More reviews...

So after changing the oil, fuel filters, etc... wiring up the steaming/foredeck light, and a good thorough cleaning- I decided to install more of the LED stuff I've been experimenting with. A buddy of mine got a good deal on a new LED chart light and it is really nice- but it retails for over $200. I got a Nighthawk from www.doctorled.com (light in bottom picture) and wanted to see how it was. It's great! My only complaint is that it is kind of big, but its functionality and tiny power draw more than make up for it. Given that result, I also ordered replacement bulbs for my reading lights (bulb shown in top pictures) and was very impressed with them as well. Nice light, much warmer than the bulbs I put in my dome lights, and not badly priced (about $30 each) given that they will most likely outlast the boat. This company is going to have a dome light to match the ones on the boat (their current ones are a little small, but the bigger ones are coming out this summer) that I'm going to replace a couple of the more commonly used dome lights with those when they come out. I would suggest the Doctor LED products to anyone interested in making the move to this power saving light. I'm really looking fwd to being able to have a bunch of lights on with out draining the batteries that I need to run the fridge.

Getting ready for our annual week long cruise around the bay- boat's clean, dinghy is pretty much ready, fridge is packed, weather is supposed to be nice...

Shakedown Cruise

I got everything put on the mast- all new wiring, new LED anchor light (pictured left), all the hardware and sheaves and stuff, and all the new standing rigging--and left off a few things so they weren't damaged during the stepping of the mast such as the new Steaming/Foredeck light... but the wiring is all there. Then had to get all the gooseneck and other fittings, cleats, and hardware on- then got the boom on. It's got all it's upgraded internal rigging for outhaul and boom lift...
We went on a shakedown cruise over the weekend- and everything worked great. Got lots of nice compliments on the rigging and the paint job... only issue we had was that a friend had helped me take all the mast wiring apart in the boat (I have busbars right near the mast up in the headliner to make it easy) and I'm not sure where he put all the busbar screws-- oops. So I didn't have the wind instruments hooked up... I did have enough to hook up the anchor light--

Quick review of the OGM Led anchor light with Photodiode:

• Easy install- 2 wires (note that they are 20 ga wire--) that don't care about polarity.
• Will run on very low power- I made it work with 3 AA batteries in series... It only draws 0.2 amps. The old Perko draws 1.2 amps. In my constant fight with battery draw, this is going to be a great tool.
• Looks great- got great reviews from the people who saw it... very bright, white, light.
• It is advertised as having a rediculously long life- like 50,000 hrs- Which equates to about 6250 nights at anchor. Which equates to a little over 17 yrs if you are at anchor every night as a live aboard.
• Seems like a good purchase- just note that the photodiode means you have to test it at night!

I'm also looking into LED interior lighting- I got some 9 LED festoon bulbs for our current dome lights to see what that looked like. Not real pretty light, but quite bright in the dark. And they draw 1/10th of what the old ones did. I think I'm going to place them in strategic locations around the interior and have them available, but keep some regular bulbs for esthetics sake. Also trying a Dr. LED chart light (the Nighthawk- or whatever it's called)... we'll see how that goes. Purchased a small dehumidifier with a Peltier Motor as it's cooling method... it's supposed to pull up to 16oz of water per day. Which would be perfect for the boat.

Next couple of weeks will see basic seasonal maintenance- oil, trans, filters, winches, etc...

Felt good to be out sailing again.

getting there...

The mast is painted... it isn't perfect, but it looks good and is a million times better than it was. Add to that a good boom paint job and we're good. Also got the bottom painted and so we should be ready to go.

Boat gets splashed this week, cruising 36 hrs later (assuming all goes well).

Tomorrow the mast gets its new wiring, LED anchor light, and spreaders put back on. The boat gets a final wax job. I get a nap. It will be good to be back on the water.

I wonder if the genny is fixed yet... we have the old 140 that we can use, but I'd like to just have the 150 up. Hmmmmm...

Boom Paint

Done painting the boom, and it turned out great. Lighting is bad in the photo and doesn't do it justice... All that is left is the black stripe to show where max sail is allowed (doing today). Starting to strip the mast first thing tomorrow morning. I'll also have a chance to try out the new interior LED bulbs.


