By C45Sanctuary on 3/1/2009 11:30 AM

In addition to finishing the wiring for the charge control circuitry, I increased the main battery bank from 225 amp hours to 300 amp hours.  This was accomplished by removing the starting battery (which was bank 1), adding two deep cycle batteries to the main battery bank (which was battery bank 2), and removing all extranneous wiring and equipment that supported the two different battery banks. The battery combiner was removed since it is no longer needed to charge two separate battery banks.  The starter battery will be stowed in the tools locker in case of an emergency.  This should also simplify troubleshooting the electronics suites.

By C45Sanctuary on 2/27/2009 11:30 AM

It took about three hours to finish the installation of the charge control circuit board. Most of that time was spent measuring and then drilling the holes for the the analog meters and the three-pole switches.  I also cut away portions of the mounting board to reduce the amount of space that it uses.

There were only a few wires that needed to be attached: One pair of 10/2 wires running to the battery bank, and three pairs of 14/2 wires running to the perko through-hull power receptacles (where the solar panels are connected).  After everything was secured I flipped on the switch.  The amp meter jumped to 7 amps of charging current, indicating everything was working as planned.  I was surprised by the 7 amps of current since it's an overcast day and the sun isn't visible.  A few minutes later, when there was a small gap in the clouds, it bounced up to 12 amps.  Based upon this, I anticipate 20 amps in full, direct sunlight.

By C45Sanctuary on 2/7/2009 1:26 PM

I finished the wiring schematics for the power generation system.  The solar array is already installed (although I plan to slightly modify the mounting hardware in the near future).  The wind generator is still being tested at home port.  The wiring for the power transmission bus has been run from the battery bank compartment, through the engine compartment, up to the starboard-side storage locker in the salon.  I used 8 gauge wire for the power transmission bus.  The bus has about one foot of extra wire coiled in the battery storage compartment and two feet coiled in the starboard-side storage locker.  That way, if I need to slightly modify the design, I don't have to pull new wire.

The control circuitry is mounted on a 10" x 14" plank of 1/4" hardwood.  This goes inside the starboard-side storage compartment.  The solar array control and monitoring circuitry is almost identical to the wind generator control and monitoring circuitry.  The only difference is the manual switch in the wind generator control circuit is also configured as a safety override; this enables the wind turbine to be shut off (stop the blades from spinning) at any time.

I added one minor feature to this circuitry that isn't needed but I figured would be nice to have.  I included a 12V plug receptacle.  This can be used for powering an auxilliary device (such as a notebook computer, an emergency bilge pump, or any other 12V appliance).  Due to the location of the control circuitry, this plug is out of the way but is within a few feet of the cockpit, the engine compartment, and the sofa in the salon.  It just seemed like a good idea.  Worst case scenario, if the battery bank goes offline for any reason, this 12V receptacle is positioned in a way that I can still use the solar and wind power during an emergency.

I intend to finish the installation on my next visit.  Two small holes (1/2" in diameter) will be drilled for the manual switches, and two larger holes (2" in diameter) will be drilled for the analog amp meters.  There's maybe an hour of work remaining on this phase of the project.  The next phase will be to mount the wind generator and integrate that subsystem into this control board.  Fortunately, since the control circuitry for the wind generator is finished, I'll only need to run a pair of wires and then connect them.

By C45Sanctuary on 1/17/2009 5:47 PM

I had four items on this weekend's to-do list.

1. Finish the wiring for the solar array
2. Adjust the tension on the roller furler
3. Something I can't recall
4. Something else I can't recall

The weather was so nice that, instead of doing any work, I started the diesel and cast off all of the mooring lines.  I noticed the tide was out when I was casting off the last line.  No big deal, the water is charted at 13 feet in the cove.  So, I reversed out of the slip and promptly ran into an underwater speed bump.  I wasn't even fully out of the slip when it happened.   It took about 20 minutes of shifting forward and backwards to free the keel from the bottom.  Well, now I know that if I want to get out of the slip, it can't happen at low tide.

I cruised around the bay for about four hours.  At one point there were several pods of dolphins following me around.  One fo the dolphins started showing off by jumping out of the water.  It was difficult taking pictures of them because my digital camera has about a full second delay between pressing the button and taking the picture.  After the dolphins departed I decided it was time to stop for the night.  I secured a long line around one of the old oil platforms that are scattered about in the bay.

I don't think I'm going to get any of my to-do list accomplished.

By C45Sanctuary on 1/4/2009 9:27 AM

This is the second weekend in a row I've been able to visit Sanctuary. This morning, around 8am, I heard some loud splashing ... followed by something bumping against the hull a few feet from me ... followed  by more splashing.  I looked out the hatch in the aft stateroom and saw a pod of dolphins.  They appeared to be looking for breakfast.  Within a few minutes they decided to move on to another part of the cove.

Last weekend, when Jennifer and Harley were here with me, we didn't see a single dolphin all weekend.