Cruising is. Nov 14, '09-Feb 14,'10, Part III
Cruising is. Nov 14, '09-Feb 14,'10, Part III
When we left you, we'd finally gotten all the new VHF radio stuff installed and working properly, ending at the successful helm radio installation. One item on the helm finished, we move on to the hard stuff. We, in our advancing ages, had come to rely on, or, at least, love dearly, our chartplotter. However, with its 7" screen, we frequently found ourselves resorting, in tight spots, to the backup navigation programs we have on our nav station computer, with its 20" screen. Of course, we also use our paper charts, particularly when planning our routes, but under way, it's mostly the chartplotter. We made the decision to upgrade to a12" screen chartplotter of the same family, Raymarine, as our prior, as our radar would plug-and-play with it, and the communications bus between it and other Raymarine instruments would work as well. At the same time, we upgraded our GPS. Our prior GPS, while it was accurate, took a long time to boot up (I believe I may have discovered part of the reason recently, on which, more, in a later log), and, sometimes, cut out, so we wanted to have some other means of finding our position. As the prior also fed our computer, but only when the chartplotter was on, and we were going to replace it with one which just (we thought, as you'll see) talked to the chartplotter, I also, as part of my research, bought a USB-powered "puck" GPS for the computer. That would relieve the need for the chartplotter to be powered up, the prior condition for our position to be displayed on our computer-based navigation programs. While I was ashore, I proved out that installation; the puck worked, even inside the house, in the living room, far from windows or other enablers for the satellite information to get to it, and talked to our computer navigation systems seamlessly. Back to the helm, however, this new Raymarine GPS looked like it would be problematic in where to locate it. Shortening the story, however, it mounted on the new pod, which contained the new chartplotter, very simply and out of the way. However, I get ahead of myself... The old chartplotter was mounted in a plastic housing ("pod") which mounted to the binnacle - a curved piece of pipe attached to the deck and stood off by stiffeners from the steering/electrical-wiring pedestal. It, being a much smaller chartplotter, had a very much smaller pod. We took that pod, and our prior chartplotter, along with the dozen chart chips we had, back with us, having sold it to an internet acquaintance who was upgrading from his mono-color unit of the same type. Like our old one, our new pod was design-cut for this new (well, used, eBay) Raymarine chartplotter, so that part would be easy. Just put in 4 screws, put back on the trim piece for the face of the chartplotter, and it's finished. The new pod, being very much larger, presented some problems, in that there was a smaller pod below it housing three other small instruments. We'd have to slightly lower that smaller one to make this one work. Oops. It's also too fat, front to back, so the binnacle has to be moved out. Oops, again; the binnacle isn't aligned properly. It appears to have been hand (vs. mass-produced) bent for the installation, and it isn't square. After much effort with a long piece of 2x2 lumber to twist it to straight, including breaking same lumber, I gave up (partway through; I did move it, somewhat). I also accomplished the additional spacing needed to move it away from the pedestal and the twist removal at the same time, making one of the extensions to the spacers about 3/16" longer than the other. It's now aligned to squarely face the stern, but it's also slightly offset to port :{/) However, that's only the beginning of the saga. The radar cable has a molded end, including a locking outer ring, at both ends. You may recall from a prior log that we'd succeeded, finally, in making the radar work, by installing a new cable, attaching it to the extension provided by our original installation company. That extension cable was what ended at the chartplotter. There was no possible way to pull it up or down, leaving the binnacle tube empty. Why do I want to leave that tube empty, you ask? (Well, again, you didn't, but I'll tell you...) Because drilling into a 1" pipe, with a larger-than-1/2" cable inside of it, is pretty nervous-making. In the end, proceeding extremely cautiously, starting with a tiny drill and working my way up to the size needed to tap for the very-short machine screws I used, I was able to drill that single hole in the tubing without damaging the interior cable. Before I could tap it, however, I had to grind down one of my taps so that it didn't have much taper on the end, that taper being long enough that it would have tried to drill through the cable! That single hole was needed to lower the smaller pod, providing the needed clearance for the new, larger pod above it. The opposite side's hole was made very much simpler by our removing all the cables that terminated in the pedestal below. Those cables went to the other functions of the other chartplotter. Once the new hole was drilled in that side, and that hole (also) tapped to accept the ¼-20 short machine screw I'd use to hold the bracket, while tedious, the new plotter's cables (other than radar, which was on the other side) could be threaded through it, into the pedestal below. Before all that, however, we had to mount the new pod. Using the existing cable holes, in one case, the radar, a requirement, and the other, a convenience, meant that I had to blind-locate them on the new pod, and then drill them out to allow those cables to come through. In the case of the radar cable, it had to be big enough to pass the molded plug and collar; the other could match the prior hole in the tubing, as we'd be feeding the raw-ended cables through. Nothing's simple, right? I didn't have the right sized hole saw for the radar cable. Off to the local hardware store to buy one two minutes before it closes at noon on Saturday. Back on the boat, it doesn't fit the mandrels I have, and the store's now closed, so I can't go back and start over, and