Finally! - In the water and moving

[smacksman]

Great update Don with really useful 'hands on' feedback for those with re-builds underway.
I was pleasently suprised how effective 'Rainex' was on the windscreen and went through several downpours with the wipers off. Downside was I had to keep renewing it.
When it's in the high 90's that central opening window is a real blessing and worth paying the price of no wiper IMHO.

[Beta Don]

I agree Roger - Not sure what we'd do if the center window did not open. We use that every day

We've not been underway through any serious rain as yet, but we've had 3 different occasions now where we've had major salt spray going all the way over the boat. Not sure how Rain-X does with salt water, but I'll give it a try. Washing the windows is an almost daily chore every evening when we stop, so applying more Rain-X wouldn't be any more of a problem

On the center window - Ours blew away completely in Hurricane Katrina, so we had to fabricate the entire window from scratch. I made it a bit different from the original and it overlaps the teak surround which gave me a ledge to apply a silicone weather-stripping all the way around it. It doesn't leak a drop even when bathed in white water. But, another of my unfinished 'projects' is the opening mechanism - Right now, there isn't any. We've been propping it open with a wood stick I have the original brass/bronze? arms that came with the boat, but they are in rough shape and I don't have that nice locking hardware to hold it closed - The arms weren't mounted on the window when I bought the boat, so they didn't blow away with the window. I also have a pair of all stainless casement window adjusters. Haven't decided which to use or exactly where or how to mount them - Just not clear in my head yet so I've put it off hoping to see how it's done on some other Albins before I start drilling holes. You can see the window propped open in one picture (and no 'arms' on either side holding it open) - The wooden stick is hidden behind the vertical stainless tube

Don

[smacksman]

Salt water and a hot sun on your winscreen are sure fire ingredients for reduced visibility.
On the boat I crossed the Atlantic with the owner asked me to come up with an answer and a simple idea worked really well. A rubber hand pump as used in outboard fuel lines pumped water from a bottle of fresh water from a car to jets by the wiper directing water down onto the screen. Worked well and foolproof/no electrics.

[Beta Don]

After 800 relatively trouble-free miles, we've reached Boot Key Harbor in Marathon. The 'City Marina' has 17 slips . . . . and 236 mooring balls, not to mention another 50 or 60 boats which are anchored out - Truly the boating version of an RV park
Each of those boats has a dinghy of course - I'll let you all picture what the dinghy dock must look like

It is a very well protected harbor and there are lots of people living here, many of them for months or even years. Dinking a half mile or more into land for your every need isn't my idea of a vacation!

We'll move on soon enough though - Lots more to see and explore

Don

[Beta Don]

Well, after about a thousand miles of hand steering we welcomed a new crew member aboard for the first time today. 'Dewey' (as in Dewey the Duck) is our new Raymarine EV-200 Power Pilot autopilot. Got it aboard last week but no time to finish the install due to the weather window opening which allowed us to visit the Dry Tortugas . . . . With another 250 miles of hand steering

This was Carolyn'a idea, believe it or not. After a one hour steerie stint in the middle of the night during our Gulf crossing she said "Buy an autopilot" and then after a few more turns here and there, she said "Buy an autopilot and I'll pay for it!" - Don't you love it when the wife spends big bucks on the boat?

Anyway, the EV-200 was on sale for $1700 and there is a $300 Raymarine rebate through the end of April

I installed a motorized Octopus Drive which replaced the original helm last year in anticipation that one day we'd probably have to get an autopilot, so adding the EV-200 was a pretty simple install. Most difficult part was getting the rudder feelback sensor installed and aligned

Anyway, it's in and it works GREAT! Very powerful and precise and it steers off the wind and in a quartering sea pretty well. We did 73 nm today and I only took the helm 2 or 3 times and those were when I couldn't figure out what an oncoming boat was up to. As easy a day on the water as I've had in a long time

Don

[smacksman]

I would spend money on an autopilot over rerfrigeration/solar power/generators/windlass and almost any other bit of kit other than safety or navigation stuff.
I think you have done really well to cruise so long without one.

