More work done
29 April 2015 | Boat, Vuda Marina
HOT Bill
We're finally chipping away at the projects for which we had planned while in Alaska. It's about time that we can tick off a few of those!
As I mentioned, I think, we were successful in rejuvenating the windlass battery and it's back in place. We've got two new Chinese-built 4D batteries, and our two old Lifeline Group 27s.
In completing the run for the new Simrad ForwardScan sonar, we filled yesterday to overflowing. What a task! The cable itself is smaller than the old cable that we're replacing, but the connector that attaches the cable to the display is an inch in diameter. Oh, NO! From the boat into the space below the cockpit I drilled a one-inch hole for it. Of course, that meant that the two 4D, 130-lb batteries had to be removed. Yuck. I routed the cable to below the binnacle, and as I suspected, I had a 1/2-inch hole to work with in an aluminum plate. With my trusty drill powered by the Honda generator, I drilled multiple holes to remove as much metal as possible, used a cold chisel to push out the now-honecombed metal, and used a file to smooth the edges. All of this while lying on my back, working overhead, in the unventilated space below the cockpit. I was covered in aluminum particles and badly dehydrated.
Conni masterminded the pull up the binnacle while I removed all of the parts that I could loosen to free enough space for her. At last, after a full 8 hours, the connector appeared. Hurray!
Today, we awoke earlier than usual to utilize the somewhat cooler temps before full sunlight.
I finished drilling holes in the new epoxy to repair the dodger attachment. I attached the tachometer cable, rewired some high-current electrical stuff, replaced the primary fuel filter and cleaned the Racor body, and generally cleared the decks for livability.
Conni has been fighting with Fiji Customs to get them to send her a completed form for our first crew, Phil. Since he flies in and ships out, he doesn't have a round-trip ticket and that's not allowed. Holy smokes! Today, day 12 of the saga, she was able to prevail upon the locals to sign the damned form and email a copy to her so that she could get it to Phil at his hotel in Los Angeles. He leaves tomorrow! Without it, he'd have been refused boarding his flight as we were, but without our resources. Hey, folks, make any rules you want but play by the rules yourself. Thankfully she's a persistent attorney and stayed on them. Thanks, Con.
It's hot today, 90°F in the boat with fans going and much hotter in the sun. About 1000, all sounds of outside work just stopped and haven't re-started. You just can't work outside when it's like this. Thankfully (?), we had a lot of inside chores to keep us busy.
I'll try to get some pleasant photos posted.