Boat Improvements
Here are some of the things we do when we're not sunbathing and drinking Mai-Tais:
Solar panel - Solar energy
Our Sunsei 600 solar panel may be the boat improvement that satisfies us the most, so far. The solar panel alone (usually) gives us all the power we need to run our lights, music, fans, computer, water pumps, etc. -- all of the basic necessities, with the exception of the refrigerator. Since we installed the solar panel, we don’t have to run the engine to keep the batteries charged. With our ketch rig, on a mere 32 feet, atop the bimini is the best spot we've found for the panel. When we're not sailing, we pull the mizzen boom to port to give the panel as much sun as possible. It’s important that the panel is not shaded. If one cell is shaded, the energy output is cut by 20%. If two or more cells are shaded, the panel effectively shuts down.
Jen, with the bimini cover removed to place the brackets to hold the solar panel; later, cutting through the canvas cover to make way for the brackets:
Then we connected the power cables and led them down through the hollow tubes of the bimini frame to the solar charger unit, which regulates the charge so that the batteries won't get fried. We installed the solar charger in a cockpit storage cabinet, with near access to the battery bank below.
Wind generator - Wind energy
We chose the Kiss wind generator, made in Trinidad, for it's reputation of high energy output and quiet operation. Once again, with the ketch rig on a small boat, we need to be especially resourceful about where to place add-ons. Our only real option for the wind-generator was up the mizzen mast. That wasn't really an issue, as the higher up it is, the more wind it catches. And the further it is from deck, the less noise we hear. Kiss manufactures a mizzen bracket especially for ketch rigs. Balanced rotor blades are key to quiet operation:
Ulf drilled a hole in the mast and lead the cable down through the inside. Next, we had to fish the cable out through the bottom of the mizzen, to make the connection with the control box and battery bank. That was easier said than done.
So far, we've been happy with the Kiss. It's quiet -- which is important for our sanity, as well as that of our neighbors. If the wind is blowing steadily, the energy we get from the Kiss is sufficient to run our refrigerator. The combination of the wind generator and the solar panel has worked out well, since it's usually either sunny or windy in the Caribbean, and often both. For the Kiss to generate energy, the wind must be at least 10 knots, which produces roughly 2 amps. At 15 knots, it produces 8-9 amps. And at 20 knots of wind, the output rises to 16-18 amps. If the wind blows steadily much above 25 knots, though, we shut the generator off to prevent overheating.
Propane - Cooking fuel
When we bought Sea Quill, she had two 5 lb steel propane tanks; hardly enough if you plan to sail to remote places with no possibility of refilling. There was a vented storage box in one cockpit locker for the "active" tank, but the other was stored standing in the locker along with our gear. Just before we left Jamaica for Cuba, the inactive tank sprang a leak, as Jen discovered one day, when she entered the cabin and the air was thick with propane odor. Meanwhile, a chain-smoking friend had just pulled up in his dinghy, and was preparing to light his next cigarette. That was scary. Propane is heavier than air. If you have a leak in an enclosed locker, as we did, the highly flamable gas will sink into the bilge. For safety reasons, we decided to change our propane set-up to an outboard plan, with the tanks in the open air, where a leak would dissipate harmlessly.
There
was no way to fix the leaky 5 lb tank, and no way to replace it in Jamaica.
As we were just about to leave for Cuba, where it would be difficult to
refill anyway, we were extremely lucky to be given a 20 lb aluminum tank
by the kind propane dealer in Port Antonio! That 20 lb fill lasted us more
than 3 months. Later, in Guatemala, we purchased a second used 20 lb aluminum
tank for $30, a steal.
We had two stern mount brackets fabricated by a blacksmith in Guatemala.
One tank is now connected to our galley stove, with a solenoid between.
The stove is turned on and off safely by a switch in the galley, so that
we do not need to go outside to open and close the valve all the time. The
second tank connects directly to our barbecue (a stainless steel Magma stove
we bought used off another boat). The barbecue is a great addition to Sea
Quill). When it's too hot to bear heating up the cabin with the galley
stove, we throw dinner on the grill and relax in a cooler breeze while the
food cooks. We've dedicated the port side of the grill to Ulf’s meat
and the starboard to Jen’s veggies, although we have yet to paint
a dividing line down the middle.
Single Side Band (SSB) Radio
The SSB radio is an old fashioned way to communicate with ships and shore over long distances. It was a major investment for us, but an important one, as it enables us to get international and offshore weather and news reports, plus send and receive emergency calls from hundreds of miles away.
We also have a very good Horizon VHF radio which we use for ship-to-ship communication from line-of-sight up to six or eight miles.
By law, you need a radio operator's license to broadcast on the SSB, so we both studied and took the exam for the Marine Radio Operator's License -- the most basic level, below that of the HAM operator -- before we left New York City. We bought the ICOM M700PRO, along with all the accessories, with the intention of installing it ourselves. That was not an easy task for two brand new cruisers without a minute of radio experience between us. But the cost of a professional installation, even presuming that we could find it in the Caribbean, can run as high as the equipment itself. Anyway, we learned....
