Cockpit Instrument Work Completed

Note Autopilot on Standby

The new Garmin 152H GPS is now mounted and working fine.  I hit the unexpected snag that the stiff power cord required more space than available when the bracket was fitted on a vertical rather than a horizontal surface.  I had nothing to lose by trying to modify the plastic bracket and happily learned that the material can be drilled, sawn, and filed.  The power cable now passes through a hole that I drilled through the mounting block.

For the first time since sailing the Australian Bight on the way to Adelaide in 2008 I have the luxury of GPS readouts at the steering station.  The 152H is a pretty basic grayscale "chartplotter" which has features that I don't think that I will ever use.  I am primarily interested in latitude, longitude, course, and speed over the ground.

Power Cable Through Mounting Block

Had to Hack Into Plastic Mounting Bracket

A project like this is an exercise in patience and deferred gratification.  In this case the character builder was varnishing.  I wanted to varnish the new teak GPS mounting board to match the rest of the binnacle.  I hadn't revarnished the binnacle since Australia so I may as well do that.  And while I was at it why not varnish the new teak instrument display mounting board over the companionway?  That meant removing the displays.  I also did some filling in and revarnishing on a board to the right of the companionway.  I applied 2 coats of varnish to all under and back sides.  Visible surfaces got from 3 to 5 coats.  This varnishing effort added about 3 days to the project, but to me it was worth the effort. 

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While waiting for my latest three movies from the Club Cruceros library I found the paperback "Che The diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara".  This was the basis of the excellent 2004 film "The Motorcycle Diaries" directed by Steven Soderbergh. 

I'm interested in learning more about Che's idealism. ("Che was the most complete human being of our age." - Jean Paul Sartre, "Che's life is inspiration for every human being who loves freedom. - Nelson Mandela).

And besides, he was one cool looking dude in a beret

Varnished Display Panel