Solar and Wind

janice142 said:

For that purpose I bought a weather station (Ambient brand) from Amazon for about $25. Mine comes with a second "outside" temperature and humidity gauge. I put that in my reefer and have an easy way to monitor how cold it is.

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Cool, we do the same thing. We monitor the Tundra Frig, outside air, Dometic 110 Freezer/Cooler, and cabin temp. The unit has alarms set for frig and freezer.

There are numerous inexpensive temperature monitors which give current, coldest, warmest in cabinet temp, plus ambient.
I find the hard wired ones better than remote wireless units which need restarting more than Windows.

FF said:

What is the next lifestyle improving desirement ?

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I've got the lifestyle pretty much covered... Life is truly wonderful aboard Seaweed. My home is amazing ... wish you could see her.

The next improvement will be an autopilot. Seaweed does not track. Period. Without turning the wheel, with no visible winds nor currents she's done a 180 on me in LESS than one minute. So I'd like an autopilot.

In the meantime the best solution I've come up with is to simply put her in neutral and let her drift while I am pouring a cup of tea, or nuking something to eat, etc.

Truly though my desires have been met. After all I live on the cutest trawler ever made. I am in Florida with a 12-volt electric blanket pre-warming my bunk, surfing the net, getting ready to read a new book on my Kindle... life does not get much better.

I hope and pray everyone has as much happiness afloat as I enjoy. Truly this life aboard Seaweed is grand. I would not want any other.

"The next improvement will be an autopilot."

Is the steering mechanical or hyd from the wheel to the rudder ?

I am also surprised at the comments regarding not considering wind generators due to the noise. In our marina they are quite popular. The nearest one is two boats down from me. I can just barely hear it from 30 feet away when it is blowing hard. With a 10 knot breeze it is inaudible from my cockpit.

The noise is nothing compared to a diesel generator. We had someone running their generator in the marina berth next to us for 4 hours a day a few weeks ago. (only 15 amp power available) We moved to a nice quiet anchorage.


...but rattling halyards have got to be the worst. I've climbed aboard a few boats in the middle of the night to silence them.

FF said:

"The next improvement will be an autopilot."

Is the steering mechanical or hyd from the wheel to the rudder ?

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She's hydraulic. I have a lot to learn about autopilots.

"She's hydraulic."

First test , put a piece of string on the wheel while you are steering at "dead center".

As you drive note how long it takes for the wheel dead center to move 2 or 3 inches.

The wheel herself does not move. She's not exactly stiff but does not move when under way unless I do it. When Seaweed did her 180 degree turn the wheel had not moved.

Side Note: When I first bought Seaweed I put a small cleat by the wheel and a bungie-cord. The plan was to have that as a sort of autopilot in keeping her going the proper direction. That was before I discovered to my chagrin that Seaweed does not track on her own.



I believe that roundness at the center of what is my cabin is the design flaw that throws her for a loop. Water passes by and with no keel... well, she turns as she darn well pleases. I suspect mine was the first built as others (there were six) well, all those I've seen except Seaweed have keels. I've got the skeg hung rudder so I've got a good underside for grounding -- not jot for steering.

From hard port to hard starboard is 2.75 turns of the wheel.
This is the same as when I bought her.

Once a month (even when not going anyplace) I turn the wheel side to side then line her up in the middle. I've got a wire tie on the center spoke...

And thanks for your question. I'd like to learn more about this part of my boat. It's the only thing that hasn't broken. Yet. (said while laughing) She's a boat, so stuff happens.

All hyd sterring setups are dead , no feel to the wheel.

The question is when you hand steer , you move the wheel underway a lot , how long does it take to have that wire tie end up 2 or 3 inches off center?

I think I understand the question now. There is about 2-3" of "dead zone" -- when I turn the wheel the first two or three inches do nothing. Then she turns.

And when underway every couple of minutes I adjust the wheel to get myself back on course.

I did discover that if I hang Algae off the far port quarter that she seems to stay on track a bit longer (sometimes as long as five minutes)

I've tried trailing Algae at the center. I've hoisted her bow so only the final foot is in the water. The only time I've had any success at holding a course is when Algae is tight to the boat and right at that aft corner. The drag seems to aid in tracking.

A neighbor said that he knew someone with the same situation in Matecumbe (FL Keys) who ended up adding bilge keels to allow that boat to track. Several Schuckers have added them, most likely to eliminate roll.

(Seaweed does not roll. She pitches.)

The idea of passively solving the tracking problem appeals to me. I fear boatyards and the pirates that run 'em.

For now steering is adequate. You know FF, I live on a boat in Florida. The northeast is being hammered by snow. There are so many who would wish and dream of my life. I truly am blessed. And I know it!

My Kidlet returns to town (Tampa, across the bay) in February and then I'm free. In the meantime I'm loading ship's stores and getting my girl ready to travel. Life is marvelous afloat.

Side Note: I really appreciate all your advice re my cooling system. We did cut off the box and are using the inside part as my stainless riser. It's wrapped in heat shield. A local shop, Lizotte's Welding (Todd) in St. Pete, FL [phone: 727-343-7690] cut off the box part, polished up the pipe and even marked where the raw water "in" pipe ended.


