Projects, con't

Sunday Morning, 7am

We have been staying with our friend Janet while I have the bed torn apart - Thanks Janet!  Friday and Saturday, I built and installed the battery box for the two Trojan 105 batteries.  The box had to be reinforced with fiberglass roving to ensure it wouldn't come apart in rough seas, and the platform it is installed on definately had to be reinforced, as it is sitting on the side of the hull.  So the shelf brace was reinforced with a three stainless "L's" and glassed to the hull so it won't slide either.  Then it was bolted into place.  The support for the new SSB Automatic Tuner went in just above the battery box also and is well supported.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our friends Ralph and Rhonda Hull and Shirley and Dan Jones at their house.  Wonderful company, incredible food!!  You guys amaze me every day!!

Then back over to Janet's house to meet up with Janet and Scott and Lee Carpenter and his lady friend.

Over the past week, I ordered new LED lights for the overhead cabin lights.  I got those installed this morning and I am very impressed as to 1) how bright they are, 2) how little amperage they draw (.5 amps vs 3-4 amps), 3) how cool they are to the touch.  As I was removing the existing halogen light bulbs, I burned my fingers and swore never to use them again if at all possible.  They are bright, hot, and very expensive when it comes to calculating amp draw.  Good Riddance to bad Rubbish as far as I am concerned.

Haven't run the generator or engine for a while.  Had the prop and hull cleaned earlier this past week by Bob Saunders (he always does a great job for us), so this morning when I got up and moving over here, I ran both the engine and generator for an hour.  Noticed the tach is a little off, so I have to ask my friend Bill Hudson about that.

Warren Gloss (Iron Maiden Fame) stopped by yesterday also to look at the engine.  He gave me some hints on how to pull the plugs so I can install the overheat alarm, and I guess that will be my big project for today.  That and installing the components for the SSB.  Then Monday I have go get or order all of the cables for it.

All in all, looking like Thursday is a go.  Weather will be the determining factor.  If the weather holds up, the temp will drop into the 40's or slightly lower (man that sounds cold), but the weather front should pass over us by the end of the morning.  We are keeping an eagle eye on the tides.  It has been down quite a bit.  We may need to move to another area of the marina if we have a chance of leaving on Thursday.  The water tends to drain out of here precipitously when a Norther comes through.

Renne' is starting to feel better.  She slept well last night, so hopefully she will be on the mend and rested by departure.

I thought I would list the companies I work with for each post:

www.LEDwholsalers.com - excellent customer service, broad selection of LED's to choose from - very reasonably priced!

Superiordiveservices@comcast.net - Bob and Amanda Saunders - They have been friends of our for years.  Bob is an excellent diver, reasonably priced, reliable service.  Gets the job done.

Kemah Hardware, Hwy 146, Kemah, TX - Toni is the Mayor of League City, great customer service, they know what they are talking about, great prices on marine grade stainless steel, pipe fittings, West Systems supplies, etc.  We go there before anywhere else.

Continental Battery, 600 N. Shepard, Houston - Trojan T-145 and T-105 6-Volt Batteries.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jon and Renne'

New things

Well :^b   As we are not leaving until sometime around next Thursday, I decided to tackle another project or two.  We replaced our Trojan 105 batteries with 145's two weeks ago.  After a few years, we thought it best to go ahead and start this cruise with new, more amperage hour batteries.  So I removed the four 105's, turned two in and kept the other two on a board in the storage unit.  Our thought was if we had the time we would add a third bank of batteries and run the Generator off that.  It would recharge them, be isolated from the house or engine start, and might be a good source of emergency power.  So we are in the process of building a support base for the battery box.  In order to glass the base onto the hull, I had to grind down the paint to bare glass.  So with Renne's health issue this week, I had to send her off to our friend Gail Rassmussen for the night while the dust got cleaned up. 

So last night while I am getting ready to go to dinner with Renne' at Malcolm Jones' and Linda Van Wagner's house, I realized the refrigerator was shut down, checked the battery voltage and it was down, checked the battery charger and it is on the FRITZ!  So it is a good thing we aren't leaving until Thursday, cause that is how long it will take to get the battery charger BACK!!!!  ARRRGGGHHHH!! Just glad it happened NOW and not offshore!!  God plans for fools!

