Winter Project #2

[BobM]

I scored a double bend 1" Navpod guard on sale for $170 including shipping. Previously I had posted wondering whether or not the aft traveler would be a problem for the double bend with no replies, but I then looked on yachtworld and saw several 9.2A's with the double bend and decided to go for it.

I also scored a small Navpod configure to hold up to three ST60's with cut outs for two, one on either side, for $30 on ebay. I plan to move my color GPS chartplotter to the guard from the coaming, where it is pretty useless, except when coastal cruising.

I will cut out the Navpod on the right side for the chart plotter, because the controls are on the right side of my SH150C. On the left side I think I will cover the hole with plastic or teak and then mount my Kenwood stereo's wire remote control there. Alternately, I could perhaps put the stereo control in the middle and then buy an ST60 instrument package, but I don't really need anything beyond the still functional Kenyon knotmeter and depthmeter I have now. It would be nice to have depth at the helm. A tri-data unit would be nice and allow future instrument upgrades, but they are pricey.

I also thought that a rudder angle indicator, which is one of the cheaper instruments you can buy, might be helpful for my Wife...who is a little L / R dyslexic...but given how little she sails it is tough to justify...and it might just confuse her more.

Any opinions on what other instrument you would prefer to have near at hand?

 

[BobT]

coveting instruments

Hi Bob, Quite a list! I'm looking forward to replacing the light bulb in my compass...
Seriously though...I did cough up for a new-used speed log that will drop in to the existing through-hull fitting and bulkhead hole. That's the best 'performance measurement' I can think of right now. I only have a handheld gps, mainly for low visiblity backup to paper charts, and speed over the bottom doesn't alway tell us if we've improved sail trim. Although I do like the ETA function! Someday, maybe wind speed?

 

[BobM]

I agree that a speed log is handy and that SOG doesn't tell the whole story. I just wish my damn speed sensor would work for more than a week after I launched the boat! I will have to look to see if there is a plug on board to allow me to pull it to clean it routinely. Otherwise I will try Roger Long's idea of mounting a sheet of copper in a ring around it to deter growth. Both will probably be necessary, as life has a way of getting in the way long enough to provide mother nature opportunity to mess up my speed log. Right now I have a depth meter and speed log mounted to the right of the companionway. The speed log is Kenyon and appears original. The depth meter seems newer. The Kenyon wouldn't be worth moving. It would be nice to have depth at both the pedestal and forward...just so I can keep an eye on depth if I am not at the helm.

I want to move the chart plotter to the helm mostly because my draft now is deep enough to make me more mindful of the bottom in Winthrop Harbor. I moor near Snake Island. If you find a chart somewhere online and check it out you will see that I have to zig-zag a couple of times to avoid shallows and, to be frank, it would be more convenient to use the chart plotter. In addition, the boat came with the chart plotter...it is just mounted in the port coaming aft of the wheel...making it rather useless in tight quarters.

Decent color chart plotters can be had for under $500 now and are worth considering, although I always carry paper, as a back up and because a five inch screen is limited. I can zoom in and out easily, but zoomed out it can still be tough to get the "big picture" when planning a passage.

 

[Calypso]

We bought a garmin 400 series fixed gps this summer form someplace online for about $400. I really like it but have not used all it's features yet. I just got the windspeed repair kit from DMI marine and hope to get that working again. It's not necessary but I hate having guages that don't work. My Datamarine speed log doesn't work. I haven't figured that one out yet.

 

[BobT]

speed log plugs

Yes, having a dead gauge is annoying! That's what drove me to ebay for a replacement. But what about those plugs for the through-hull fitting that Standard Horizon units (used to) come with? I would like to hear from someone who has swapped an impeller unit with a plug while in the water. I imagine a pretty serious fountain of water coming in...

Happy Merry, Merry Happy to All. Only 3months & a week til splash.

 

[Calypso]

I have Datamarine guages and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the black "plug" I found in the boat was. I finally threw it out! Two months later I realized what it was! Guess I'll never know what it's like to swap the plugs out.

 

[Bob McKee]

Datamarine Plug

I have Datamarine guages and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the black "plug" I found in the boat was. I finally threw it out! Two months later I realized what it was! Guess I'll never know what it's like to swap the plugs out.

I swapped out the Datamarine speed sensor with the plug with the boat, a 9.2A, in the water. I took the o-rings off the plug, cleaned and lubed them with silicone grease and reinstalled them, checked for proper orientation with the pin that holds it in place, rehearsed the movements for removal and installation ... and did it. I also put a short wrist lanyard on the plug in case I dropped it. Just plan out what you are doing, I only got about 2-3 quarts of water in the bilge.

