...and more jobs done... mainsail, thwarts/strakes,pads and VHF thoughts...

...that paint brush about sums it up...

While the weather gods continue to smile (and their are warnings that it won't last much longer than the middle of the week), I continue to slap on the varied unguents, confident in the knowledge that they will at least have chance to dry before it cools overnight and produces the inevitable heavy dew...

So it was that this Sunday saw me paintbrush in hand to finish off a number of the painting type jobs...

If the good Lord wills it, the following jobs are now complete

• the rubbing strakes got a second coat of wood stain
• the outboard pad got a second coat as well  - handrails look ok,.. (so job #14 done)
• the tenders rubbing strakes got a coat of wood stain (and that will be it - one is enough)
• the bottom washboard got another coat of white - the wood is shot really and the last coat didn't dry well so I gave it a rub down and another coat and if that doesn't work, then I'm going to epoxy it.. (job #13 done)

Once that was done the last job of the day was to wire in the new VHF (part of job #3) which was done with a quite astonishing lack of fuss.. I was even getting traffic which is pretty damn impressive given line of site from the aerial being what it is... As is the way of things on a boat however, that job completed, it generated two new ones...

1. One I need an MMSI number, so today I hot footed off to the OffCom web site to register the fixed VHF with the boat - that generated me an MMSI. I'll enter code in the VHF this weekend as somewhat irritatingly it shrieks at me whenever I turn it on, along with a message that I need to enter it..   Either way, job done, and should I ever sell the boat I need to remember to cancel the two licences I now have (one for the handheld, and one for the fixed)
2. the other job is a far more 'interesting' one - the new VHF is DSC enabled and comes with an external GPS cable in order to feed it with a GPS position for the DSC (should, Heaven forbid, I ever need it). You have a few choices these days on how to generate the GPS data but what I think I'll do is connect the VHF to the Garmin GPS 72 I use as my primary nav instrument - I'm using the Garmin for every trip anyway so it's just a matter of plugging in the radio at the same time...  the manual says my GPS is NMEA 0183 compatible so what I need to do is either cut in to the existing data cable (not keen) or find myself a second one I can use (which I've done - see below). The whole thing promises to be quite interesting.. typical me of course, originally I'd not planned to bother with the GPS position and just use it as a straight radio, but seeing as I have the capability it seems a waste not to.. and given it also has power cables I suppose I could also wire it in to the ships 12v system so I no longer need to feed the beast with AA batteries by the half handful... and... and... and...

010-10082-00 PWR DATA CABLE - black and red are power, white and brown are the Rx and Tx NMEA cables

 Separately I got a call that the mainsail had been finished off - they've done a cracking job on it - can't wait to see what it looks like when deployed...  so job #10 is done

Next jobs..

• GPS feed to the VHF radio (plus power for the GPS if possible)
• autopilot fitting - we have power - now I need to set up a way of connecting it to the tiller - Raymarine recommend the following:
  
  

  

  Copyright Raymarine

  Key measurements are 24" from the tiller centre point, and 18" in from the back of the tiller, which means that on Sparrow, the tiller pilot pivot pin is about 9" in from the coaming and 6" above the cockpit lid, so I need to either manufacture a connection point, or buy some (expensive) extension rods  - not surprisingly I am going with the former and what I plan to do is use a length of 2 x 4 timber (inches, not feet, darling...), connected with a hinge to the cockpit side at the right height and distance, so that I can fold it back against the coaming when I'm not using it, and also so the cockpit lid isn't blocked from opening - to keep it in place I'll use one of these the other side to the hinge. I'll drill a hole at the other end for the pilot pivot pin..
  
  
  
• paint the floor of the tender
• I have an idea to complete job #4 (the forehatch hinges) - a job that has been on the list for as long as I have owned the boat...  stay tuned...