Equipment Comments
Page 2
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We purchased our Monitor from Scanmar in California and had it shipped to Spain by FedEx. We installed it in Almerimar before leaving for the Canary Islands (September 2008).
We also choose the additional option of a Swing-Gate, which allow the Monitor to be moved out of the way of the steps. We use the steps a lot for swimming and for getting into and out of the dingy so decided this addition was worth the money. The total cost for the Monitor and Swing Gate was about $7000 (without the Swing Gate it would have been about $4700). Freight to Spain was about $500. We also ended by paying additional tax and duty in Spain even though we should have been able to avoid this as a "Yacht in Transit".
To understand how a wind vane works read about the Servopendulum principle on the Scanmar website or here. The windvane is connected to the steering wheel by a pair of lines that follow our pushpit.
The final block that direct the steering lines to the wheel is attached to a bracket made for attaching safety harnesses. This way, when we are not using the windvane we can remove the block and have a fairly flat area again. This seems to work perfectly.
We are 100% satisfied with the Monitor windvane after our first 500 miles of use (Gibraltar to the Canary Islands).
We are still satisfied after crossing the Atlantic and now planning to cross the Pacific.
Read about the installation of our Monitor Windvane in September 2008
Visit the Scanmar Windvane site
Diesel engines work great for many years and require little maintenance but the fuel needs to be clean and free of any water. Tenaya came equipped with Volvo Penta fuel filters (the filter on the right is for the generator) but without a see-thru section the only way to check if water is in the fuel is to open the filter case. Racor fuel filters are the state of the art with many features including a see-thru bowl and easy drain. They are not cheap ($300 in the USA) but Katie purchased one on her last trip to the USA and after a couple of Fedex shipments to the Canary Islands I had the fittings and installed the filter on November 21, 2008 in Tenerife.
Tenaya came with 6 Tudor batteries enclosed in a custom built box. Each battery is 6 volts, so two batteries are wired in series to give 12 volts and then the 3 sets of two are wired in parallel. Each 2 batteries supplies 225 amps, so our service batteries supply 675 amps. Even when sailing 24 hours a day, with chart plotter and radar on (and the refrigerator) this seems adequate.
After nearly 4 years of use the batteries are doing fine, but tests of Specific Gravity showed them in the "yellow". They would probably be fine for another 6 months, but in December 2009 we are in St. Maarten, the Caribbean. This is a duty free port and also has one of the largest marine stores in the Caribbean. We made the decision to replace them with new batteries just because it would be easy here, they are in stock and probably the best price ($155 each) we will find for some time.
I decided to replace them with Trojan T-105 6 volt Golf-cart batteries for a few reasons. First, and very important, they are the exact same size, so I didn't have to modify the battery box. Second, one of the people I respect the most regarding today's equipment is Evan Starzinger (Beth and Evan website). He researched different options and choose the T-105 and after a few years is still happy with that choice. Trojan does make a T-125 that is the same size with a little more power. This would have been a good choice, but was not available anywhere I checked in the Caribbean.
We did have the choice of switching to Gel or AGM batteries (the choice of John Neal, the other person whose opinion I trust). But I take good care of our batteries, keeping them charged, checking the water levels, etc. so have a wet-cell battery is a good choice, giving a longer cycle life at lower cost. Nigel Calder, in his book that every boat should have on board, Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, he says, "In terms of amp-hours per dollar in cycling applications, in some applications (notably for the liveaboard cruiser), they (Golf-cart batteries) may well be the best value for the money of any battery on the market."
One of the problems is the connections. The Tudor batteries had the standard battery type post and all the wiring was made for those posts. The Trojan batteries that are available in the Caribbean have bolt connections. This required that all the lug fittings be changed to fittings to fit the threaded post. I guess I could have purchased a lug tool (about $75 at the local NAPA store) and bought the fittings (around $50) and then installed them, soldered them myself. But instead we had a great local guy come out to Tenaya and do it for $230..
Trojan T-105 with treaded posts
Each battery weighs 30 kg (66 pounds). Using the setup we have for lifting the outboard motor and moving it to the end of the boom made moving batteries up and down easy.
Out with the old and in with the new
When we ordered Tenaya in 2005 our plan was to cruise Europe and the Mediterranean for a few years. For Europe the best fuel for cooking is Camping Gaz. The blue tanks of Butane are exchangeable everywhere for a reasonable fee, making it easy to get new fuel. But in the Caribbean and as we go further west it is almost impossible to get Camping Gaz, so one of our projects for December 2009 in St. Maarten was to switch to Propane. We bought new lightweight fiberglass propane tanks ($150 each), each holding 10 pounds of propane. The only installation issue was the brackets to hold the tanks. We had new ones made at local machine shop for $200.
Some anchorages with fairly deep water close to shore or wind that changes direction during the night need special anchoring. Often the best way to anchor is to drop the anchor aways from shore and then back in, running one or two lines to tie to shore. When the anchor is set and these lines tightened the boat is secure and moves very little when the winds shift. Until now (December 2009) we had tied a couple of lines together, but while we were in the USA we bought a full roll (600 feet) of 12mm multiplait rope from West Marine. We divided it into 2 lines of 300 feet each and store them in mesh bags. These lengths should work wherever we end up anchoring in the future and will work for our transit of the Panama Canal.
We run the shore line through the stern cleat to the winch, making it easy to tighten the line.
Sleeping while sailing requires something to keep you from falling to the floor. We have Lee Cloths for the main cabin, but since our overnight sailing has always only been the two of us, having one bunk has been fine.
In 2010 we will be joined by another person for our Pacific Ocean crossing, giving the two of us more time to sleep (Fantastic!) and maybe even time to see each other (even better!). So we added lee cloths to the V-Berth in the front cabin.
We did not order any fans installed when we originally ordered Tenaya. After a few years of use and then a year in the Caribbean we have added 2 to the aft cabin and one to the forward V-Berth.
The fans are mounted so they blow right where we are sleeping, but can fold up out of site other times.
Every diesel engine that uses water for cooling has a raw water pump and inside a rubber impeller. This impellers need to be replaced a recommended intervals. I know this....but our generator is behind the engine and not that easy to get to. I do change the oil but was about 150 hours past the time to change the impeller. Just when we thought all our projects were completed in St. Maarten (Dec. 2009) and we could start sailing south the generator overheated. There was plenty of coolant so I took off the cover plate to check the impeller. It was destroyed.
Worse, when I counted the missing pieces there were 3, but there should have been 4. One had been sucked into the water pipe. It could have been worse if it went into the engine. So, what would have been a fairly quick job if I did it in time turned into a bigger job getting the missing piece out of the pipe. I think I will change then on time in the future!
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