 

[Houston Jim]

The plug is made to swap out in the water

I also have an old speed log on my 9.2A and find it hard to keep operating properly. The plug is made to be used to clean the paddle wheel, with the boat in the water. Bob describes the proper technique. The paddlewheel is very sensitive to any marine growth and must be cleaned virtually everytime the boat is used. Try removing and cleaning it out at the end of a sail. Leave it out (with the plug installed) until you are ready to sail again, then reinstall for that sail. I typically don't bother any more, as I have a hand held GPS which gives very accurate speed across the bottom (the GPS and the speed log will never agree anyway).

 

[BobM]

Follow-up

http://forums.s2.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=105719

The above link is where I posted my Navpod project on the ask all sailors forum. It turned out that there really wasn't room for another instrument. The only other thing I will add is a marine jack for my mp3 player I picked up from Jensen Marine. The marine stereo I have isn't ipod ready, which is fine as my mp3 player is a Sansa. I still have to attach the Navpod to the new guard and run all the wires. Weather is starting to get better around here, so hopefully I can play on the boat soon.

 

[Rick19354]

Re: Follow-up

Hi all --

Took our 9.2A from Jacksonville to Vero Beach last week -- nice run with a couple of interesting weather days (squall lines and heavy south winds on the nose). Which prompted my reply to this post as I often found myself sitting forward under the dodger steering with the autopilot's handheld remote. This was not a problem as I have a garmin 800 series plotter on a Ram mount and can turn the plotter around and see it from forward of the helm. I initially looked at a permanent mount at the helm (navpod, etc.), but am glad to have the flexibility of the Ram system.

The plotter and depth are critical in Florida's skinny water, so both must be accessible in the cockpit. I rely on the plotter's speed, as my ST 40 knot meter is about .5 slower than actual speed. I've often wondered why, but think it's more of location of the plug than an error in the instrument, but can't verify. The paddle wheel is clean and usually kept out of the water as I use the dummy plug when not sailing.

Anyway, Key West and Dry Tortugas bound and will update occasionally! I've attached a couple of photos from this leg -- one of my wife at the helm (you can see the Ram mount for the gps) and the other of Second Wind before heading out of the city marina in St. Augustine.

Best,
Rick

 

[BobM]

Good point.

Hi Rick,

Good point. I thought about mounting it on some sort of swivel to have that flexibility. However, based on a few experiences where the mainsheet has kind of piled up on the pedestal I feared losing it in a gybe someday. In a Navpod on a guard seemed better from that perspective, although I certainly understand the limitations. I was even a bit concerned about a taller guard and posted my concerns here prior to purchasing.

Most of my skinny water is in my home harbor, where a zig zag path must be followed if you draw five feet and the tide is out. At that point, if I am solo sailing, it is convenient to have the plotter available (it had been mounted low in the port coaming) rather than fuss around with a chart (see photo with me and my chart tucked in between my compass and guard). I don't have a remote for the autopilot, but I am assuming that if it were engaged I'd have both hands free for dealing with the chart and more time to react than when in restricted waters.

So, at the helm is a definite improvement, but a swivel certainly is more flexible. Fortunately, because the GPS came with the boat, the guard was $170 and the Navpod was $30 off ebay, if I wish to change it I don't have that much invested in it.

Vero Beach? Wave to my Mother for me. She is in Port St. Lucie.

BobM

 

[Rick19354]

Hi Rick,

Good point. I thought about mounting it on some sort of swivel to have that flexibility. However, based on a few experiences where the mainsheet has kind of piled up on the pedestal I feared losing it in a gybe someday. In a Navpod on a guard seemed better from that perspective, although I certainly understand the limitations. I was even a bit concerned about a taller guard and posted my concerns here prior to purchasing.

Most of my skinny water is in my home harbor, where a zig zag path must be followed if you draw five feet and the tide is out. At that point, if I am solo sailing, it is convenient to have the plotter available (it had been mounted low in the port coaming) rather than fuss around with a chart (see photo with me and my chart tucked in between my compass and guard). I don't have a remote for the autopilot, but I am assuming that if it were engaged I'd have both hands free for dealing with the chart and more time to react than when in restricted waters.

So, at the helm is a definite improvement, but a swivel certainly is more flexible. Fortunately, because the GPS came with the boat, the guard was $170 and the Navpod was $30 off ebay, if I wish to change it I don't have that much invested in it.

Vero Beach? Wave to my Mother for me. She is in Port St. Lucie.

BobM

Bob --

For $30, I would have put in the Navpod as well! Good find. Next passage is offshore from Fort Pierce to Lake Worth Inlet, so I'll give a wave to the west when passing Port St. Lucie. I grew up in Stuart and it still amazes me how PSL has changed since the 1980's. We had a great run and even saw another 9.2A sailing near Cocoa Beach -- pretty rare in these parts.

Rick

 

[BobM]

Rick,

Have fun. We don't even have the winter cover off Triple Play up here. I actually saw a few snow flakes the other morning too, but I think I may take the cover off soon.

My Mother lives right near the Savannah club near where they built the new "down town" in PSL. The economic crisis is hitting them pretty hard down there.

Bob