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
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