Repair World

I guess I should say right up front that this is Mark writing.  Seems there was a little reader confusion (just my Dad really) the last time I wrote an installment.

So, I will let Suzanne take care of the "fun stuff we saw and did" posts and I will cover some not-so-cool "keep'n it running" stuff in this post.

First off is the new anchor.  I found the anchor I was looking for here at the local West Marine. A 55# Rocna.  Rumor has it that these anchors stick to the bottom like Velcro.  Anyway, Suzanne and I biked over to the store (nearly a daily ritual now) about 4 miles away.  I actually did not expect them to have the anchor in stock (because I was told that).  Well, they did have it and they expected me to take the darn thing after I bought it.  Normally this is not an issue but did I mention the biking part?

It's a big anchor and those are small bikes!  We called a cab. After we loaded it all in the trunk without the driver ever even getting off his cell phone (or out of the car) we headed back to throw the whole mess in the dinghy and back to the boat.

First, we removed the Fortress from the main rode (anchor chain).  I can't say enough about this anchor.  It held a 18000 lb boat rock solid in 40 kt winds for two days.... and it only weighs 16 lbs!



Fortress 23

We then connected the new anchor to the main rode.  By the way, we are on a mooring ball so that makes it easy to be messing with the anchors.  So, I knew the chain rode was secure on the new anchor but it still is an odd feeling throwing it overboard the first time considering the small fortune you just paid for it.

...and over you go!

Installed!

When I lost my anchor back in Coinjock I also lost one of my backup rodes.  So today I stopped by a super discount marine shop ("Sailorman".. really that's the name of the place) and bought 125ft of 3/4" rope and 25ft of 3/8" chain to make up a replacement.  But again we are on bikes soooo....

....and she smiled the whole way home.

Suzanne sported the fashionable 125ft of 3/4"rode and I loaded the 25ft of chain onto the back of my bike (In the box... heavy).   We rode (pun intended) our new booty all the way back to the dinghy dock and the bikes didn't break!

Riding the rode!

We will splice the rope to the chain as a "family" activity in the next week and then we will have a backup rode again!

Other busted stuff:
A few years ago I made an amp meter (ammeter) to keep an eye on the amperage going in and out of the main batteries.  Well, yesterday the auto-ranging circuit I designed and hand soldered finally failed.  The failure is most likely a solder joint somewhere on the board but the parts on the board are very small.  I needed a microscope to solder it all together in the first place.  I do not have the equipment onboard to fix this unit so I will have to see if there is something on the market that I will be happy with.  There are a few possibilities.  In the meantime, I can just watch the battery voltage to make sure all is well.  The amp meter basically would give me the play-by-play of what was happening with the batteries.  Looking at only the voltage is a bit like leaning from Facebook who won the game after it is over.  I miss my amp meter....

The guts of it.

And more repairs:
Today, I replaced the hose that goes from the head to the holding tank because I was not having enough fun at the beach.  After a few years these are said to develop a "stink". We thought we might know what they are talking about so we replaced it.  Shity job?  You bet.  Ah... the romance of sailing.

Not in the brochure!