Sam and I had a huge cleaning, organizing, and throwing out party yesterday.
I got the 2 new solar panels mounted on the stern life line. All I need now is some hardware and stainless tube to hold them up, and to wire it all in. All I did was drill 2 holes in the panels, take the turnbuckles off of the lifeline, and run it through the panel. The nice thing is they will flip down when I need to maneuver Splendid into a slip or anywhere the panels might be in danger, like going through the canal! I’m going to run the panels (4x12v) in series to make it a 48 volt bank. My charge controller can handle it and I’m told it is the most efficient way of harnessing the solar power. Obviously the MPPT controller will put out 12v.
Sam managed to clean out the aft head (closet) enough for me to get our 2 bicycle frames into it. I hate cluttered decks. I emptied the 2 lazarettes and reorganized everything. I had so much space when I was done I could fit 4 bike tires and a bunch of scrap material I had lashed to the deck. I also made a bag of extra anchor line and chain. I had 300′ of anchor line in the lazerette and put it in a bag with 30′ of chain. If I ever need to throw an extra anchor out in a hurry it will be an easy and quick procedure. All I need to do is attach a shackle to one of the 3 extra anchors onboard and baddabing, Bob’s your uncle!
As far as weather goes Anna looks like it still might be a problem but Bill (first hurricane of the season) looks like it’s headed for Bermuda.
Sam and I are getting antsy and need to do something. There may be an opportunity for us here or we will be heading north shortly. I’m hoping Anna tracks to the West.
Cheers everyone.
Sail far and live slowly.
– Alex
She looks good Alex. You should be proud of yourself. Both of you.
You are the MAN!!! She does look good!! Back to work boarding dogs today, what a great 30 days aboard though. We ended up doing about 350 miles but only 50 miles from home. Nothing like what your infor. I could do another month or two easy. Busy season will be here soon for us.
You must going stir crazy, getting going then stopping huh! Enjoy,
Fair winds, Dean sv.Rubaiyat
I don’t hope they move to the west. I can’t move my house like you can Alex. ; )
Congrats on the extra space guys! Emily and I would love to do dinner or something one night when you guys come up the Chesapeake bay (we live in Leonardtown, about 15 min form Solomon’s island). Some time with other adults would be nice. I can also take you on the Navy base for some really cheap provisioning too. Hope all is well.
Sending positive vibes,
Chris and Emily
i noticed your toe rail was white is that teak ? is it stained, painted ? is there less maintenance . manumit
manumit,
that WAS teak, but is now encapsulated in fiberglass and primed, ready for prep and paint.
Manumit,
The sun within 10 degrees of the equator is ferocious. The only teak that will exist on Splendid will be in the cockpit protected under the dodger.
Much lower maintenance.
A
Hey, wait – 4 panels in series makes as much as 4×21.6V – that’s 86.4V (you’ve gotta work it out on the OC voltage not the battery rated voltage) are you sure your controller can handle that input voltage? You could pair them in parallel, then have those is series…just make sure it’s within the specs of the controller.
The other downside to that arrangement might be you lose all the current if just one panel is in shadow.
Actually I’m going to do 24volts after talking to the tech. The 2 new panels, and the 2 old panels will be wired in series to make 2 24v banks. The panels are 12v not 21.6 (open circuit) The controller handles up to 48V input.
Alex
OK, you’ve got it figured! Nice simple way to mount the new panels too. It’s good to see you living true to your philosophy, being self sufficient for a lot of your power. Have you looked at solar cookers – they’re a cool way to save a lot of fuel use, I wonder how well they work.
Alex will you still be jax on Thursday? Ive been following you for a while and would like to introduce myself to you.
I still like your idea of heading to the Chesapeake. The boat show is on Columbus day in Annapolis. Maybe you can make some cash there. Crazier things can happen. lol. Get north brother and be safe. Peace.
alex great hear about the solar panels. but as i watch hurricain bill it looks like the edge of he storm could be right on top of you. perhaps you should be moving your slef and the girls away from that part of the country for a while.
bill won’t likely come near florida. the most i think we’ll see of him is some windier days and rain bands which makes for gloomy looking days, but is great for collecting water!
my solar panels won’t be putting out much, but oh well. the very edge of a hurricane is not really any more intense than the squalls we get every day in florida this time of year. a little bumpy for me at anchor, but alex is on a dock for the moment. i wouldn’t worry.
Alex, are you still in Jacksonville? If so… would love to meet. I have followed your site and blog for years. I am living aboard my boat and doing refit work at Ortega Yacht Club Marina getting ready to take the family cruising as soon as possible. I could use some help if you wanna make a buck or two.
I am worried about Bill. Forecasts say he will turn north northwest but so far…. no turn.
Terry
Terry,
I’m still in Jax Beach at Beach marine. I might be here for a while as I may have some much needed work. Please feel free to send an email, we are around.
sbholechek
We’ll be here on thursday, send an email.
As far as Bill goes I wouldn’t worry about it hitting Florida, but who knows. Lets hope it stays out to sea. It looks like we may stick around here to make a few bucks for the cruising kitty. I’m planning on sailing for the Bahamas/Virgins in Oct/November and we will need enough money to last us for a while. I’ll be able to do some charters once I’m back in the San Blas, work on boats, etc.
i think this is the farthest i’ve fallen behind, unless you count that bout in canada. i shall be along soon. going to continue helping out here for a bit, then make my way up there to do some paint prep.