Even though reinstalling instruments is way, way down the line, I was thinking about what to do. I wasn't a big fan of the Raymarine fishfinder that someone installed on a super classy dashboard mount that used to jut from the cabin trunk, but I dug out the manual (thank goodness for a previous owner who kept everything) and discovered that it actually has some decent functions AND it can be flush mounted. Cool. I cleaned it up and took it out to the boat to see if it worked.
My younger son, always eager to help.
It does! And it's actually pretty cool. I don't like the fish finder screen much, but this data screen is perfect for sailing, showing depth, speed, log, and water temp. My eldest son (not pictured) spun the paddlewheel while I watched the screen for a reading. Amazingly, we hit nearly 6 kts in the driveway. So, it looks like this unit will be flush mounted on the rear of the cabin trunk when the time comes to put things back together. This little unit will save over $300, the cost of a relatively inexpensive Raymarine ST40 Bidata.
While I was feeling handy and seeing what I could do to make "old" instruments serviceable, I brought the compass in and cleaned it up. A large bubble had formed in the globe, and I just happened to have some Ritchie compass fluid on hand from servicing Ariel's compass a few years ago, so I took the thing apart, improvised a filler using a turkey syringe and part of a foam earplug, and refilled the fluid.
It worked! And the two lights work as well.
I also finished what I hope will be the final round of major sanding/grinding. Using a combination of angle grinder w/ flapper wheel and a 6" sander, I think I'm ready to call that part of the project DONE!
2 comments:
Hi Sir,
My name is Salvator and I am a student at FGCU in Ft. Myers, FL. In January of this year I sailed for the first time since I was a kid. When I was a kid I sailed on Optis for about 6 months trying to race but I was no good at it so I gave it up. When I sailed in January of this year something happened to me and all of a sudden cruising on a sailboat was all I could think of.
A night or two later after I couldn't stop thinking about sailing I rented a movie on YouTube called Jean Du Sud, about Yves Gelina's first solo trip around the world on an ALBERG 30! That really hooked me and I was obsessed.
I was looking for a boat on Craigslist and my family said I was crazy because sailing just isn't really a part of my family at all. Anyhow I didn't find a boat but I found a guy sailing a boat he had bought in Tampa back to Sanibel where he lived. He let me come with him.
Long story short this May that guy helped me buy a boat. An Alberg 30, 1968. I bought it in Pass Christian, Mississippi and he drove up there with me on his only weekend off because hes a doctor and we inspected the boat all day Saturday after driving straight through Friday night, and on Sunday we reinforced the upper shroud's stay on the port side because the bulkhead was rotted out and the back stay because it used to me a yawl and the back stay had been moved over to the starboard side to make room for the back stay of the mizzen mast. Then he left.......
I didn't know exactly what I had gotten myself into, and the trip I thought would take 7 days ended up taking 22. I took the intracoastal all the way to Panama City and then I cut across on a SE tack to Sarasota.
I experienced a cabin fire, a loose drive shaft, loss of steering through the wheel (my Alberg 30 has a wheel and emergency tiller under the back seat), ripped head sale, dead alternator, and faulty builges. But I did make it.
Now I have her back in Fort Myers and I just got the toilet and holding tank out two weekends ago, and this last weekend I got the rotten front bulkhead out and I just need to surface prep now before I go to re installation. I was just so excited I had to get on the internet and I rarely look at the internet, but I had to connect with someone.
Your boat is awesome, like I said I have a 1968 and I am in the middle of renovations. It would be great if we could connect via e-mail, I can round up some photos of before and how its coming along. Hope to hear from you.
Sal
Sal,
Wow, have you had an experience already! Glad you survived it and enjoyed it! Good for you.
I'm just about as smitten with the sailing bug as you, but with a young family and full-time job, my options are kind of limited, so I content myself with sailing our Cape Dory 36 on Lake Michigan and taking on the occasional boat project.
Funny you should mention Yves Gellinas' film; I'm a big fan of Jean du Sud - great movie - and every time I watch it I want to set to sea. I can understand your passion.
Sounds like you're making good progress on the boat. As a student, you must have summers free. I'm sure you'll have your boat seaworthy in no time.
You mentioned that your family isn't in to sailing. Have you had someone teach you, or have you read some of the classic books by authors like Pardeys, Roths, Dashews, etc?
Good to hear from you. I look forward to hearing more about your boat and progress. Email me at ariel.cd36@gmail.com.
David
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