2022 Launching of the WillieC

[WillieC]

We have a string of high tides this week and will try to hit this evening's for launch. We've been busy and I haven't had much time for posting pictures, but here's a start.

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Full bottom paint done in '18, touch ups and waterline done seasonally. I didn't want to go through the whole rigmarole of pulling the trailer out from under the boat. I did remove the four support bunks, after raising the boat with jack stands and tongue jack and bottle jack. That took a day since I had to cut off the 8 bunk bolts with the dremel. Well, seven, I was able to remove one with wrenches. Air impact driver would have been the way to go, but alas...

More pics to follow. Busy day today and SHE'S GOING IN TODAY!

[DesertAlbin736]

Woo hoo!!! Let the adventures begin!

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PS, I had purchased a gallon of Pettit Hydrocoat ECO in anticipation of touching up our bottom paint for a PNW cruise but now am saving it for next year since we canceled our plans for this year ($6/gal diesel x 3,200 mile round trip up & back x 10.5-11 MPG truck mileage :-0 !) & saving the unopened can for next year. I checked with Pettit help line & they said all that's necessary to recoat over pre-existing coating that is in decent shape is to do a thorough pressure washer wash down, not have to sand it back down. That would be enough to refresh the biocide. I see the Starfleet Commander was there supervising.

[Burton]

It’s good to see how you did this. I’ve got about 90% of the bottom paint off “Slow Motion” in preparation of a barrier coat and new bottom paint. We do have boat stands, and removing the bunks and leaving the trailer is a great idea. Thank you! The problem here is that our season is so short, and we need to get the boat in the water.

Our dockage is where the water alternates between fresh and salt, and one can get through the season with only a pressure wash at haul out. So new bottom paint is going to have to wait. (The project now is the new exhaust, and it has turned into a bit of an ordeal. Hope to get in the water within a few weeks.).



quote=WillieC post_id=92766 time=1654097286 user_id=4800]
We have a string of high tides this week and will try to hit this evening's for launch. We've been busy and I haven't had much time for posting pictures, but here's a start.

IMG_5665.jpg


Full bottom paint done in '18, touch ups and waterline done seasonally. I didn't want to go through the whole rigmarole of pulling the trailer out from under the boat. I did remove the four support bunks, after raising the boat with jack stands and tongue jack and bottle jack. That took a day since I had to cut off the 8 bunk bolts with the dremel. Well, seven, I was able to remove one with wrenches. Air impact driver would have been the way to go, but alas...

More pics to follow. Busy day today and SHE'S GOING IN TODAY!
[/quote]

[SalishAire]

Richard and Heidi:
Been playing with an idea - if we launch Hyacinth at Twanoh State Park how far would it be to your place and is how is anchoring off your front yard?

[WillieC]

15 minutes and EZ! Come! (A little notice would be good. I need to do some longer sea trials and Heidi is going to be gone for a while.)

[DesertAlbin736]

Longer sea trials....like to Fishermans Bay on Lopez for July 4th parade & fireworks?

[WillieC]

Hella thunderstorm last night with lightning striking the Canal in front of the homestead! I am glad I didn't spend the night out there.

Chasing down minor glitches but stuck on Grrrrrmin radar/heading sensor/chartplotter syncing. The compatibility notes that the Steadycast heading sensor is plug and play with a bunch of plotter models, one of which is listed as 74xx. We have a 741xs. You would be wrong in your thinking if you think as I did. Big deal, it will still work but you have to do what they call "Basic Calibration", not menu-based. I have read bad technical instructions before, but this one takes the cake if only because it is the one I am eating right now. I may figure it out, or they may get me to spend another 3500 bux on a NEW(er) Grrrrmin plotter. Not.

I am new to radar so all the lingo is so much fancy words to me. The instructions are generic. Thank you grrrmin for not supporting your barely obsolete stuff. Seems like a simple software update ought to fix it, which btw I did. No small feat in itself.

[DesertAlbin736]

Rick, see if this helps. As usual, click on photos to zoom in to read text.

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I assume these are the instructions you're working with.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/attachment ... 1618839548

Hope that helps. Of course as you know I have a 741xs but have not consider adding a steadycast as don't have radar & don't plan to add one. But I understand why you need the Steadycast to make the radar overlay match the chart correctly.

Are you plugging the Steadycast cable direct into the NMEA 2000 port on the back of the chartplotter or via an added NMEA 2000 network?

[WillieC]

I found the same link and printed it to take out to the boat tomorrow. I have added an NMEA2000 network that plugs into both the plotter and the heading sensor. A single new switch on the dash powers both the radome and backbone, separately fused.

