Here you will find tales of voyages past and present on our trusty Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, "Sockdolager," and our Bigfoot29 powerboat, "Raven," from Port Townsend, Washington, USA. In 2009 we sailed north from Puget Sound up the west coast of Vancouver Island to the Queen Charlotte Islands (now called Haida Gwaii.) In 2010 we went back to the west coast of Vancouver Island. In July 2011 we left the Northwest, sailed to Mexico, and in March 2012 we crossed the Pacific to French Polynesia, then on to the Cooks, Niue and Tonga. We spent several months in New Zealand, and in May 2013 loaded Sockdolager (and ourselves) on a container ship for San Francisco. In June and July 2013 we sailed north along the California, Oregon and Washington coasts, and in August we arrived home. In October 2016, Sockdolager found new owners, and we began cruising on Raven, a unique wooden 29' powerboat. In 2018 we cruised up to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back. But in 2024 we had the chance to buy Sockdolager back (we missed her), so we sold Raven. We hope you enjoy reading about our adventures as much as we enjoy having them. (And there will be more.)



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

No slacking in the off-season

Jim here. Before we leave, just so you don’t think we were totally slacking in the off-season here’s a little synopsis of the work we did on the boat over the winter and spring:

Electrical upgrade: new inverter/charger (Magnum MMS 1012), new battery monitor (Magnum) and remote control panel, new solar panel (SolarWorld 175 watts), new solar charge controller (Morningstart MMPT TrackStar) and remote control panel, new galvanic isolator, replaced all wire from batteries to inverter/charger, added new “always on” fuse block for bilge pump and other things that should never be turned off, added several new big fuses to protect all the new stuff, installed two big buss bars to connect everything , ran wire and installed a fuse block in the starboard hanging locker for 12v receptacle and future expansion, wired and installed two other 12v receptacles, replaced 2 flooded group 24 batteries with two group 31 Odyssey AGMs (200 amp hours total), removed old battery selector switch, ran new wire from batteries to starter and added an on/off switch, added new plug for tiller pilot in cockpit, added high bilge water alarm and raw water too hot alarm, added new nav light switch panel to free up breakers on main panel, added a new main on/off breaker on the AC panel, added strip LED light to galley, replaced 4 interior incandescent bulbs with LEDs, installed new bilge pump float switch and rewired bilge pump, installed new main switch for bilge pump, built protective (plexiglass) wall in port cockpit locker to protect new electronics. The photo is a composite of four photos taken on my iPhone (taken before protective wall was built).

Other: added refrigeration to existing ice box (Isotherm ASU) including new special thru hull , removed rudder and replaced prop shaft and coupler, replaced stuffing box with dripless shaft seal, replaced cutlass bearing, resealed the joint between the cap rail and the hull, rebuilt the propane locker and installed new hose from locker to the stove, removed old leaky fuel tank and installed new custom built tank.

Things done by others: New dodger, cockpit awning and sail cover. New arch for solar panel.

Time to go sailing.

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2 comments:

  1. KarenJune 6, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    Fare thee well, Mateys! Arrrggg!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scott SpeidelJanuary 24, 2016 at 6:43 PM

    What type of galvanic isolator did you use? I am looking to put one on my Dana. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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