Day after day, project after project. Eventually it gets done, and I’m satisfied to say that Cay of Sea has never been in better shape, or better equipped to cruise. She’ll be comfortable and safe for our three months of cruising this summer.
Solar Panels: Installed with little fuss. Wiring up the charge controller was a little challenging, but mostly because of my muddleheaded thinking. Fortunately my marine systems installer neighbor consulted for me several times, and sorted out my thinking. He just pointed out the obvious, and I had an “aha” moment as a result. Thanks Mike!
These are Lensun 60 watt panels, wired in parallel, and will be sufficient for our simple electrical needs. We don’t have refrigeration, which has the biggest electrical appetite. We have all LED interior lights and navigation lights, non-pressure water system, manual windlass, a chart plotter and tiller pilot, plus charging ports for phones, iPads, etc. That doesn’t amount to much of a load each day, so these two panels will do it.
This is a Victron MPPT 100/20 that provides plenty of capacity for the two panels, with room to expand if desired (which I don’t really foresee). The only hard part about its installation was pulling wire behind panels and bulkheads. This unit has a built-in Bluetooth data feed that is accessed by the free app from Victron, providing all the monitoring necessary. Very slick!
And this is the little breaker panel that allows me to turn open the circuit and turn off the power from the panels. That requires just one breaker (on the left). The other two are open and available for other applications.
Canvas Add-ons: I finally took delivery of my last pieces from the canvas shop (I know, I told you it was all complete earlier). These are the sun shades that enclose the stern, as shown in this photo.
This screen-type material is amazing for blocking out sun, but allowing breeze. I’m really impressed at how much comfort is afforded by them.
Lazy Jacks. This was a strange project, ultimately requiring two trips to the spreaders before I got it sorted. I didn’t know we needed lazy jacks until the canvas was installed and I bent on the mainsail. It’s not possible to reach that far across the cockpit canvas to flake the sail over the boom, and the new mainsail is so stiff and unruly (in part due to the full-length battens) that it became obvious that lazy jacks were necessary. So I ordered 160 feet of .25″ line, two small turning blocks, a bunch of strap eyes, and some nylon thimbles to match the line diameter. This is the system I installed:
I installed everything in this picture except the cam cleats at the bottom of the mast. Instead, I just installed two additional regular cleats on the mast. I fastened the blocks above the spreaders with aluminum rivets, and reaved the line through the blocks while up there. Later, while rigging the rest of the system from the deck, I lost the end of one line up the mast, and had to back up to get it. Fortunately, my mast climbing technique has really improved, and I got up and back down in record time. I tested the lazy jacks after finishing the rigging, and they work great. The only blocks in the system are on the mast. I used nylon thimbles for the leading the line in the rest of the system, and that was the right decision. They are simple and low friction, and won’t bang noisily on the boom in a choppy seaway when pulled out of the way. I really wasn’t sure how much line it was going to take. . . so I guessed. Out of 160 feet of line, I had 10-15 feet left over! Not a bad guess!
Finally, Ruth reworked the mainsail cover to accommodate the new, bulkier main. She installed a 10 inch strip of sunbrella between the port and starboard halves of the cover, and extended the length of the cover about 12 inches as well. The color doesn’t exactly match, but it doesn’t offend me either. And the price was right – the canvas shop wanted lots of money for a new cover. We picked up 7 yards of sunbrella (a roll-end) for about $8 a yard a few years ago, so we’ve still got lots left over. You can see the cover in several of the photos above.
So, I’m really all done with the prep. There are still little things I can do, like I need to install a couple of cover plates for access panels in the skinny part of the v-berth where I moved the cleats, but I’ll have time for that before we leave.