aegir-ran

I have been focusing safety equipment this week (ditch bag, InReach, AIS, etc.). Today I registered an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon. The beacon was registered with US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since a Category 1 EPIRB is being used (which means it is capable of automatically deploying, it was mounted out-of-the-way on the deck.

Category I EPIRBs are housed in a special bracket equipped with a hydrostatic release. This mechanism releases the EPIRB at a water depth of 3-10 feet. The buoyant EPIRB then floats to the surface and begins transmitting.

Upon deployment, the EPIRB’s built-in GPS will fix your position to within a few meters and then utilizes a powerful 406 MHz signal to relay a distress call to orbiting satellites. When triggered, the EPIRB broadcasts a unique registered distress signal (that includes the vessel’s MMSI) that not only tells rescuers where you are, but who you are.

An additional feature of the EPIRB is a 121.5 MHz secondary homing transmitter which means that once Search and Rescue teams have been deployed, they are able to home in on your exact location. The rescue is also assisted by a a LED strobe built into the EPIRB.

When I purchased the boat, it can with a hard-chined rowing boat for a tender, a Walker Bay 8, which was poured by a Yamaha 2.5 hp engine. While the Walker Bay was perfect for the Sea of Cortez, it was inappropriate for where I plan to go. I needed a dingy that could carry provisions, that I could beach in a surf, and that I could dive off of. The new dingy had to fix on the foredeck (9′ or less) and had to be light enough to launch single-handed. I also wanted a RIB (that could plane, and thus be relatively fast. I settled on an AB 8UL, which is constructed of Hypalon and has an unfinished aluminum hull. I saved $800 in taxes and $800 in shipping (and perhaps a month) by driving to Oxnard California to pick it up. I sold the Walker Bay to a local for $150 today and the RIB is now in its place. I need to sew chaps for the new dingy and a cover to store it on the foredeck.

The previous owner of the boat had removed all of the plumbing for the head and the holding tank. He had left behind precut lengths of Shields Series 148 hose to put it back together again. After staying the lengths of hoses, I realized the the boat had been previously plumbed so the head would only deposit to the holding tank and the holding tank could only be pumped overboard. I wanted the options to pump the head directly overboard or pump the holding tank out via the port on the deck. Further, I wanted to replace the manual pump with a macerator. The small space available to accommodate the plumbing required considerable planning. The components were laid out in the settee area for a couple of weeks as various options were explored inn what amounted to a three-dimensional chess game:

Eventually, a configuration was decided on and work was begun to route the plumbing through some very tight spaces. Shields Series 148 hose is very stiff, so the order of the pulling and connecting of the tubing had to be carefully planned.

Since a new model of toilet was installed, the fiberglass of the shower pan was patched and painted with Interlux Bilgekote.

When the plumbing and painting was complete, the wood was refurbished with teak oil and the toilet was installed.

Because the fixtures were corroded and the manual pump handle was broken, all the fixtures were replaced.

A panel just to the left of the sink provides access to the macerator, the two diversion valves, and the main seacock.

While the anchor light worked before the mast was stepped, it stopped working shortly after the boat splashed. Not able to find the problem, the photodiode system I built was removed. Eventually, I discovered the problem was a bad wire splice at the top of the mast. For the sake of simplicity, I decided not to reinstall the photodiode box.

I tuned the standing rigging of the Aegir-Ran for the first time. I found a document published by the Seldén mast company a good resource. The Aegis-Ran has a fractional rig (a cutter) with a keel-stepped mast and a single in-line spreader. The horizontal rigging comprises of a forestay, a cutter stay, double backstays, and (Dyneema) running backstays. The running rigging comprises of a mainsheet, jib sheet, staysail sheet, preventer guy, outhaul, reefing lines, and a topping lift. The shrouds comprise of upper shrouds, cap shrouds, and forward and aft lower shrouds.

The tensions when I began were:

	Starboard (%)	Port (%)
Cap Shrouds (3/8″)	7	8
Forward Intermediate Shrouds (5/16″)	11	10
After Intermediate Shrouds (5/16″)	7	9
Backstays (5/16″)	11	11

I used Loos PT-2 and PT-3 tension gauges:

I started with the upper shrouds (which were flopping in the wind):

Once the upper shrouds were balanced (5 on a PT-2 scale), I followed the following procedure to tune the rest of the standing rigging:

1. Check mast rake and adjust with the forestay.
2. Tension the cap shrouds to 15%.
3. Roughly straighten the mast using the lower shrouds (checked by viewing up the luff groove).
4. Increased the cap shroud to 20%.
5. Tune the mast straight again using the lower shrouds.
6. Tensioned the backstays (not to exceed 20%). This increases the tension of the cap shrouds.
7. Check the cap shrouds to make sure they are less than 25%.

The tensions after tuning were:

	Starboard (%)	Port (%)
Cap Shrouds (3/8″)	16	18
Forward Intermediate Shrouds (5/16″)	16	14
After Intermediate Shrouds (5/16″)	12	11
Backstays (5/16″)	15	13

Since the tensions seem to be changing, the rigging was left overnight.

The fuel tank was essentially full when we purchased the boat. It seems that tank of fuel sat at least two and a half years on the hard and it has been more than a year since the purchase. So, the fuel has sat in the tank about four years. From the supplies left behind, it seems likely the fuel was treated with a stabilizer and a biocide, but we have no idea how clean the tank is. Not wanting to take a chance, we hired someone to polish the fuel. The device that was used recirculates the fuel through a course filter and then a fine one:

The take-up line was attached to a piece of PVC, which was used to “vacuum out” the bottom of the tank:

Then, the fuel was returned to the tank via a second hose that was inserted into the fuel port on the deck.

I have installed a SIMARINE Pico and ST107 Tank Module was installed to monitor the volume of the two 50 gallon water tank and the 75 gallon diesel fuel tank. The tank already has a resistive sending unit, but I installed two new sending units in the water tanks:

THE ST107 can monitor up to four tank levels and/or temperatures and up to three battery voltages. Right now, only the three tank sending units are connected:

Note that I have fallen in love with wire ferrules, which are attached to the wire using a special crimping tool. The ferrules make high-gauge (small diameter) wire much easier to work with and secures low gauge (large diameter) wire more securely to clamp-type junctions (like those used on Victron controllers). Eventually, I will add the ability to monitor the refrigerator temperature (because occasionally the compressor motor sticks).

Here is a view of the PICO display of the tank volumes:

The PICO display will eventually also be used to also monitor a second house batter bank that will be placed under the V-berth for the windlass and a bow thruster that will be installed this summer.