Finally!!! The solar panels that we physically put on the boat in Portland are now attached to the battery system. It took awhile because there were so many other things to take care of first. Now we have charging capabilities and I am a truly happy camper with the work done!! It took a few hours hunched over in the engine compartment (on this boat it’s closer to a real engine room) to finish this but all is good now.
Next will come the HF (shortwave) radio. This one is pretty much done already because I spent some time working on it in Bodega Bay and just have to drill a hole in the deck to poke the connecting wire through and attach it to the backstay. It will be great to have long range radio again… it’s something I miss when I don’t have it. Originally getting my Ham license over twenty years ago (I think) was a wonderful thing because I enjoy radio in general anyway. That’s the memory of sitting on a pile of pillows with my ear clued to a giant receiver that my father had and tuning in the BBC when I was a kid. Later I was drawn like a strong magnet to radio. Many years later I realized that my father had been a radio operator in WW II so there was a reason he had the radio in the first place. A bunch later I figured out that he could copy Morse code at about 35 words per minute. I bought him a radio at that point but I don’t really know if he used it much. It was just a way to connect with him that only sort of worked at the time. Anyway, long circumnavigation avoided, the radio has, ever since, been a connection to the world. I can’t wait to have the last of that project hooked up!!
As mentioned previously, the last of the must do’s for this week is redo the pull cord that was attached to the dinghy motor until Bodega Bay. There is a Home Depot not too far away to get what is needed for that. Then too there is a office supply place near that to get a few things needed as well as a Radio Shack to garner a replenishment of all the connectors I have gone through since Portland.
The good thing is that we will be renting a car for the last week we are here… this should give us access to several other places we need to go. Think here of the broken mains’l and the odds and ends that need attention.
2 comments:
Why is it always true that the one piece of the machine you need in order to begin using it is the part that breaks first. I can understand that in the 1960's the pull chord would break, but it was, at best, made of nylon.
Today we have all manner of high tech fibers that one could use to make a virtually indestructable pull chord, but is that what comes with the machine? Not a chance. I am not certain but I do not recall ever seeing replacement pull chords made of anything other than the typical nylon braid.
Hmmmm. If I wanted to actually begin working agin this might be worth the time........ naahhh.
It sounds like you will be staying put for a bit while getting things ready for the next leg, and perhaps enjoying some of the area too. I look forward to the posts!
An electrical engineer friend of mine gave the best advice when it comes to dealing with hooking thigs up.........
"Don't let the smoke out of the wires."
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