Friday the 12th of February, 2010
Success in getting the inverter mounted in Liquid Therapy's bilge! It was difficult to lift and move the inverter. It weighs 80 lbs! Susan helped me lift into the CRV for transport to the marina. After I got there I slid it from the CRV into the dock cart. Rolled it to the boat and then pondered what to do next. It was high tide so the boat was up a bit. I untied the stern and pulled and tied the boat against the finger pier on the starboard side. And, behold with a shot of adrenaline of thinking I might drop the inverter into the drink, I lifted it above the gunnel and slid it onto the deck. GREAT! I decided to mount the inverter on the bulkhead that is the forward end of the bilge. I needed to move the existing hot and cold water lines the pump and accumulator tank too. Off to my favorite hardware store, HURDS, in Deltaville to get some 1/4" diameter screws. Hurds has great people and lots of marine stuff. Got 1 1/4" length and washers and back to the boat. After moving and re-attaching the water lines I was ready for the moment of truth. I had a 7 1/2" wooden box that I could set the inverter on to hold it high until I could get the mounting screws in. I slid the inverter from the salon deck into the bilge and gently set it down on the bilge deck. I then slid it over to the waiting wooden box. The trick now was to get it standing upright on the box in the cramped confines of the bilge. It took several attempts after adjusting my body to get enough leverage to stand it up. Finally it stood up and the mounting flange slid behind the box perfectly holding the inverter up against the bulkhead. I then screwed 5 screws into the top mounting flange. I slide the box out of the way and screwed 3 more screws into the bottom flange. It's mounted!!
BATTERIES. I moved the two 6 volt Trojan 605 batteries up to where they will be close to the inverter. Need to mount the battery boxes and wire everything next. I also will have to remount the fresh water system pump and add some length to the cold water supply hoses. They are old anyway. So, I will not complain about buying new cold water lines.
Last night, I ordered custom 4/0 cables and 300amp fuse for the 12V DC side and 10 gauge wire for the 120V connections. Can't wait to get all of that stuff connected....... And, it's snowing again.