Picture taken before the old monster heat exchanger was removed. I am using a Kubota generator one, about the size of a liter bottle of water.

Anyway, a HUGE thanks for your input on that part of the engine swap. I'm glad I went with what everyone else has ... and replacement is off the shelf/easy to do should there be a problem down the line. You were right: I wanted what I had to work, but in the end changing was the correct decision. Thank you for your patience while I came to that realization.

I love my new engine. The mechanic only has a couple minor things to do and I'll be off. The list is: #1) hook up fuel return line, #2) attach throttle and shift cables, and #3) install a shut down switch.

My "genius" idea on BOB engine was to have a fuel shut off valve. Perfect, except that from the time I closed off the diesel it took 30 minutes to run through the fuel in the line. That was one of those "good in theory" moments...!

J

Shaft Zincs inside

This is the 2nd time I have seen zincs on a shaft inside a boat. Is it normal? Does it work the same as in the water?

No they don't work except to possibly keep the shaft from pulling out of the boat if it slips the coupler..


If new...not a bad place to store next years...at least you know you got the correct size.

"Is it normal? Does it work the same as in the water?"

They will work great during each sinking.

"My "genius" idea on BOB engine was to have a fuel shut off valve. Perfect, except that from the time I closed off the diesel it took 30 minutes to run through the fuel in the line."

A fine idea , (that is required on inspected boats) is a pull cable to shut the fuel tank line at the tank that is external to the boats cabin.

Could help a small fire from becoming a Large fire.

I would disconnect the steering at the rudder (usually just one clevis pin) and make sure youncan easiloy move the rudder by hand.

psneeld said:

No they don't work except to possibly keep the shaft from pulling out of the boat if it slips the coupler..

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The other one I have seen did just that. The coupling bolts sheared and the zinc stopped the prop from hitting the rudder. It was a good thing since the boat sheared the coupling just as it entered lock 52 on the OHIO. If the rudders had fouled he would have had a tuff time getting to the wall. To compound the problem, the lock master was loading the boat from back to front. Each subsequent boat had to pass the others in the lock. Pretty dumb, never saw that in over 100 lockings.

I know autopilots are a bit off topic here but Janice, I can tell you whether you have a keel or not, any boat will go off track in a seaway. Wind and waves will just move the boat around. Just a bit of weight shift in a 23' boat will change the way water is flowing over the hull and send it in another direction. Even my 36' Prairie which has a pretty good keel shape will only hold a course for a few seconds out on the bay. A good auto pilot is a blessing. I have a tillerpilot on my 23' Hunter sailboat and it's the best thing since sliced bread. These are the most economical autopilots I know of and if there is a way to rig one on your boat it would really be nice. They can even be had with remotes so if you are away from the tiller such as grabbing a drink or making a sandwich, you can change course when needed.

Kevin

psneeld said:

If new...not a bad place to store next years...at least you know you got the correct size.

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That's true. I never have to worry about finding my shaft zincs. The pancakes for the struts are another matter. The main purpose though is as you say: to prevent the shaft from making an untimely exit of the boat.

tallswede said:

I know autopilots are a bit off topic here but Janice, I can tell you whether you have a keel or not, any boat will go off track in a seaway. Wind and waves will just move the boat around. Just a bit of weight shift in a 23' boat will change the way water is flowing over the hull and send it in another direction. Even my 36' Prairie which has a pretty good keel shape will only hold a course for a few seconds out on the bay. A good auto pilot is a blessing. I have a tillerpilot on my 23' Hunter sailboat and it's the best thing since sliced bread. These are the most economical autopilots I know of and if there is a way to rig one on your boat it would really be nice. They can even be had with remotes so if you are away from the tiller such as grabbing a drink or making a sandwich, you can change course when needed.

Kevin

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Thank you Kevin. I was obviously spoilt with our 40'er. She stayed on track with just the barest of nudges when, as you say, wind came up or currents came into play. You see, when Daddy came up to the fly bridge he wanted to see a straight track. Otherwise I was wasting fuel and that was a Sin.

And too he could check on me from down below by just looking aft.

It's not a bad thing to steer. And now that I know the drill, i.e. put her in neutral so she'll drift, I'm more satisfied. Perhaps I've been led astray by a neighbor who swears his autopilot is the best thing since sliced bread.

I definitely need to watch my One-More-Thing-itis.
Goodness knows I've got the best little boat on the planet. No, I'm not prejudiced either. You should see her! Except for the stuff that's wrong, needs fixing, upgrading, painting or repairs, she's perfect.

I am truly blessed aboard my Seaweed. I wish everyone could be as happy as I am. It's a wonderful life.

Maybe one of the wonderful moderators will split off this part of the tread and call it Tracking Difficulties. Surely I'm not the only one on the planet whose boat won't go in a straight line.

That's interesting about the tiller pilot. For the near-term I'm going to enjoy Seaweed. An autopilot is on the list, but it's not necessary. I've enjoyed my home for nearly eight years now without, and can certainly continue to do so.

Gosh, there have been so many improvements to her over the years. Truly, she is the boat I imagined all those years ago. I am fortunate.