In his defense, my Uncle's incessant pestering isn't completely unwarranted; I haven't updated the blog since the beginning of spring. Slacker. Ok, so let's see what I can do.

Let's start with the to-do list from the beginning of last spring.

- Stainless Steel sail track pulled out of toe rail and bent 90 degrees.
REPAIRED. SAIL TRACKS REMOVED AND REINSTALLED WITH NEW SS HARDWARE, OFFSET FROM ORIGINAL HOLES BY 3". SHOULD BE GOOD FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS.

- Chartplotter will not power up (found it like that in the morning)
REFURBISHED UNIT RECEIVED FROM GARMIN. ALL IS WELL.

- Bilge pump plumbing needs complete overhaul to include vented loop and new hose.
DONE

- Bilge pump switch still not wired in. Need to fix that while I'm working on the pump.
DONE

- Need to remove and reinstall all sail tracks with new hardware.
DONE. SEE ITEM #1

- Still no flag halyard, need to fix that
DONE.

Well, not too shabby! As you can see I haven't been updating, but that doesn't mean I've been slackin'! In fact, I've moved on a bit.

This winter I've set aside for some more restoration projects below. I'm still having electrical issues with my charging system, probably due to an engineering error on my part. It looks like the AWG 2 battery cables are causing an excessive voltage drop which is really messing with my Voltage Sensing Relay (VSR), causing it to repeatedly cycle on and off. In order to fix THAT problem I need not only to reduce the cable gauge, but shorten the length as well. SOOO...

Since the battery storage area needs to be finished I'm going to move the battery selector switch and VSR back down there, removing about 12 feet of total cable and reducing the gauge down to somewhere around 8. That will leave a big hole in the temporary acrylic panel I made. I think I've gotten the arrangement bugs worked out, so that will need to be done as well. Last but not least, the aux panel needs to be finalized, too, adding meters for the batteries and a switch for the refrigerator/freezer I'm putting in. WHAT?!?!?! Oh, yea, and I want to rebuild the galley, too. To review..

- finish battery compartment in teak, relocate VSR
- finish main elec. panel in light marine-grade plywood (Okume)
- finish aux panel in okume, add meters for batteries and switches
- remove all panelling from galley. install new galley with improvements
(we'll talk more about that later)

I started with the aux panel (see photo). What you see starting in the top left and working around clockwise is a new cluster of 3 switches with a 12vdc power adaptor (1 switch for the new fridge, 1 for the propane solenoid, and a spare), the opening for the existing bilge pump switch, analog gauge for the starting battery (original from Ventura!), and a new digital ammeter/voltmeter for the house battery. The wood is marine-grade Okume plywood. Since both the aux and main panels are in inherently dark areas I wanted the blonde wood to lighten things up. The particular plywood will be used extensively throughout my restoration to try and lighten the 50-year old teak interior up. The wood you see here is the finished product, sanded to 220 and varnished with 00 steel wool between coats. The next photo will be of the panel installed.

The teak for the battery compartment is rough cut and should be finished this week.

Ok, that's where we're at. We'll see what I can get done before spring!