We got all the new stuff for the mast/boom ordered:

• New LED anchor light from OGM- I'll be sure to post about it...


• New steaming/foredeck light (old one was broken by the yard during mast unstep).


• New in mast wiring- electrical for lights, coax for VHF.


• New blocks for the boom to increase purchase on the outhaul.


• Tef Gel for re-attaching all the stuff to the mast/boom.

Should be a fun couple of weeks trying to get all this stuff done, but the weather looks like it is going to cooperate--

Mast Painting

Again, things have been a little nutty- and it was vacation time (cruising St. Vincent & the Grenadines for 2 weeks- with a weekend stop in Barbados to go see Mount Gay)-- so I've been neglecting the blog. But I have gotten into the mast strip/paint project! The mast was pulled right before the boat came out of the water last fall. It went fine other than the yard guys breaking the steaming/foredeck light with the crane strap-- not bad for pulling almost 60' of stick out.

I took the spreaders home to do some experimentation. I had gotten different ideas from different people. I ended up trying an aircraft stripper made for taking 2 part paints off of aluminum. Can't get much more specific than that, right?

As you can see, it took the paint right off. Trick is just to be patient and let it do it's work.

Then a little sanding, and voila- ready for etching and primer.

Then the same treatment for the boom...

There was a little corrosion around some of the original fixtures (the holes in the photo are for "T" track that gets adjustable cars for reef lines)

















But again, a little sanding and it's good as new. Note: important step that is not pictured here is etching- which is a pre-primer to help reduce corrosion and promote primer/paint adhesion.

















Then 3 coats of primer, and it's ready for paint!

















Next step is painting the boom and spreaders on bad weather days since I can do them indoors, and stripping, etching, priming and painting the mast. Doing the smaller parts first has kept the time loss due to learning curve down to a minimum.
Also, we've decided to replace all the wiring in the mast, the anchor light (with an LED unit), and of course the steaming/foredeck light that was broken in the mast unstep. We figure if we do it all now, we won't have to do it with the stick up!
S

Too Busy...

Between starting a new business, the holidays, and a loss in the family- things have been a little crazy. Sequoia is out of the water, with her mast out of the boat. The standing rigging needed replaced (some of it is original from 1988), and the paint on the mast is all but gone on most of it. So we decided we'd get it painted...
First, we got a quote from a company in Annapolis- $12,000.00 for new standing rig, lifelines, strip and repaint the mast... Nope.
Then we got a quote for just strip and repaint the mast from our new yard (and they are great, we've dealt with them before and are excited about our move)- $6,000 to strip and repaint... Nope.
Let's be honest here- $12k just isn't realistic for a boat that is almost 20 years old. The $6k would be better, but still more than we'd like to spend on something that doesn't make the boat go faster or more comfortable.
So with some good advice and some help from people in the "know", I'm going to do it myself via "roll & tip" after I sand off the little bit of paint that is left. It's been suggested to use a 2 part paint rather than the 1 part- since the durability should outweigh any application issues. This whole process has to wait until things warm up a little... So I'm hoping for a nice warm week in March.
In the mean time- I'm buffing out the gel coat, then polish and wax. It's kind of like the old joke, "I just flew in from St. Louis, and boy do my arms hurt."
Then, in my everlasting quest to reduce power draw on the battery bank, I'm changing light bulbs to LED's in the cabin dome lights. Also contemplating that move for the anchor light. Hoping to save at least 50% (I'd like to see 70%) of power draw on the lighting. They currently draw almost 1 amp per bulb that is on. Bulbs are a couple of dollars each- and will be a good test before moving to new LED fixtures down the road.

Also, we're always "shopping" for the next boat. We've decided to stop shopping and just take the things we like from other boats and make them happen on Sequoia and keep her for the long term. She's a great sailing boat, fast, and with a little smart design can be a very comfortable long term cruiser. I know that most readers don't really care, but I think that decision is going to have some major effects on how we deal with the boat over the next several years.
So, sorry for the long pause- let's get back to work--- those winches need a light clean & lube again...