Kaimusailing

Now the final gluing takes place, the beam is 2/3‘s complete with a layer of pine 3X5“ glued to the web of cedar 4X4“, the final 3X5 layer is sanded and the rest of the beam placed on top of it. The layer is marked and a prime coat of epoxy is painted on inside the marks. The rest of the beam is right beside it cedar side up and it too gets a prime coat of epoxy. Then the thickened epoxy is mixed and applied to the cedar. I needed help to lift the rest of the beam and place the cedar side down against the pine layer. Then the large clamps are used to squeeze the two together.
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Stainless parts for the mast are being cut out of scrap stainless. It looks like I will be able to make my own forestay tangs, shroud tangs, and a pair of tangs for the running backstays. I would like to make what is called a jib box, it holds the sheave for an internal halyard. Instead the owner of another mast just like mine offers me a fitting called ball and cap to eye. It is a short length of rod that has the ball and cap fitting at one end and an eye at the other. He paid $150 for his replacement, I gave him $50 for the old ball and cap to eye fitting. It solved my problem with the headstay.
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Now, a few days later, all the parts for the mast have been cut out and drilled for 1/2“ bolts for mounting. The corners have been rounded off. When I tried to use my new Harbor Freight 3/16“ drill bits, the first one made a small dent in the stainless steel then began making a screeching sound. I will have to buy some cobalt bits to do the rest of the drilling.
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The beam is now glued up complete and edges have been rounded off with a trim router. The inside corners of the beam need a fillet of thickened epoxy. Then comes fairing, glassing, and painting.
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The MPPT charge controllers came in and they look like well made units. In order to test one of them I replaced the Sunsei PWM controller on the starboard hull with the Epever Tracer. It is the 30 amp model. First the solar panel cables were removed from the Sunsei, then a positive cable was joined to the negative cable of the second panel. Next the battery cables were removed from the Sunsei and connected to the Epever. Finally, the two remaining solar panel cables were hooked up to the Epever. The panels were in series and the open circuit output voltage was 56 volts, when connected to the Epever controller the panel voltage dropped to around 17 volts. It is an overcast day, but the batteries were nearly fully charged. I turned on the inverter and ran an extension cord to the batteries in the port hull and a trickle charger. The panel and controller on the port hull have not been working properly, but now we will take care of that.