I am also using the latest installation instructions but at one point they mention having to calibrate the compass. Well there’s nothing wrong with my compass and it’s not even part of this discussion. I think they refer to the heading sensor as the compass. Very sloppy.

Also they say orientation is not critical, but the first thing I saw in a bass boat video is that the arrow on the sensor is supposed to point to the front of the boat. Nice to know and easily fixed but now I’m not sure if it needs to be mounted horizontally. I have it mounted in the electrical closet on the wall it shares with the head door with the arrow pointing forward but on its side, since it’s mounted on a vertical plane. I will take a compass with me to check for magnetic interference then try to reconcile the instructions with the link.

Right now when I turn on the radar I get two lines on the plotter not even close. Then I have to learn how to use it. We’ll see. I’ve read of one fellow who has to calibrate his heading sensor every time he gets on the boat. Nope.

[DesertAlbin736]

At least it's not a steaming 120 degrees inside your boat.

[WillieC]

Oh it may be steaming in there but not from heat. We had another Tstorm last night, tons of rain. The dinghy is filling up nicely. I will go out today to futz with the heading sensor but it's a little rough so calibration may have to wait.

I'll take more pics to post here if I can figure out how to hold the phone so they show up correctly here.

(Too much posting today. This is way easier than emptying the dinghy, getting soaked in the rain, and rolling around on the swell while trying to figure out the heading sensor. I am getting soft in my dotage. To work!)

[SalishAire]

Richard: Based on my experience trying to get a proper radar overlay display on Salish Aire: 1) (Unless you have a $2000 satellite "compass") your heading sensor is an electronic compass (also used for auto pilots). They have to be positioned in the boat like any other compass - away from ferric metals and wires as much as possible and then calibrated (usually by going to calibration mode and then driving in circles in open water). 2) Earth's magnetic force lines are not tidy and things like mountains (especially ones containing iron) tend to make them even less so. Places where we boat through fiords (like Hood Canal and the Inside Passage) become a virtual nightmare for keeping the overlay images lined up (hopefully more modern electronics can do this with some digital wizardry but our older, but commercial grade, stuff couldn't). In summary: we decided to learn to use our brains to visualize the overlay and generally didn't turn the function on.

[WillieC]

Excellent info! Thanks.

[DesertAlbin736]

The dinghy is filling up nicely.

I assume you're not stowing the dinghy on the the hardtop roof?

They have to be positioned in the boat like any other compass - away from ferric metals and wires as much as possible and then calibrated (usually by going to calibration mode and then driving in circles in open water).

Seems like a good location for the Steadycast sensor might be inside the hanging closet attached to the underside of top shelf. Or perhaps even further forward on the under side of the side deck over the starboard cabin shelf. That could make routing the NMEA 2000 networking away from the distribution panel area in the head fairly straight forward & away from metals & other wiring.

Here's two of my favorite WillieC photos from 2018.

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And who could forget this adventure?

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[WillieC]

Well I took my handheld compass out to das Boot (the dinghy is how I get out there, no it is not on top of the boat) and there seems to be no magnetic interference where I have it, but it came with an extension cord so moving it is easy. Steve, you mention mounting it upside down on the closet lid (underside). Does it have to lie horizontally or can it mount vertically with the arrow pointing forward? Originally, I mounted it vertically, 90 degrees to the keel, with the arrow pointing straight up, which I understand is incorrect but you wouldn't get that from the installation instructions. Of course, I was assuming the heading sensor was plug and play and the orientation may not be as critical if I had a 74xx plotter instead of a 741xs. Kill me now.

Love those pics. That is hilarious, the one with me on the rocks when Greg and Amanda's stern tie slipped the stump. Ooops! that was my fault, but it wasn't blowing as hard when we set it. Rookie mistake and no harm done.

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While I was on the boat today, I did the first engine check after the first hour run and was pleasantly surprised. I found and fixed the fuel leak prior to launch and it is holding. No leaks anywhere. Usually on the first launch there is a dribble here and there but nada. Now calm down, there is a slight mist of oil by the intake horns reminiscent of the pre air-sep days. That will show up on the fifteen hour runs between here and gone. Even after nearly three inches of rain last night and who knows how many the night of the big tstorm, the windows treated with the lightly used toilet bowl beeswax at the rubber gaps did not leak. I am so happy I ditched the teak grab bars as well. This is a good start. Might go for a run tomorrow if it calms down a bit. I think she looks comely but I am in love with her.