CURRENT LOCATION: Tied to a mooring ball near Cayo Pirata, in Ensenada Honda, Culebra, Puerto Rico

18 18.400' N, 065 17.842' W

The voltmeter has dictated our agenda for a couple of days over the past weeks. Last week I noted that the 12-volt outlet in the salon, into which I plug my computer, was a little warm after a full day's use. Consequently, I decided to replace the plug and rewire with a length of lower gauge (thicker) wire. Thicker is always better, especially with devices drawing larger current loads, because it results in lower resistance. Lower resistance means less voltage loss and a lower risk of heat generation.

Additionally, Sheryl's reading light in the v-berth has been acting up. Recently, it has been taking a few moments for the light to come on after flipping the switch. I have tried a bit of simple troubleshooting, but to no avail. Last night, the light never did power up completely. It only gave a minimal flickering glow. The rather pathetic sight of Sheryl having to read by flashlight last night made me rachet the priority of that task up to an immediate focus for today.

Electrical projects on a boat can be challenging, largely because you often have to move everything to get to the wiring. And then, once you can see it, the runs are often in very hard to reach places. For example, the replacement of the plug in the salon required that we empty out the items stored behind the settee as well as those stored in a cubby behind the main hanging locker (accessed through the nav station). Some creative positioning and long arms helped to work wire A through hole B and crimp connection C. Once all the new runs and connections were complete, we had to repack those storage areas in order to make the boat livable again.

Today's project was a game I like to call, "Find the Voltage Leak." The first test on Sheryl's reading lamp showed that the bulb was only getting about 9 volts of power. Although it is a long way from the battery to the v-berth, and some voltage drop is to be expected over distance, the experts say that a maximum of only 3% is acceptable. That translates to about a 0.3 - 0.4 volt drop. Here, we were seeing 10 times that amount! Disassembling the fixture revealed that the wire serving the lamp also showed low voltage. We continued working like this to track down the bad spot. When we ran into long runs going to places we could not easily access, we started from the opposite direction (the circuit panel). We finally discovered the bad spot and replaced the wiring.

Along the way we had to remove a number of items from shelves and storage areas and dissemble some of the interior ceiling headliner (which is a real pain to put back). In addition, it seems we always uncover a few electrical spots along the way that, although they are functional, could be improved with better connections. Call it discovery-based preventative maintenance, if you will. The result is that even a small task, such as replacing a short segment of wiring, can take up a bulk of the day.

However, the efforts are worth it. I now have a place to plug my computer which stays cool to the touch, and Sheryl will be able to read tonight without having to balance a flashlight on her shoulder. Life is good.