Chart Plotter and Gas System

 I had two productive days in Fremantle.

 On Wednesday morning I delivered two Raymarine C120 chart plotters to Maritime Electronics in the suburb of O'connor:  My operational C120 that had failed during the passage from Busselton to Fremantle in April and a backup C120 that works well as a chart plotter but  cannot see the radar. 

I left a note to Peter the owner of the company requesting that my operational C120 be repaired even if required using parts from the backup C120, and failing that I would install the partially working backup C120 on the boat.

 As luck would have it, that day I received an email from Greg, my go-to man regarding Raymarine equipment issues for the last 40 years, whom I had been trying to contact for weeks.  He wrote that he is doing OK, expects to return to Australia in about four weeks, and if my C120 cannot be repaired he can offer me one of the two C120's in his private stock,

 This is a very big deal to me because as he wrote, the Raymarine C120 is so obsolete that many marine electronics shops will not even try to repair them.  

Also, any modern chart plotter that I install as a replacement would not be able to see the outdated but fully working radar on my mast, which has been superseded by far superior broadband technology. So a modern chart plotter would mean either no radar or a new radar, and I would certainly not be willing to purchase a new radar unit.

 So for me it's either a fully working Raymarine C120 or no radar.

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 I then spent 30 minutes at Yacht Grot putting together a set of long and thin pan-head bolts with flat washers and lock nuts for the reinstallation of my Rutland wind charger's tail, which has now been sanded to the bare metal then painted with a coat of primer followed by two coats of white enamel.  Mounting of the tail should not be a big deal as long as the day is fair with light winds.

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On Thursday Dominic from Full On Gas visited the boat to look at my suspect gas cylinder setup.  

This stems from the problem we experienced on the passage from Busselton last April where we were denied hot food and drink because the flame at the stove burners would go out after only a few seconds.  Several days after our return to Fremantle Bruce noticed that there was a lot of thread showing in the hose couplings to the gas cylinders.  We then applied serious force to reduce the exposed thread that resulted in normal stove operation, but I did not think that the amount of tightening was normal and I wanted a professional to look at the couplings.

 I greeted Dominic with the bad news that another problem had emerged during my preparation for his visit: no matter what I tried the gas detector would go from an amber light to a red error light instead of the usual amber to green accompanied by the clacking sound of the gas solenoid moving to the open position.

 My diagnosis was a jammed solenoid, which I knew meant a lot of work and expense because I had replaced it in about 2015. 

 Fortunately Dominic the professional had other ideas.  He told me that solenoids are very reliable and durable, and during his career he had encountered only 2 or 3 failed solenoids. He then focused his attention on the gas detector.  

 He opened the gas detector which revealed rampant corrosion, and soon he was crossing two of  its red wires to clack the solenoid on and off at will, demonstrating that the solenoid was working fine.  So instead of wasting my time on the solenoid I can now focus on the much simpler and cheaper problem of ordering a replacement gas detector and replacing it myself.

 He then looked at the gas cylinder connection problem and confirmed the suspicion of Bruce and myself that the hoses are not compatible with the new-style cylinders that have internal valves inside of their outlets that must be pushed open by the connection hose.  

 The incompetent gas man (verified by at least one other victim that I know of and must remain nameless) who had certified my gas system had been fooled by his own connection, which resulted in dying flames because only a tiny amount of gas was getting through, into reporting that my gas cylinders were empty. I then presented one of the "empty" cylinders to the Bunnings Hardware attendant who reported immediately after l handed over the cylinder that it was full, then weighted the cylinder before my very eyes to prove it.

 So my task now is to ask for a pair new new connecting hoses, taking one of my existing ones as a sample to ensure that the end connecting to my cylinder selector valve is of the appropriate thread.

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On Friday morning I tidied up the boat then checked that the engine oil and coolant levels and belt tension were OK. The engine oil was exactly on the "full" mark and looked remarkably clean.  I then opened the raw water cooling valve, pushed the starter button and the engine started immediately.  I ran the engine to full temperature, stepping up the throttle to 1500 rpm, then finished with a short time with the transmission in the reverse position.