Roger

[Beta Don]

Roger,

We're both addicted to iced tea it seems so we don't go anywhere without ice cubes and that negates most of the items on your list that we could do without

Refrigeration and the various power generation systems that support it were the highest priorities for us. A windlass on the other hand was (and still is) on the very bottom of the list. We installed a bow thruster with the windlass money and don't regret going that way at all. We use the thruster nearly every day. I've singlehanded for years and hauling in a 25 to 35 pound anchor manually is something I really don't mind doing - I kinda prefer doing it that way actually, and we anchor out a lot

I've always had wheel pilots on my sailboats and never had one with a rudder reference sensor before. IMO, that piece of equipment makes all the difference when it comes to how well a pilot can steer the boat. What a difference!

Don

[2manyboats]

Don,
I love the pictures of the work you have done on your boat, and the equipment setup. I'm considering the EVO-200 with Octopus pump as well for my 25.

Two questions; which pump do did you choose. And, How are you connected to a GPS.

Looking at the manual I think it will run from either my Lowrance chart plotter (0183) or perhaps my Garmin chart plotter NEMA 2000.

Thanks for your help

Wayne

[Beta Don]

Wayne,

Early A27's like mine are cable steered like many outboard boats are - No hydraulics and no pumps

The Octopus type ST drive that I am using is a motorized replacement for the helm gearbox which moves the cable and thereby the rudder. The EV-200 drives the Octopus be engaging it's clutch and moving the helm port or starboard as required

I have not as yet hooked up the autopilot to my Garmin 740s chartplotter, but it should be relatively easy, as both 'speak' NMEA 2000. If you want to connect it to something which does not support NMEA 2000, you'll have to buy an adapter box to convert your 0183 signals to 2000 for the EV-200 tom recognize

Hope this helps,

Don

[rnummi]

Don, what was the brand and model of your wifi signal booster?

[Beta Don]

I still have it - It's a Wilson 4G Model 460108

Don

[rnummi]

Wow, that's expensive.... did it work? Where was the antenna mounted.

[J0k3r]

Those 4G boosters do work. I got rid of the indoor antenna that it comes with and replaced with Wilson Electronics 700-2700 MHz Panel Antenna in the salon. I read that it helps with the range inside otherwise you need to be close to the indoor antenna. The outdoor antenna I used is the Shakeshpere 5239 Galaxy World BandCellular Antenna
http://shakespeare-ce.com/marine/produc ... r-antenna/

The key is to get the receiver antenna as far up as possible. I mounted the receiver antenna on an 8ft mast which is mounted on our radar arch. This gets the antenna about 26ft above the water on our boat. I was getting cell service 12 miles offshore on the west coast between Reedsport and Newport OR.

[Beta Don]

Wow, that's expensive.... did it work? Where was the antenna mounted.

You remember my 'antenna farm' atop the fold down mast, don't you? I had a truckers 4G cel antenna up there, along with a TV antenna, a Wi-Fi booster antenna, a VHF antenna along with the anchor and bow lights. Pull one pin and it laid back flat on the deck and I actually went under one 8' 6" bridge on the West Coast of Florida without having to wait for an opening

Yes, the booster worked out very well. We had phone service (and the Internet that it provided) in several out of the way spots in south Florida where we would not have had it otherwise. On a small boat, it can be a bit dicey to keep the main antenna and the repeater antenna separated far enough so you don't get feedback which shuts the system down - The Active Captain article says it can't be done on small boats. Before we installed our bead board paneling on the cockpit overhead, I glued sheets of aluminum foil to the back of the bead board. The tech guy at Wilson said it didn't need to be grounded and he was right - We never experienced any feedback at all. Our repeater antenna was mounted in the top of the hanging locker, just under the dash and we had good cel service on all phones anywhere on the boat

Don

[rnummi]

Could you walk me through the equipment for the wi-fi signal booster? They tell me I have "free" bright house wi-fi at the marina.... so far terrible reception.... looking for something that would function as a repeater or signal amplifier. Cell phone works fine, this is just for the dang internet.