Busy Week and Good Progress

It's been a busy and productive week which I can summarize as follows:

1. New binnacle GPS wired and working.  Mounting awaiting completion of varnishing
2. Storm Trysail halyard installed and track fixed
3. Autopilot up and running
4. Emergency steering first fitting, handover on Saturday

Binnacle GPS

I devoted half of a day to installing the cabling between the the main panel and the binnace, relishing the luxury of being able to do the job in my own good time.  It was actually easier to provide power to the binnacle than to the display panel above the companionway which I had briefly contemplated as an easier location, because the binnacle is far enough forward to allow easy reach of the cable pathway from the doorway of the under-cockpit area.  I started the job by removing the Trimble repeater cable with a messenger cord attached, to be used to pull through the new cable.  Because the new cable had a smaller cross section than the Trimble's, passing it through the cockpit floor was unexpectedly easy.  I made the join between the GPS cable and my power cable under the cockpit, using a terminal block for the 4 wires.  I like terminal blocks: they are straightforward, reliable, and non permanent.  If I were ever to have to replace the GPS I would simply use the screws on the terminal block to remove the old GPS wires and connect the new ones.  I also spent over an hour tidying up wiring to the autopilot that was either dangling in the air or resting on the batteries. I replaced one of the two terminal blocks that was fairly corroded and mounted both blocks on the bulkhead, next to the GPS terminal block. 

I then connected the GPS and powered it up with no problem.  Actually mounting it would have to wait until I varnished the teak block that Reggie had provided and re varnished the rest of the teak around the binnacle while I had the chance.  As long as I was going to varnish I figured that I may as well also varnish that new teak piece that holds the displays above the companionway.  This meant disconnecting and removing the Raymarine displays.

Trysail Halyard

Almost 4 years after the procurement of the trysail and track, and a half a world away, I finally have a good trysail system in place.

John Preparing the Bolt Holes

John visited the boat two mornings ago and mounted the new Schaefer 3/8" cheek block on the mast, drilling and tapping 4 bolt holes.

He then turned his attention to the ill-fitting joint between the two sections of the trysail track and saw almost immediately that the upper track was lifted slightly off the mast on one side at the join.  He put a screw through the track near the join, bringing it down flat on the mast.  That removed most of the problem.  There remained a very slight left-right misalignment, but John didn't think that it was enough to cause a problem.  I would try a hoist later and if need be would use a file at the joint to smooth it more.

New Cheek Block at Top of Photo

It was left to me to make the calculations and mark the halyard lines for cutting.  I marked off 120 ft of the new 1/2" line from San Diego for the mainsail.  For the trysail we would cut a length from the 5/8" mainsail halyard that was being replaced.  (That line was less than a year old and in good shape, but was a bit too short.)  Later that afternoon John cut the line and spliced the end around the new thimble in his workshop.  I had never seen yacht braid spliced before and I must say that it was a real eye opener, and as far as I am concerned it is a job for a well equipped professional.  He then whipped the other end, which is something that I could probably do, now that I know that passing a needle through the rope will not damage it.  I then returned to the boat and after a varnishing session finished off the day by setting up the new halyards.  I hoisted the end of the new main halyard to the top of the mast, round the block, and down the inside of the mast using a messenger line that I had pulled through when I removed the old halyard.  The last job of the day was to climb the mast and fit the trysail halyard around the new cheek block.  I was amazed at how little friction I felt as the line went through that new block.  I have marked this line, and John will do the cutting and whipping at his convenience.

The new mainsail halyard at 120 ft in length came up a bit shorter than I had expected.  The length is fine for reaching the winch and for moving the shackle end to the back of the boom when not sailing.  However, it just reaches the toe rail and does not meet the criterion of reaching the water so that it can be used to pull a person out of the water.  However, I have two spinnaker halyards that I can use for that role, and to deploy them would be faster because to use the main halyard I would first have to climb up part of the mast in order to remove the halyard shackle from the mainsail headboard. 

Great Job, John!

This morning for the first time ever I was able to hoist the trysail without having to climb up part of the mast in order to feed slides past the track join.  However, I learned that I have to help things along a bit by making sure that the trysail is meeting the mast square on, rather than from the side.  But I don't see this as a big problem since I can do this by hand from the deck or, if the wind is strong, steer the boat into the wind. 


Autopilot

I was able to devote several hours two days ago to mount the new Raymarine fluxgate compass and pass its cable from under the saloon table where the compass is mounted, down into the bilge, across to the port side, through the electrical panel area, and into the area behind the navigation seat where the autopilot "black box" computer is located.  This afternoon I was able to finish the job.  Connection of the 5 wires was a color coded no brainer.  Mounting the unit back on the bulkhead took some time.  I then switched on the chart plotter and autopilot breakers, turned on the C120, went to the steering station, and there was the autopilot, up and running with no complaints about lack of compass input.  A real sea trial will be required for certainty, but I am confident that all is now OK with the autopilot.

The old fluxgate compass is working OK, other than its short cable.  I'll probably take it to Kingston when I visit in the hopes of locating 5-core shielded wire somewhere, in which case I'll see if I can bribe Arnold with a couple cartons of beer to apply his skills to the laborious process of soldering each wire, shielding the join with foil, and enclosing it with heat shrink tubing.

Emergency Tiller

I expected the emergency tiller to be of industrial quality, possible of mild steel.  Instead, Sergio is producing a work of art that puts much of the stainless steel work on Pachuca to shame.  The material is highly polished and the workmanship is exquisite.  I'll publish photos when I take delivery tomorrow.

Their skill and reasonable price has inspired me to design a stainless steel bench to fit over the life raft.  This will have three functions: (1) protect the life raft (2) provide a nice place to sit on the foredeck (3) provide a good platform from which I can reach the main halyard and the zipper of the sail cover.  At the moment I get my height by standing on the corners of the fiberglass housing of the life raft, knowing that one faux paux will mean a cracked housing.  The obvious challenge is to not interfere with the ability to launch the life raft manually.  I'll see if I can also design it so that the raft will still self launch.

Storm Jib

The storm job that I ordered a couple of weeks ago has arrived at Arnold and Sandra's home in Kingston.