Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I woke up at 5:30, a half jour after sunrise. In a continuation of electrical problems, the solenoid on the propane regulator has stopped working. I have been fearing/anticipating this because they don’t last forever in a marine environment and I do not have a spare. I suspect it is not a coincidence that I squeezed myself in the propane locker yesterday and suddenly the solenoid stopped working. However, I have examined the wiring and do not see a problem. Before removing the solenoid to try to find a replacement, I am going to cut the wires an confirm I have current. I will also test the resistance of the coil. I had good voltage and continuity, so cut out the defective union and installed new ones (I had to extend the wire). Fixed! I can have my morning tea … then will get started on my other electrical problems, the bow running lights. I cut the splice I made yesterday and did what I should have done before making it the first time, make sure I had voltage, which I did, which meant I broke the splice while pulling through the deck yesterday. This time I spliced the wire above deck but applied the heat shrink tubing in the chain locker so the wire bundle was not too thick to pull through the hole in the deck. Success. Pulling a new short wire for the port side was not challenging. I bought a small tube of silicon sealant. I finished the wiring, had to replace the bulb on the port side, then everything worked. I suspended the boom and mainsail with slings and removed the end plate for the boom. I am studying it to figure out how I am going to secure it once and for all. It is 15:30 and I just woke up from a 2h nap. I figured out how to secure the end cap of the boom and am setting out to manufacture the pieces. I have contacted a local contractor who says he can make the pieces. Interesting … the end piece is not symmetrical. It looks like the bolts were just eyeballed, or perhaps there it was not correctly measured. In any case, the two pieces will be different sizes. I feel I can complete my other tasks, at least the most important ones, in the next 3-4d, depending on how long it will take to find the materials. The only essential things that need to be done in addition to the boom is: 1) repair the windvane, 2) service the engine, and 3) replace the second reefing line and find a permanent solution to the chaffing problem. The first two can be done in half a day. The third requires me to find the materials. There is a chandelier at ZYC, but the prices are a bit steep. My vision for the reefing issue is to use a Dyneema soft shackle that is permanently attached to each reefing point and to have a permanently attached pendant at the two reefing points that I can just snap in after drawing in the reefing line. I can then relax the reefing line so it does not chafe. This is basically what I do for the tack of the mainsail when I reef. I can reinforce the soft shackle with a piece of firehose (like I did for the Dyneema pendant for the tack of the storm staysail).
Comments: I woke up at 5:30, a half jour after sunrise. In a continuation of electrical problems, the solenoid on the propane regulator has stopped working. I have been fearing/anticipating this because they don’t last forever in a marine environment and I do not have a spare. I suspect it is not a coincidence that I squeezed myself in the propane locker yesterday and suddenly the solenoid stopped working. However, I have examined the wiring and do not see a problem. Before removing the solenoid to try to find a replacement, I am going to cut the wires an confirm I have current. I will also test the resistance of the coil. I had good voltage and continuity, so cut out the defective union and installed new ones (I had to extend the wire). Fixed! I can have my morning tea … then will get started on my other electrical problems, the bow running lights. I cut the splice I made yesterday and did what I should have done before making it the first time, make sure I had voltage, which I did, which meant I broke the splice while pulling through the deck yesterday. This time I spliced the wire above deck but applied the heat shrink tubing in the chain locker so the wire bundle was not too thick to pull through the hole in the deck. Success. Pulling a new short wire for the port side was not challenging. I bought a small tube of silicon sealant. I finished the wiring, had to replace the bulb on the port side, then everything worked. I suspended the boom and mainsail with slings and removed the end plate for the boom. I am studying it to figure out how I am going to secure it once and for all. It is 15:30 and I just woke up from a 2h nap. I figured out how to secure the end cap of the boom and am setting out to manufacture the pieces. I have contacted a local contractor who says he can make the pieces. Interesting … the end piece is not symmetrical. It looks like the bolts were just eyeballed, or perhaps there it was not correctly measured. In any case, the two pieces will be different sizes. I feel I can complete my other tasks, at least the most important ones, in the next 3-4d, depending on how long it will take to find the materials. The only essential things that need to be done in addition to the boom is: 1) repair the windvane, 2) service the engine, and 3) replace the second reefing line and find a permanent solution to the chaffing problem. The first two can be done in half a day. The third requires me to find the materials. There is a chandelier at ZYC, but the prices are a bit steep. My vision for the reefing issue is to use a Dyneema soft shackle that is permanently attached to each reefing point and to have a permanently attached pendant at the two reefing points that I can just snap in after drawing in the reefing line. I can then relax the reefing line so it does not chafe. This is basically what I do for the tack of the mainsail when I reef. I can reinforce the soft shackle with a piece of firehose (like I did for the Dyneema pendant for the tack of the storm staysail).