Well the Miami Strictly Sail was a busy busy day! I really needed two days to do it right. I was running all over as fast as I can and I only saw maybe a quarter of the convention center site. I did get to see all of the sailing site at Miamarina. I looked at all the major refrigeration vendors and wasn’t very impressed with their power usage, or their offerings. They all missed a few key points that I think I can do better at. Quite arrogant for a guy that only read a few books on refrigeration and never put a unit together yet. Hehe. But I am going to have a go at it. In the worst case I can always go back to buying a pre-built system later. I always come out ahead when I try to rebuild something that I’m not happy with on the boat. Sometimes I complete it just as I want. Sometimes I have to go back to a pre-built system. But I do it with a lot more knowledge than when I took on the task. And I understand how all of it works. And that’s a great thing when you are in the middle of the nowhere. I tried to talk to the Yanmar USA dealer. But they where not at the show. I did get to talk to the Yanmar SE regional dealer’s service manager. He is a great guy and has an engineer in mind the lives close to me and is very knowledgeable with exhaust systems. I’ll be sending him an e-mail in the very near future. I really can’t wait to get a new engine in the boat and running. I have a Max-Prop classic three blade 18” and dearly LOVE it! This thing is GREAT! With my new engine and transmission calculations I need between a 20” and a 22” prop. So of course I had to stop off at the MAX-Prop booth and talk to them. My one complaint was that I had to haul the boat to adjust the pitch. Well with their new MAX-Prop VP they fixed that problem. And yes they have it in a 22” three bladed model. They only had one question, how big was my prop shaft. MAN! Now that is what I like, a vendor that knows what I want and has it on the market before I know I want it. So I will be ordering one as soon as I verify my calculations on prop size, as well as check my prop shaft diameter. I will send my old MAX-Prop in and have it checked over. Then I will put it up for sale for someone else to enjoy for years to come. I have been studying the dual fuel filter setups for about two years. I had a problem with bloom in my fuel tanks two years ago. Coincidence? I think not. I really liked the Filter Boss setup since you can do so much with it. They where at the show along with almost all of their competition. After looking at them all I went back to the Filter Boss booth and purchased their DFP500FG with an added sonalert (alarm). This unit has leds that alert of a filter clogging, and if you ignore them you get an alarm before the engine stops running from fuel starvation. Then you just flip some valves and you are running on the second filter. They showed me how to change filters, bleed the new filter, all while continually running. So now I can have really crumby fuel and run all day without fear. Plus the replacement filter elements cost about $9, and my current cartridge elements cost $25. Now that’s a big difference in price! Now I can afford to keep 25 filter elements on board. I really liked that this unit has a pump in it. So while I am sailing and churning up all my fuel I can be polishing it. So as long as I am careful and filter all my fuel going into the tanks ( I have a large Baha filter for that) I shouldn’t have any more problems with fuel. (wishful thinking I know, I know but I’m trying.) They also sell some nice fuel manifolds. So I will be ordering them when I order my new engine. Right now my tanks only have one fill line and return line so they are all connected together. One has a problem, they all have a problem. And that’s a big problem. My plan is to use two manifolds to separate the tanks. I will have to find a way to add two more fill hoses and snake them up to the deck. But at least I can isolate my problems into individual tanks. So if I do get bloom or bad fuel in one tank I can run off the other tanks and have it solved at the next port. While looking for a new refrigeration system I was also looking for some 12V air conditioning. I finally came to the painful realization that it just costs so many amps to cool that much air. There is no way around it. And trying to do it in 12v just makes the problems worse. So it looks like I will be thinking air conditioning only at dock, or running the big generator. I am going to miss those fantasies of stepping down below into 76 degree air. To be honest, in all my cruising days so far I never even thought about air conditioning unless we where at dock and couldn’t point into the wind. We really didn’t need it, or miss not having it at all. So it’s one less thing to deal with right now. Onto bigger projects. I got to talk to Nance & Underwood Rigging and Sails. They have been spoken of very highly by many sailors in the Ft. Lauderdale area. So I have arranged for a meeting to discuss having them come out and check my rig for weak spots, and see if any of the standing rigging needs upgrading or replacing. They are really nice people and a joy to talk to. Plus they have some guys that sit out in front of their shop splicing line all day. If you buy your line there the splice is free. I love watching them splice really difficult line like staysetX. They make it look so easy. It’s really embarrassing. I can’t tell you how much line I have ruined trying to splice staysetX. But I will keep trying. I’ll figure it out some day. I am still going through my huge bag of literature I got at the show. I’ll have more to talk about tomorrow.
Tags: Maintenance by Ray
No Comments »
My stationary windows are held in place with a rubber U-channel. These aluminum frames are very strong, and the glass is almost double the thickness as what I have in place. The joints are huge, and very strong as well as allowing 180 degree opening. VERY COOL! I am measuring and will be ordering two for the front windows. If that works well I may order two for the sides as well. I have been looking at the Aere inflatable fenders in magazines with lust. Wow it would be nice to deflate my fenders and fold them up to stow them. I like lots of fenders, and use them all. But where do you keep them when you are at sea? They consume a LOT of space. After looking at them I was impressed with their strength and ability to protect my boat. But man are they expensive! Three to four times more expensive than the price of good fenders. I just can’t justify that right now. Maybe when I have to decide between another fender, or a month’s supply of food. 
I had to stop by my friends at the Garhauer booth. They are great people. Very knowledgeable and always willing to help get the right equipment. I don’t have bearings on my main traveler car. And when the main is pulling hard it can be impossible to adjust it. I am looking at the MT-UB-3 mainsheet traveler. Really sturdy, well built, and I like the line layout. I am thinking of adding the 30-2SP “boom vang” as the mainsheet. It has two tails. Pull one and it’s an 8 to one ratio, pull both and it’s a 4 to one ratio. COOL! However it’s only rated at 2000 lbs. I’ll have to check out the load my full main can excerpt on the mainsheet in 25 knots of wind (I normally reef at 15 knots). I am also thinking about one of the heavy duty E-Z Glide adjustable genoa car systems. Again I need to check the size of my current track as well as the load on the car from my 130% genoa with 30 knots of wind to pick which one. I hope you have enjoyed my comments about the boat show. As you can see, there is a lot of boat maintenance to come.