So while working on those, I think I will also get the SSB radio in so we can get weather reports offshore also.

Have a great day, we are!!

Sunday's Departure

Friends and Fans,

Renne’ is still not feeling well today, Thursday.  She is headed back to her doctor to figure out what is going on.  This is now into her 2nd real week and her cold has changed it’s character.  In addition, it looks as though it will be raining on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  So, after considerable discussion (about 5 minutes lying in bed with Renne’ and listening to her cough), we have decided to re-evaluate our departure date and slip it probably to Wednesday or Thursday (Feb 2-3). Departures are fluid when you are cruising – Oh, have we told you we already ARE cruising, we just haven’t left the dock yet – and our health is foremost of importance,so we will sit tight until the window opens. Thanks to all of you who are so encouraging and thoughtful. We couldn’t be doing this without you.

Jon and Renne’
Abrd s/v JonNe’

We are done with the outside!!!

We are finally finished with the outside projects on JonNe'!!  Today, again with the help of Kent Brownhill, I was back up the mast to reinforce the tv antenna with external st/stl brackets.  There is no way the antenna would have survived a storm, let alone banging up and down in rought seas.  We had to drop most of the ceiling panels to run the cables through, but HOLY MOLY, you should see the picture on the tv!!  Well worth the effort.  At the same time, I completed 90% of the amplified WiFi antenna system, and it should be completed inside tomorrow also.

Our friend Jack Weir just finished our dinghy cover and zippers around the full enclosure of the cockpit.  The full enclosure allows us to sail year round and in any type of weather.  It is a God send during the winter.  It is the reason we are able to consider leaving for Key West in January or February!!  The chaps are made of sunbrella material and will act to protect the Hypolon material the air-tubes on the dinghy are made of.

Renne' sewed new straps for the diesel jerry cans and for securing the dinghy while we are traveling.  I also had to confirm the new Air Breeze Wind Generator was actually making electricity.  It is, and that completed the jobs outside.

Tomorrow starts the cleanup of the storage unit so I can find all of the spares we need to take with us.

Wish us the best, we can't think of a lot remaining to do.  Oh, I do need to install an overtemp alarm for the engine and that will be a project for tomorrow also.  We will soon be on our way.

Jon and Renne'

Jon passed his General Amateur Radio Operator License Exam!!

Jon spent the past week studying for his General Amateur Radio Operator's License and took the exam on Saturday morning.  Wow, he passed it!  Actually he passed it with flying colors.  So you ask, how does that fit into the scheme of going cruising?  Well, only in saving a few bucks a month being able to send a receive some emails and weather updates without having to subscribe to a special service while offshore.  The other was, the last exam like this was his Technicians license 12 years ago.  He was a bit out of shape when it came to studying.  But he passed it - Now on the other hand, sitting across the room from him enjoying a cup of tea at the time was a 12yo young man who had passed the General test two weeks ago - boy did that deflate the ego at that moment!  LOL

On the ever expanding list of things to do, Kent sent Jon up the mast again.  All the way to the top this time - was up there about 30 seconds.  He had to add a halyard (line) to the remaining block (pulley) installed the last time he was there.  Nothing like being 60 feet up with a view of the world! 

While up there, he was able to install the new TV antenna and the amplified WIFI antenna on the lower spreaders (horizontal thingies which help support the mast)

Renne' is beginning to feel better today.  This entire past week has been a bit rough on her, to say the least.  She has been running a fever, is on antibiotics, a Z-pak, and is just now beginning to function.  Yesterday, she felt well enough to sew some new stainless steel ratchet mechanisms on straps for the dinghy and spare diesel jerry-cans (strapped to the deck).  Her Singer sewing machine handled the material fine.  Guess it still has metal parts in it rather than plastic gears!!  So we don't have to buy one of those fancy sewing machines from SailRite.