it will be a couple of days until I can. SIGH... So, I drill the largest hole I can, and proceed to very carefully, using a flap-wheel sander, enlarge the hole JUST ENOUGH! to squeeze the collar through. Making a round hole in a curved-to-fit-a-1"-pipe piece of plastic is work to concentrate the senses, so I'm tired, but it's finally done. Ahhhh. Let's take a break. Now the fun part. Rather than drill all new holes in the tubing (recall the challenge on the radar cable side), let's try to blind-center on the PRIOR pod's mounting, tapped, machine screw holes. (I surely don't want to have to drill and tap new holes for each of them, one of which has that pesky radar cable in it!) Ever-so-carefully, in each case working the radar cable out and back in, I measure, remove the pod, and then drill, again using very small pilot holes, put the radar cable back through it, put the pod up against the pipe, and peek around the edge to see where the pilot drill is. Sure enough, I'm right on, in each case, and, one-by-one, the holes are drilled out to the right size, and the mounting screws loosely attached. Oops. The nature of the cable holes, and the new pod's shape, means that there are some openings left, particularly on the radar side, as the collar's actually bigger than the pipe itself (another reason it couldn't possibly been pulled down and then put back up). As it happens, there's an adhesive foam piece that mounts on the plastic, between the pod and the binnacle pipe, designed to minimize vibration, I presume. Careful measurement reveals that this will take care of some of the exposed holes. By design, the new chartplotter is designed to be mounted either in a pod, like we're doing, or merely on a bracket, exposed to the elements, so water's not a concern for those holes. Once we have the location of the new pod settled, we go about figuring out mounting the new Raymarine GPS. Much head-scratching, and multiple careful-measurement-assurances that it won't interfere with the plotter itself, already mounted on the face of the pod, later, it turns out that it can mount right over the pod, ON the pod, with the wiring connection going through the top. That's much better than the expected on-the-tube, on a bracket, sticking either up or aside, as the prior, ancient Garmin, was, limiting movement room in the cockpit or vision over the pod. Ho-Kay... So, we've got everything trial-mounted, and it looks like it will work. But, there's still a fair amount of open space showing where the hole is larger than the cable. As we can expect that water might get in there, it would be lovely to get it out again, see above about component waterproof levels for lack of concern on that part, but not wanting standing water in it. More measuring, more calculating, and I drill a very small hole in what I believe will be the lowest part on the pod. So far so good. Still have that cable/wiring hole excess looking at us, though, even though we've applied the foam layer. Hmmm... Before all this was happening, Lydia, as is her wont, was cleaning, and since we had all the old stuff off the binnacle, she took some of our miracle cleaners to the red rope lighting we used to have running around the binnacle, under the old pod. Brightened it right up, it did, but, now, with the new stuff, it didn't match up in length. However, it DID, if we put it just right, hide those old holes. Well, nothing to do but pull it out, and install new, longer rope lighting. The new rope lighting I got from the remaining reel-ends of our red and amber rope lighting (I had to buy full reels to get 12V stuff, at the time). It not only hides the wiring holes, it, despite the other having been majorly cleaned up, is very much brighter than the old stuff. So, now it's in, and brilliant. So much so that it completely lights the cockpit. It's WAY too bright to use under way, compounded by, as we learned on one of our passages, that it can be confusing to oncoming shipping, not knowing what this red glow is out there - a very large port light? - a bouy? - something else?? So, we leave it on at anchor when we're off the boat as a location-assist, and for times we'd like to be upstairs with lighting. It's pointed straight forward, but the nature of the rope lighting is that it has about a 60* spread pattern to the light, so there's pretty good ambient lighting without being in anyone's eyes if they're sitting on the settees. Another dragon slain, and off we go, for some more. Now that we have it firmly placed, with the holes blocked it's time to put on the front of the pod, with the new chartplotter mounted in it. This new pod has a very effective gasket system in it, and blind mounting nuts that allow us to use actual machine screws, rather than just "screws" as was the case in the other, a much more secure mounting. However... It takes us a good dozen tries before we can get all the machine screws to start. Making things more difficult, they are security bolts, with a torx head containing a pin. The supplied angle wrench, looking like an allen-head wrench in shape, is a bit difficult with which to apply pressure like you might with a screwdriver. That's complicated by, inexplicably, its being a slightly sloppy fit into the head. That makes all the insertion and later removal just that much more difficult, raggasnaggagiggafratz! However, much cursing and grumbling and on-and-off with the face of it, adjusting the blind nuts in a couple of places over and over, we finally get all the machine screws to start, and I tighten them all. Once they're all in place, it's a very elegant solution, extremely secure and theft resistant, but, Boy, Howdy, was that a PITA to make happen. That particular part of the entire helm was the most vexing experience of the entire upgrade/refit projects we did. Once again, I see I've become (What??!! You say, "When have you not???") long winded, so we'll leave you here with a buttoned-up chartplotter and instruments installation, cables run but as yet unpowered and unproven. See you next time - Stay Tuned! L8R Skip and crew Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hand (Richard Bach) |
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