On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:20:33 -0400, "Leanne" wrote:

"NE Sailboat" wrote in message
news:Mruwi.373$7f.97@trndny09...
I have the book, and the copy I own I bought at a yard sale. It must have
been a first printing ..

Yes, Joshua Slocum's trip was eventful. And not everything went as
planned.

But when you think of how simple his rig was, how little he had in
equipment, and yet he sailed around the world!

Skip has all these fancy doo dads. He is always posting about something
breaking. Heck, most of the stuff he is fixing, I've never seen.

It was just a thought. I'm sure Captain Slocum would have all the doo
dads if he were alive today.


If anyone gets up New Bedford way, there is a nice display of pictures and
articles on Slocum, at the Old Dartmouth Historical Society Whaling Museum,
on Johnny Cake Hill. It was located on the balcony over the half scale model
of the Lagoda.

Leanne

Not to point the finger at Skip but a great deal of the "modern"
sailing accessories really aren't needed. They may make life a bit
easier in that you can sit in the cockpit and look at the moon instead
of monitoring you battery charger but they really aren't required.

You do need an accurate volt meter reading to at least one decimal
point to monitor your battery condition. An amp meter reading current
out of the battery bank is nice, not a necessity. A regular old car
battery charger will work as long as it can put out at least 40 amps
without blowing fuses. With a volt meter and a battery charger and a
little of your own time you can charge batteries as well as the
smartest "smart" charger in the world.

Go to somebody like Trojan and download their battery stuff, how to
test batteries, how to charge batteries, and so on. You'll find that
initially you need to charge your batteries until they reach 14.4
VDC(approximately) and then reduce the voltage to about 13.4 - 13.6
and hold that for quite some time. An hour, or more, at least, in
order to get a 400 amp hour battery bank close to fully charged.

Yes, I know you can fire up your 120 Amp alternator and run the
battery voltage up to 14.4 volts right now! But battery charging is
not just pouring in the amps. Battery charging is a chemical process
and you are converting one form of lead into another form and that
takes some time, not just amperage but time.

A mast head anemometer isn't necessary,, except for bragging in the
club - "blew 50 knots last night." If you've sailed at all you'll know
when to reef and it really doesn't have any relationship to wind
speed. As one bloke I know said, "it's time to reef when the lee rail
goes under water". I'm being a bit factious but the way the boat is
sailing is a far better indication of when to reef then any gauge.

Two things you do need are an accurate depth sounder and GPS. I sailed
with nothing but a heaving line and a compass in my younger days and I
can say in all honesty that a lot of the time we didn't know where we
were and ran aground more then a few times.

Spare parts. I hate to use Skip for an example but his is the most
recent post that is an example. Alternator belts. Loosen up the
alternator adjustment and shove the alternator as close to the engine
as possible, then buy a belt that you can j-u-s-t get on the pulleys.
Use an 18 inch bar to pry the alternator back until the belt is tight
and tighten things down. If the belt is the correct size you will have
about half, or a bit more of the adjustment left when the new belt is
as tight as you can get it.

Once you have discovered the correct size of belt buy 6 or a dozen of
the absolute best quality belts you can. Store them out of the sun and
in air tight wrapping if possibly. At the same time get a dozen
primary and seconder filters -- they don't wear out and it may take
you a while to use them up but so what. You'll have them if you need
them.

Another thing I see is people talking about 120 amp alternators driven
with one belt. My own experience is that around 70 amps is pretty
close to maximum for a single belt. It may be capable of transmitting
more power but it doesn't last long at loads over 70 amps.

One last rant and I'll shut up. If your solar panels and/or wind
generator can't get your battery over, say, 3.5 DC then you don't need
a regulator at all.

That's it, if I have offended anyone then I'm sorry but I see so much
shiny foolishness on boats today that is totally unnecessary (except
to the guy that sold it so he could eat).






Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)