The Radar is BACK

First, and most important - RenNe' and I will be keeping our cell phones after we leave, but will be dropping the our minutes to a more conservative level.  We have a boat phone using Magic Jack.  THE NEW PHONE NUMBER IS:  864-498-4508.  Please put this in your cell phones.  Once we leave we ask you to try this number first.  If you don't get us, then try our cell phones.  Thanks

Well, today the radar antenna went back up the mast.  Our friend, Kent did a masterful job in controlling my ascent and descent of the mast.  Now those of you who have lots of experience with mast climbing probably don't have any fear of being up 27 feet (or 60 feet at the top) off the deck in a seat harness on a 1/2" line, but frankly it scares me half out of my wits.  Yeah I know, I am a fearless Navy pilot with 2200 hours of flighttime, and being at 10-15,000 feet is no problem.  But hanging on to mount the radar antenna is a totally different story!!  I really respect folks who do this for a living!  So anyway, we got the radar up AND IT WORKS!  The problem is that it probably didn't have to be sent in after all.  I found the DC power wires (positive and negative) as well as the shielding were corroded.  Fortunately, when I mounted the antenna originally, somehow I left enough extra wire up there to make so adjustments for corrosion.  Don't ask me how or why I did it, it was just dumb luck!  However the good part is Raymarine updated the software and firmware in the chartplotter controller so now it is good as new!

The other major accomplishment has to do with our electrical issues.  From the very beginning, there has been an electrical shortage between the batteries and the circuit breaker panel.  Consequently over the years, the one issue causing us a challenge in considering leaving for a crossing of the Gulf of Mexico (800 nm) has been the potential of running out of electrical charge and not being able to get it back.  Thanks to our friend Tommy, we were able to resolve this nagging issue Monday, completely.  So we are ready to go. 

With both of theses accomplishments this week, JonNe' is ready to make her crossing.  There are a few things we have to do over the next 10 days, but I am very comfortable with the shape JonNe' is in.  Now we are beginning to get EXCITED!!

Oh, I joined the ranks of RETIRED on Saturday.  I can't believe I am this F_____G OLD!  RenNe' has been drawing retirement from two of her previous employers and unemployment until we see fit to blow that off.  But we have our health, and are set basically for finances, and are covered by health insurance (thanks to 22 years in the Navy).

Another Spot report will go out soon, to test the ability of the unit to track our locations.  So, no we haven't left yet, we are close!

Best,

Jon and RenNe'

The "ARCH"

The arch has been a work in progress since April, 2010 - actually before that. 

This is what JonNe' looked like before we added the solar panel to assist Mother Earth.

Renne' and I feel strongly about using as much natural energy as possible (that is why we own a sailboat), so our solar panel was born.

You can actually see the solar panel hanging on the stern pulpit (white with black frame).  Efficient, but not attractive, and damaged the stainless steel, so not acceptable.

We were also interested in taking advantage of the winds, so we began to work on how we were going to add a wind generator aboard and get it up high enough to really work and not be dangerous to the crew.


So I began to look for options available for an arch.  I contacted my friend, Terry Emigh, in Anacortes, Washington about a design he had created for his own Tayana 42 Center Cockpit, and that was in July of 2009.  I was actually able to put everything together (convince Renne' this would be a good idea, buy the plans, find someone who would build it at a reasonable price, etc.) in April.  After looking at the options of stainless steel, I realized the only option was Aluminum (weight, price).

I found my builder, Daniel Martinez (MTZ Welding Co. 832-273-3168) as he was replacing the aluminum railings around the marina after Hurricane Ike, and he has done an amazing job!

This is the arch after bolting it into place on the stern.

Notice the davit lowers with the dinghy attached to lower the dinghy to the water.  The advantage here is our ability to walk out on the davits and enter the dinghy from above.  It will also act as a boarding ladder from a dock if there is no finger pier along side the boat.

So, finally, we were able to put it all together the week before Christmas and this is how she looks today all dressed up with solar panel, wind generator, dinghy, and new antenna.

So Voila', JonNe' has the latest in solar and wind energy, renewing the charge on her batteries.  We are now using Mother Earth as we should be!

