HF Radio Grounded to Keel

This morning I ambled over to the mob that sells solar panels, wind generators, inverters, and that sort of thing. There was uncertainty on what cabling to use to ground the Micom AT130 tuner to the keel bolts but fortunately a clued-up customer helped us out. I walked out with two 30-ft lengths of heavy guage bare wire. The proprietor soldered connectors for the tuner end but had no connectors large enough for the keel bolts.

It's just as well because it was difficult enough finding a route for the wires from the tuner at the transom to the keel bolts, and threading wires with large connectors at the end would have made the job impossible. It turned out to be an all-day job starting with moving gear out of the lazarette and quarter berth and putting it in the cockpit, deck, cabin, and wherever else I could find space. Most of the floor boards had to come up so that anything that fell would wind up in the oily bilge water. I had made enquiries about herioically removing the bilge water a bucket at a time but they wanted 50c for each gallon of bilge water that I dumped. Much as I like working with a clean and dry bilge I decided to proceed with things as they were. Anyway, by 6 PM the job was completedf and the AT 130 tuner was still grounded to the wind vane paddle via two 2" copper straps, and now also to two separate keel bolts by single-strand heavy guage wire. It occured to me that perhaps because the uninsulated ground wires run along much of the length of the bilge the salt water in the bilge will be a good medium for distributing the charge among the dozen or so keel bolts.

I have now settled into a routine. First thing in the morning I visit the toilet block and take my dirty dishes to wash in the laundry trough which has a good supply of hot water. I then work until early afternoon when I have a beer and a light lunch then lie down for 30 minutes or an hour. Then I work until about 6 PM and have a quiet beer or two contemplating the day's work and think about the next day's effort. Then I shower, put on clean clothes, and visit Safeway across the highway from one end of the boat yard with my laptop and backpack.

Safeway has a superb facility for WiFi users: purpose-built bench with plenty of power outlets. It is such a pleasant atmosphere that sometimes I think that I am in a quiet book store rather than a grocery store. After the internet session I'll venture into the store proper and do some grocery shopping. Tonight while setting up my laptop I looked up and noticed a corner of the shop that I had missed but had been needing. It's the section with all sorts of dishes cooked and ready to go - you know, a wide selection of meats, salads, etc that allow you to put together a meal. I cannot do any serious cooking on the boat because of the lack of water and those tarps that will collect any drain water from the sink. But it looks like with Safeway my eating as well as internet problems are over.

Tomorrow I'll put the shutoff valves in the thru-hull fittings in the transom. These openings are above the waterline when the boat is still and in calm water. However, I was advised in Esperance that every thru-hull fitting should have a shutoff valve. I had a good look in the transom while I was working on the grounding and noticed that I have already extended every hose but one to loop up to the top of the lazarette. It is unlikely that water would pass over that loop when the boat is underway. However, there was one thin (about half-inch) hose that did not have a high loop and could possibly set up some sort of siphon going in a following sea. I will see what this hose is about tomorrow and will definitely extend it.

Following that, later in the week, I will remove two of the four large batteries from under the cockpit so that I can slip in there and have a good look at the engine exhaust system. I need to make sure that there are no leaks from the hosing or the muffler itself. (I'm still trying to figure out how I'll move those monster batteries.)

I almost forgot to mention something. I received an email from Angelika, Dieter's wife. Dieter made it safely to Bamfield, south of Ucluelet on the west side of Vancouver Island, after a passage of 24 days. She said that "... he had some stormy weather, lost his engine about 10 days ago, possibly related to a knock-down. Had a tow from the Canadian Coast Guard into the harbor and government dock." It was a difficult crossing for him but 'All's Well That Ends Well'. Richard is at Ucluelet and I wrote to Angelika that I would sure like to be at Ucluelet too. It would be great if the three of us could meet and share our experiences on that crossing.