Standing Rigging (Oct 2006)

All standing rigging was replaced by a local rigger (Mike's Marine). This included: forestay, backstay, upper and lower shrouds. All turnbuckles were also re-chrome plated by a local shop.

Engine Water Pump (Jun 2005))

Replaced the original Oberdorfer pump with a new one in March 1991.  This was the old style pump with a grease cup that required  turning the cap a quarter turn each time that we set sail. Shaft and seals of this "new" pump were replaced in June 2001.

In 2005, Moyer Marine introduced an improved water pump (Model MMI 502) which did not

require a grease fitting for lubrication. This new pump, installed on 25 May 2005, mounts in the same location as the original. There is no grease cup and the rear cover is easily removed by rotating thumb screws. Cover removal allows easy access to the impeller and drains the pump for winter storage.

Sorry to say, this pump (#1), began to leak engine oil from the seal area on 12 Jun 2005. We put the old pump in its place and contacted Moyer Marine and they provided a replacement (#2) which was installed on 17 Jun 2005. This second, new, pump, which, according to Moyer, had a secondary oil seal, began to leak engine oil, in the same place, early in April, 2006. We again contacted Moyer Marine. They shipped us pump #3 which was installed around 22 Apr 2006. This pump #3 has performed well and the new features make it a pleasure to own. Moyer asked that pump #2 be returned to them so that they could do an investigation. This was done and they provided a report which stated that pump #2 was, mistakenly, the same version as Pump #1. We seemed to have helped Moyer Marine Inc. to overcome the teething problems with this new pump.

{Lesson learned:

Always take the time, cost and effort involved to keep the water pump operating well. The engine is totally dependent on it's operation.}

Solar Panel (March 2006)

We installed a 500 milliamp solar panel to the port side, on and aft of the stern rail. This panel is operated whenever we sail and usually keeps up with our electrical demands at the time. Since it was installed. we seldom need to use our shore power battery charger. The solar panel output lead goes into a small, plastic, sealed electrical box that holds the milliamp meter and push-on, push-off switch. The output leads are fed through a sealed entry in the coaming to the interior electrical panel. The ground wire is connected to the ground bus. The positive wire is attached to a small circuit board which contains two, one amp diodes. Both of the diode anodes are connected to the solar panel positive lead. Each of the cathodes are wired to the positive terminal of one of the batteries This isolates the batteries and allows each battery to accept charging current.

{Lesson learned:

Small investments pay dividends in reducing energy consumption and time spent on operating charging equipment.}