Lazy day

On the other hand, today we had breakfast at a great Mexican restaurant in LaPorte.  Wow, Great!  Then dropped off a couple of basketballs lying around in the storage unit for our granddaughter, Zaley, and her brothers.  Met with friends Steve and Valerie McNeal.  We then decided to blow off today and relax.  So we went into the Houston Museum of Natural History to see the Real Pirates exhibition by National Geographic.  What a great way to spend the afternoon, learn some real pirate history (did you know there has never been a confirmed buried pirate treasure!), and enjoy each others company!!  Then dinner with our friends David and Vicky who are cruisers back here in Houston, working and looking to buy a bigger and better boat in preparation of their next off shore adventure.

Lazy today, busy yesterday

Yesterday, Saturday, January 8 was a busy day aboard JonNe'.  Renne' has been cooking meals all week to be frozen so we will have prepared meals on the crossing.  She has chili, smothered pork chops, grilled pork chops, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti with meatballs, broccoli and rice.  Tonight she asked if I thought it was enough.  Well at this point I see a few more dinners we can prepare, but honestly, I hate to see her work so much.

I on the other hand spent yesterday installing the new Standard Horizon GX2100 with AIS.  I think this is the only VHF out there with AIS installed.  AIS is for Automatic Information System.  It is a transponder on commercial vessels that works very much like a transponder in an airplane.  Under normal circumstances, AIS is installed with a chartplotter or radar to receive a visual location of a commercial vessel in the vicinity of your boat.  This system is in the radio, has a screen to see the relative location and identity of the vessel, your geophysical location and is a VHF radio.  In addition, I had to mount a new GPS receiver antenna (also from Standard Horizon) to feed information to the radio and a VHF splitter which allows us to use both the cockpit radio or the cabin VHF for communication using the same antenna on top of the mast.

Installing this radio required running antenna lines above the ceiling liner which was a time consuming effort - easy to get down, a bugger to get back up.  Then I discovered I have to rethread the GPS antenna wire - That will be done on Monday!

Hard to comprehend the party is on Saturday.  Wow time is going by very fast!!  We are also continuing to debate which route we are going to take.  I am interested in going straight across and Renne' is interested in heading for Venice, Louisiana.  both routes are of interest.  I just hate going through the offshore rigs at night and dont like being in shallow water.  Waves get really ugly sometimes when waves are building.

Been to the TOP!!

Well, yesterday was an adventure.  I am in the process of adding a Single Side Band Icom 802 and a new VHF to the boat.  I have been dreading the idea of splicing in an insulated antenna to the backstay.  The other day, we had breakfast with Gary and Lorrie Powers and Gary recommended I install a random wire antenna instead.  That is just a piece of copper wire (marine grade 10gauge copper wire) run from the head (or top) of the mast to the new arch.  I had to think about that one.  I found some ceramic two wire insulators at a farm equipment store and a friend of mine, using our new electric anchor windlass, ran me to the top of the mast.  60 feet on the ground doesn't seem very long, but when you run up a mast 60 feet in the air, I get a LITTLE tense!!  I wish I had taken the camera up with me.  It is a great sight!  The problem as always is looking DOWN!

I had to drill a hole for a shackle to secure the insulator and attached wire to the top of the mast, then I figured since I was up there I would drill two more holes and install additional blocks (pulleys) so I can run lines down to the deck for extra sails, replacement lines, safety lines, etc.  So I added one to the front of the mast and put a line on it.  This morning I unpacked a spinaker I have had laying around for close to 12 years and ran it up the mast.  WOW!  I have added a great new drifting spinaker for light winds!!

My third project for the day was installing a new faucet for the galley.  Now it is not as intrusive (the galley is already small) and frees up room for two manual water pumps (one for fresh water and one for salt water) to use when we run out of electricity.  It is a safety thing.  Otherwise there is no way to access the fresh water in two 75 gallon tanks below the floor.

Beginning to install the VHF tomorrow.  Tonite I look for 100' of 2" copper ribbon to set up a ground plane antenna for the Single Side Band.

New Spot Messenger

Today, we received our Christmas present from Renne's Dad and Step-mom.  It is our new Spot Satellite GPS Messenger.  We are very excited about it.  We will now be able to send out our daily GPS position during our trips over the water, beginning with out upcoming trip on the Gulf of Mexico.