One of the most important things is the grounding, so we decided to go for a top-of-the-line copper grounding plate which we installed on the keel when we had Sea Quill hauled out in Jamaica.
Then we attached copper grounding foil from the inside and connected it to the antenna tuner, which we installed in a cockpit locker. From the antenna tuner, the cables run to the radio receiver in the cabin. The tuner had to be wired and programmed. Lorenzo Troop of Port Antonio, Jamaica, a HAM, did the wiring and sodering for us. Then Jen programmed the tuner.
We still had to find a solution for the antenna. In NYC, before leaving, we purchased special, hi-tech insulators that install on the backstay, turning the stay wires themselves into a powerful, tall antenna. However, we had bought the wrong size. Asking around the marina, a couple of HAMs, including Lorenzo Troop, suggested that we run an insulated, 12-gauge wire up the backstay instead, and secure it with cable ties. It ain't pretty, but it sure does the trick. We have been able to talk to cruisers as far away as Venezuela while we were in Cuba, and to get news and weather reports from Europe, the U.S., and Asia. It's powerful.
Fabric
A sewing machine is a useful tool on a cruising sailboat. Ideally, it should be an industrial strength machine with a walking foot and a lot of clearance between the sewing foot and the plate. But those machines can be big, heavy and expensive. With less room and money to spare, we went for a 30 year old, all metal, semi-industrial Pfaff 362 sewing machine. While it's not suited for sewing sails, it's just right for canvas work, upholstery and clothing -- and it's compact and portable. Ulf is becoming a good sewing machine repairman. The heavy-duty mechanics of this old, metal machine are pretty cool.
When we arrived in the Rio Dulce in June, we realized that we needed a sun awning -- and quickly. The intense heat was turning Sea Quill into an oven. We bought some cheap cotton blankets, sewed them together with reinforced seams and trim tabs, and waterproofed them with Lanco Watersealer. The sun awning keeps the cabin at least 10 degrees cooler, and it's easy to put up or take down. The whole process takes a couple minutes. At the same time, we re-waterproofed all of our canvas, including the bimini, dodger, sail-covers, and windscoop. We highly recommend Lanco Watersealer. It is effective and far less expensive than the 3M waterproofing product.
After the sunshade was finished, Jen started on new sofa covers to replace the old, stained ones we inherited with the boat. We used blue tipico, the handwoven, cotton textile that Mayan women weave for their traditional skirts.
Jen also maintains the sails and canvas to keep the seams solid. Often, it's more convenient to make small sewing repairs by hand, as on the dodger and bimini, which would need to be disassembled in order to machine sew. Where four or more layers of cloth are sandwiched, it's necessary to use a sail palm and plyers to push the needle through.
This is our wind catcher for the front hatch. When we are at anchor, facing the wind, we tie it up high to funnel as much air as possible through the cabin. If it begins to rain, we pull the catcher down to the horizontal position, which keeps the rain out, while still funneling some fresh air through.
Hammock
Witness an excellent justification for the ketch rig:
Deck lights
Run-of-the-mill, solar powered garden lights make excellent deck lights. At anchor, we place a few of these around the deck, where they are highly visible to other boat traffic. The anchor light atop the mast is excellent for visibility from a distance, but we find that solar deck lights are more useful for near traffic -- the kind that is likely to run into you in the night. Of course, we also like that they don't eat up any battery power. Notice our fancy light mountings:
Wood
The swim ladder was in a pretty awful shape. it hadn’t been varnished for years, so the wood was rotting.
Little did we expect what was underneath all the rot. Well, Ulf began to scrape and sandpaper, and continued to do so for a few days. Then he painted on 10 layers of varnish. And look what appeared: a beautiful mahogany ladder...
There's a huge difference between the sunny Caribbean and Sweden, where Ulf grew up. The powerful sun in the Caribbean wears and tears wood, fabrics and sails much more agressively. All of the wood on our deck was varnished with a product called, Cetol, a tough varnish, but rather orange and unattractive. After seeing what became of the ladder, we've decided to strip all of the deck wood and start over with 10 coats of traditional varnish...
Back in Cuba, we discovered water damage and rot in the mast foot. A previous owner's handywork had blocked the water drain for the head shower with vinyl. Fresh water had therefore been standing beneath the floor of the head, right where the mast foot sits. Ulf dug out all the rot, in both the mast foot and the shower floor, replaced the mast foot with new hardwood, and the shower floor with new fiberglass, epoxy, and a wide and clear shower drain!
The old cabinet doors in the head, some laminated plywood, were also due for an upgrade. In Jamaica, we met a lumberjack, named Roy, who sold us some pieces of aged mahogany and teak for pennies. He even milled and shaped the mahogany to replace the old doors. Ulf got out his sandpaper and varnish, and here they are:
