By C45Sanctuary on 9/28/2008 10:15 PM

After a significant amount of research I finalized the design of the new solar array.  The solar array output is rated at 310 watts.  On a 12 volt system, the amperage output is pretty close to the max threshold for the charge controller (Flexcharge 12V25A).  Since the power output is directly related to the angle of sun onto the panels, and on a flat array the most power generated is when the sun is directly overhead (or perpendicular to the surface of a panel), I designed a mounting system that will distribute the power generation over a longer timeframe.  The amperage on the power generation bus will be less, but the overall wattage generated in a typical day should be about the same.  The idea is to flatten out the peak power window over several hours instead of having a power spike at midday.

All three solar panels are the same size (26" by 49").  Two of the panels are rated at 100 watts.  The third panel is rated at 110 watts.  All three panels are the same part number; when I purchased the last solar panel it had some minor design improvements that boosted the rating from 100 watts to 110 watts.  All three panels appear identical on the front.  The panel with the higher wattage rating has a slightly different electronic pack on the back of the panel.  I decided the best place to mount the solar array is directly over the salon, between the windshield and the mast.  All three panels will easily fit into that space without being an obstruction in a high traffic location.  I used eight stainless steel stanchion bases to secure four aluminum mounting rails.

The power generation bus will be run inside the starboard side of the cockpit console, down through the starboard side storage compartment in the salon, beneath a cabling cover on the bulkhead by the entryway, then forward to the battery compartment.  The charge controller will be located about a foot from the batteries.  Excess power will be diverted from the charge controller to a 12-volt outlet that will have a DC fan plugged in.  In my opinion, a fan is preferrable to a hot water heater element.  I'd rather not have something hot running while I am away from Sanctuary.  A fan, on the other hand, would keep air circulating within the cabin.

I was originally going to use 7/8"stainless steel tubing for the rails.  My first attempts to bend the stainless steel tubing into the desired shapes were catastrophic.  Instead of bending, they tended to collapse wherever the tubing was bent.  The wall thickness on stainless steel tubing is so thin that it tends to collapse instead of bend.  Luckily, a trip to Turner's Hardware store got me thinking about aluminum as an alternative.  I measured 3/4" (inner diameter) aluminum tubing and discovered the outter diameter was slightly more than 7/8".  Aluminum tubing, although thicker, was much easier bend into the desired shapes.  But, because the outter diameter was slightly thicker than 7/8", I needed to lightly file the outside of the cut and shaped tubing so they would fit into the 7/8" stanchion bases.

The solar panels will be attached to the rails with shock absorbing clamps (stainless steel with a rubber cushion) using stainless steel bolts.  The design calls for a 15 degree angle on the port and starboard side solar panels, with the third solar panel along the centerline to be level with the deck.  Placing the solar panels in this arrangement will allow the solar array to start collecting sun earlier in the morning and keep generating power later into the evening.  While cruising, one of the panels should always be almost perpendicular to the sun, regardless of whether she is heeled to port or to starboard.  Another advantage to sloping the port and starboard panels will be a reduced wind surface on the panels themselves.  This should reduce the effect of a cross-deck wind catching the panels.

The solar panels will be connected to the power bus using Perko watertight connectors.  Since there are three panels, three connectors will be needed.  The female through-deck connector will be mounted on the starboard side just forward of the cockpit windshield.  The male connectors have been attached to the solar panels using 6' lengths of 14-2 stranded wire.  The power bus will be 10-2 stranded wire.  All wire is tinned, of course.  Electrical heat-shrink connectors are crimped using a ratched-type double crimp.  After crimping, the connector heat shrink is then melted using a small butane torch.  This seals the electrical wire from moisture.

The solar array is still being tested at home port.  The entire modular system will be installed on my next visit.  The new Trojan T-105 batteries will also be installed at that time.

By C45Sanctuary on 9/23/2008 10:14 PM

I was looking forward to this day with both anticipation and dread.  Boats are intended to be in the water, and the entire time I have known Sanctuary she has been on dry land.  It's been three years since her keel was wet (not including a small storm surge from Hurricane Ike just a week before).

Would she float?  Would the engine start?  Would it stay running?  How would she handle?  Would I be watching helplessly as she sank into the harbor?  Did I still have the kind of helmsman skills that could make aircraft carriers dance -- or was I going to crash headlong into a row of expensive yachts?

The first question took a while to answer.  She appeared to float but there was a small amount of water in the bilge.  I knew there was already a small amount of water down there due to the engine overhaul, but I forgot to check just how much was there before she went into the water.  I kept checking the bilge for any signs of impending disaster while the yard crew from House of Boats disconnected the lifting harness.  After being in the water for a full day there was no noticible difference in the bilge.  The depth remained somewhere between one and three milimeters in the few areas that were wet.

I didn't test the engine until Sunday.  It had a complete overhaul and had been test started by a qualified mechanic.  I, however, am not a qualified mechanic.  So, before attempting to start it, I turned on all of the engine controls and let it get used to the idea of starting for about half an hour.  Half an hour later I press the start button.  Half a second later the engine roared to life.  I decided it would be prudent to let it idle for an hour before doing anything crazy (like putting it into gear).  An hour later the engine was still purring like it was new.

Now that the first three questions were answered I decided to press my luck.  My wife had been practicing some line handling skills and we went through a few drills to simulate a docking maneuver.  After I was confident she was ready for the tasks ahead, we cast off and headed across the cove to Sanctuary's new slip.

I cast off the spring lines and the stern line, then let the wind swing us away from the dock.  She handles nicely for a boat her size.  It only takes a small amount of water flow over the rudder to maintain steerage.  Even with a 15 knot wind directly off starboard, she didn't get pushed sideways more than a few feet over a run of about 500 yards.  After I turned into the wind to approach the boat slip, I needed to touch up the throttle to maintain a slight forward momentum into a headwind.

All of my initial questions had good answers.  However, there was one question I didn't ask.  "Would the engine turn off?" was never asked.  After the first two lines secured us in the slip, I attempted to stop the engine.  No response.  I tried again and had similar results.  The Engine That Could was determined to keep chugging after such a fine performance.

Fortunately, someone much more knowledgeable in diesel engines was available dockside to show me how to manually stop the engine.  It appears that the stop cable is loose, so the stop switch had no effect.  The cable will either need to be tightened (an easy fix) or replaced.

Throughout the entire weekend my wife was taking numerous photos of the events.  It's a good thing she had the presence of mind to take pictures; I was so occupied with the myriad preparations that I didn't even get my camera out of the bag.

By C45Sanctuary on 9/23/2008 10:07 PM

I'll post some pics of the rub rail manufacturing process in a photo album after I am certain it will actually work.  Here's a brief overview of what I started with and what I've done...

The existing rub rail was a 2 3/4" rubber insert.  The inside of the aluminum rub rail track is 2 5/8" (slightly smaller than the width of the rubber insert), with a small gap for the rubber insert to fit under each of the inside edges of the rounded aluminum edges.  The track is riveted every four inches (possibly all the way through the hull).  The aluminum rail is almost 1/4" thick.  The edges of the aluminum rail are semi-circular with a diameter of 1/2".

I used teak planks that are 3 1/4" wide and 1/2" thick.  I chose 1/2" thickness so that it would be possible to bend the planks slightly without causing too much stress.  At that thickness, there is 1/4" of plank seated in the aluminum rail and 1/4" plank above the edges of the rail.  It's very close to a perfect fit.  Using a router and a 1/2" half-round bit with a laminate roller at the end of the bit, I removed the tongue and groove from each of the long edges of the planks.  The process took maybe three hours to edge about 120 feet of planking.

With the drill press, I bored pilot holes all the way through the planks to hold the retaining screws by using a 1/8" drill bit.  I then stepped up to a slightly larger drill bit size so the #8 3/4" stainless steel screw threads would pass easily through the plank without binding, but the head of the screw wouldn't.  I then used an even larger drill bit to drill a countersink so the screw head would be about 1/8" below the surface of the plank, allowing about 3/8" of the screw threads to pass through the plank.

The planks do not fit snugly into the aluminum track.  They are 2 1/2" thick at the bottom and the aluminum track is 2 5/8".  Since wood expands across the width of the grain, this small gap allows the planks to expand in the track without popping out or damaging the aluminum track.  The screw holes are loose around the screw threads for a similar reason; they allow the wood to expand and contract with the ambient temparates without putting unnneccessary pressure that could cause the teak planks to pop off.  (I hope).  The threads of the screws passing through the aluminum backing is what secures the planks in place.  The tongue-and-groove connections at the ends of the plank keep the individual pieces fitted snugly together.

When drilling screw holes, I drilled holes in a single line down the center of the plank.  Drilling holes in two parallel lines would create pressure on the retaining screws when the planks expand or contract.  I'll make a photo album of the process at some point in the near future that shows before / during / after.  Hopefully, the pictures will make it a bit easier to decipher this description.

The planks were purchased for about $80 a box from Lumber Liquidators (on sale).  Get SOLID hardwood.  Don't get laminate or engineered, since both of those are just a plywood backing with a small strip of hardwood attached.  I recommend honey teak or golden teak, since the color range on those woods are fairly narrow.  Brazilian teak, red teak, or any other exotic teak has a very wide range of coloration (from golden to red to dark brown, all in the same box).  If you buy Golden Teak you won't go wrong. I also recommend NOT getting hand scraped, since that type of flooring is typically dyed as part of the scraping process.  Hand scraped is also more expensive.

Don't worry about the sealant on the flooring.  The sun is going to bake it off less than a year anyway, so why trouble yourself with that detail.  If you want to have a nice varnished look, wait a few years to sand and varnish the rub rail.

By C45Sanctuary on 9/17/2008 9:44 PM

There has been a massive amount of progress made over the past four weeks.

At home port, the power system has been installed on a moveable platform.  The six new batteries are all connected with new battery cables that were made by hand.  The solar panels have all arrived.  In an attempt to keep everything modular, the panels will use waterproof connectors that are mounted flush to the exterior.  Inside, 20 feet of 10-2 marine grade wire will be run as the power bus from the flush mounted Perko connectors to the Flexcharge solar power regulator.  The Flexcharge will be mounted in the battery compartment near the battery bank.

Several valves and through-hull connectors have been replaced.  The seawater intake valve (for cooling) has been completely replaced, including the plywood mounting between the hull and the seacock.

Two coats of antifouling have been applied.  This required moving the jack stands after the first two coats had dried.  Those areas needed to be sanded and primered before antifouling could be applied.

The new rub rail has arrived.  I ordered about 120 linear feet of Golden Honey Teak flooring from Lumber Liquidators.  After the flooring arrived, a router was used to remove the tongue-and-groove edges from the long sides.  A cove bit was used so the new edge would fit over the existing aluminum rub rail tracking.  The drill press was then used to creat pilot holes for the stainless steel screws, then to create a 1/4" countersnk so the heads of the screws are about 1/8" below the finished surface.

A mechanic has been working on an engine overhaul.  The oil (and all filters) were changed.  The diesel that had been in the fuel tank was removed, and fresh diesel was added.  A new battery was purchased and installed to replace the existing cranking battery.  There is a leak in the exhaust pipe; it will probably be replaced this week.

The roller furling system has been repaired.  New parts were ordered from pyacht.com, a company that needs to be singled out for horrendous customer service.  Twice I have ordered parts from them.  The first time, I paid for three day shipping.  It took them eight days before they put my small package in the mail.  (They had no difficulties taking my money the very first day).  The second time, I paid for regular shipping.  They didn't bother to put the small package into the mail until I asked them about tracking information a week later.  I'm not sure if they're lazy or they just don't care.  It's probably a lot of both.

I am now in possession of a mounting kit for the wind generator, minus the tower poles.  I may be able to get those poles from Turner Hardware.  I was surprised at just how much marine-grade hardware they have.  They will be a treasure trove in the future months.

The goal is to be ready to launch this Saturday afternoon.  Yes, it is finally time to go back into the water.  The rub rail will need to be attached Saturday morning and the name and hailing port needs to be painted on the transom.  Ideally, the roller furling should be attached to the masthead prior to launch.  If it isn't then that task can be completed at a later date.

The solar array and the wind generator will be mounted at a later date -- possibly two weeks from now.  The new batteries will be installed after the boat is back in the water.  I'd much rather carry batteries up four or five steps from a stationary dock than carry them up fifteen steps on an aluminum ladder.

By C45Sanctuary on 8/19/2008 9:24 AM

The two new solar panels arrived yesterday.  Everything needed to design, integrate, and test the new elecrical system is now at the home port laboratory.  The wind generator is mounted approximately twenty feet above the ground, with 10-guage electrical wiring leading to the battery bank.  I've mounted the Heart Interface Link 2000-R control interface flush onto a plywood panel.  Two three-pole switches and an analog amperage meter are also mounted on the same panel.  Most of the wiring will terminate here, simulating the onboard electrical panel.

I'll design a box to contain the equipment that will be located within the battery compartment.  The Freedom 25 inverter will be mounted in a separate physical location than the battery bank.  "Shore power", a.k.a. typical 110 household current, will be connected to the AC input of the Freedom 25.  The AC output (as well as the DC power circuits) will utilize a separate isolated ground, instead of the ground being supplied by the AC input.  Using isolated ground will simulate the difference in ground connections aboard a marine vessel.

For the past few weeks I've been tracking the voltage drop of healthy 6V Trojan T-105 deep cycle batteries.  When they were first purchased, the voltage across the terminals measured 6.30 +/- .005 volts DC.  They decay approximately .01 volt per week.  Two batteries, used as a reference baseline, have never been connected to any recharging mechanism.

Two batteries have been connected to the wind generator for several hours when there was a heavy, sustained wind.  After charging was complete, the batteries measured 6.38 +/- .01 volts.  This dropped to 6.30 +/- .005 after the batteries had rested for 24 hours.  The next test will probably be calculating available amp hours at a C20 discharge rate.