closely examined.
Monday, January 31, 2000: Maintenance fun.
6 February, 2000: AC rewiring, rebedding work.
15 February, 2000: SAD, leakes, taxes, pump
service, HAM radio (good) news, our new windlass needs new chain,
watermaker research and halogen lightbulbs. 22
February, 2000: The birthday month is back! Chainplate redux, Chinese
New Year, salvaging Chardonnay and the transmission comes out, OUT, OUT!
almost. 3 March, 2000: The transmission comes out,
for real this time. A brief jaunt to the coast. 22
March, 2000: Indian springs (more pampering, but almost the last). The
prop shaft coupler refuses to come off the shaft, financial managment by
remote control, lesson 1.
7 January, 2000 We spent Y2K in our own
custom built floating "bunker" - okay, we anchored at Clipper Cove, drank
champagne, watched the fireworks and a had a wonderful time.
Alternative lighting technologies.
A discussion about white LEDs, Halogen and Alpenglow (fluorescent) for interior
lighting. Some have reduced power (with a non-linear decrease in
luminosity), others have higher heat output or throw more RF.
AGM batteries. A discussion on the technical
details of using AGM (absorbed gas mat) batteries.
Battery combiners and grounds. A summary
about how battery combiners work where the two banks are at different
levels of discharge. Also a summary (sort of) about whether to bond the AC
and DC ground systems and why.
My adventures with the electrical system.
A sordid ripping yarn about my temperamental regulator and how I finally
solved the problem.
A replacement solution for hot water aboard.
My 17-year old water heater died, but we have no intentions of replacing
it. Here's why.
Why Simpson-Lawrence is on our sh*t
list (especially their windlasses).