I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the things I have to do in the next few weeks. I still need to get my radar dome up and I need to add a starting battery to my 12v system. My house bank really needs to be equalized and I really need to figure out how to do it. On Namaste I had a Ballmar regulator. I’m thinking to get an old style “dial” external regulator to equalize, they are cheap and I’m sure it will last a lot longer than the Ballmar. I went through one every few years on Namaste, I was using it on a daily basis though.
My friend Barry gave me some extra solar panels and Splendid will have a ton of solar power. If I can find the real estate for all the panels we will have just over 700 watts. Barry also threw into the mix a few charge controllers and an inverter. He smiled and said “pay it forward”, I surly will. In fact I’m going to contact the “Make a wish” foundation before we leave and see if I cant help with some free charters. Speaking of charters. I’m going to have a raffle for one shortly. I’m thinking $50.00 a ticket with a cap of 40 tickets. We are going to launch the new store within the next few days, thanks David. Guin really likes the idea of the “family” charters as she might get a built in friend or two.
We will leave Jacksonville by the 15th of December and head down to Stuart. We are going to hang out in the states so Guinevere can spend Christmas with her dad. We will also see Darrin and check out his new boat. After that our plan is to explore the northern Bahamas.
I also have a friend here from Australia (Jamie), he is looking for a boat. If anyone knows of a great deal on a full keel cruising boat please let me know.
We are off to check out Sailors exchange in Saint Augustine today. There are a few odds & ends I’m looking for.
Peace from the crew of Splendid.
– Alex
Published in Alex Dorsey
If you need anything and I mean anything while in the St Augustine area, just give me a call. My son lives and goes to college there. He grew up watching your videos and would gladly do anything he could, including rides or just whatever. I’ll email my phone number again. Glad to see you back on Splendid with the gals.
Peace
what happened to jamies tophat?
what size range is he looking for?
ALEX…PLAN B CAN EQUALIZE THE BATTERIES THROUGH THE SOLAR PANEL REGULATOR. IT TOOK UP TO 16 HOURS OF SUNLIGHT, BUT IF I TURNEND EVERYTHING OFF (REFER) AND IT WAS A SUNNY DAY I COULD EQUALIZE IN ONE DAY. CHECK YOUR REGULATORS FOR AN EQUALIZE SETTING…TROY SAYS HI. G
PS I ONLY HAVE 450 WATTS……………….G
As I’ve said before I LOVE THE SAILORS EXCHANGE!!! I started a 5 gal. batch of golden sweet cherry wine yesterday, froze them for a month and now getting them going. I also have six 5gal. pails of grapes frozen and waiting to get started.
Your last batch of wine should be done before you go huh?
Later, Dean
Gary,
I just got a controller that can equalize, I have not installed it yet. Are you going back to the boat???
Jamie is looking to spent under 20k full keel 32+ feet. He really likes Cape Dory, I had a chat with him today.
Jeff, thanks for the offer, we are back from St Augustine, but we will be back when we will be sailing down the coast. Maybe we could all hook up for a beer or lunch???
Alex
ALEX….RETURNING TO BOAT SOON(DEC)…….MAVIS IS STAYING IN ASTORIA ….I AM RETURNING (POSSIBLY VIA HAWAII…2 BERTHS AVAILABLE) TO ASTORIA WITH PLAN B TO WORK FOR 2 MORE SEASONS, THEN WHEN MY RETIREMENT KICKS IN WE ARE OFF TO WESTERN PANAMA OR COLOMBIA TO RETIRE. HOW LONG WILL YOU BE IN SAN BLAS AREA? GARY
THERE WAS A CAL 40 IN MEXICO FRO 10K RUNNING AND WITH SAILS….E MAIL ME AND I WILL TELL YOU WHAT I KNOW, BUT I DO NOT HAVE PHONE NUMBER
I know about that colombia, it’s still for sail? I looked at it 2 years ago :)
I’ll be in San Blas for a while, at least a year. Panama is a good place for us to base out of, charter, and easy and cheap access to the states.
You don’t really need a starting battery if you have a big house bank. While deep cycle batteries individually don’t have the cranking amps to be used to start engines, a bank of them often does. It will not hurt the batteries either. You cannot, however, using a starting battery as a deep cycle.
It has to do with the plate construction: starting batteries have plates like swiss cheese to maximize surface area and allow a lot of power to be drawn from them quickly. This decreases the density of the plates, however, and allows them to erode away quickly if used as a deep cycle. Deep cycle batteries have thick, solid plates that allow them to store more energy, and survive deep discharges with minimal erosion. This limits the amount of power that can be drawn from them quickly, so you need more batteries to get the additional surface area to provide those “cranking amps”.
Hi Alex, There is a 45′ Roberts Ketch on EBay over in Ft. Meyers. It is at $18,000 right now. It will be interesting to see how much it goes for.
Bill C
St. Paul, MN
Hi Alex,
I had stainless tubes welded in place of the life lines and then mounted four solar panels (two on each side) on flip up type moutns on the life line rails.
Just a thought from a long time lurker. I have both DVD’s and can’t wait for the third DVD!
Dave
Hey Alex, I have been living aboard for 2 whole months and getting everything done on the boat…but I found out it would take years so I’m cutting the dock lines in the morning at 7-7:30 am. I plan to stop in Nc, at Oriental, then in Ga, and will go to the boaters exchange to drool for a few hours, then I’m off to Key west. hope to see ya out there.
have a woderful thanksgiving to all the family
have a wonderful thanksgiving on your awesome sailboat
Hello, again. I was wondering how long before you’ll be doing charters? As I said in my e-mail, I am itching to be on the water again and would love to catch up with you, soon.
BTW, I’m going to ask for your DVDs for Christmas.
b. hinton
B. Hinton,
We will be doing a few charters in the Bahamas. I only want to do about 6 a year. I don’t want it to become work like my previous passions. I loved photography before I had a studio, and I loved film making before it became a profession. We will also be holding a raffle soon (within the next few weeks) for a charter in the Bahamas. Are you interested in coming with your family?
I can’t wait for some new adventures, it’s been too long since one your big adventures. Best Wishes. Dean in NJ
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
God Bless..
Alex, may be heading to Georgia again…lets maybe get together if we can….Jayce