Thursday, November 12, 2015
Good morning!
Here I go again....can't wait to finish these beauties!!!
Bob's new concoction. A "check valve" that keeps water from
back-flowing into the boat through the emergency bilge
pump thru hull. When a wave hits the thru hull the water
becomes pressurized sending water back down through the hose
and into the bilge! The check valve only allows water to go out!
This is SSB (single side band/ham) radio. Anyone can listen to it and
transmit on a couple of channels but you have to have a General
license in order to transmit on most channels.
A couple of years ago I studied and took three tests to
get the highest license available. I wanted to make sure I could talk
anywhere just in case it was needed (Bob says now I'll never run out
of people to talk to). The little box on top of the SSB is used for email,
TV channels, and telephone calls. It works, but needs to
be updated, so I need to send it out to do that. I can use it now (providing)
I get everything to work but I would be on a radio frequency for quite
a while and other boaters would not be able to get on that particular channel
due to us. So unless it is an emergency, I won't be using the small box.
Once we get it upgraded though, will be another story!
Bob is trying to find out what the issue is with my SSB radio,
he has to lean inside this hole and try to find and fix the problem
while laying across the bottom of the frame. Hard on the belly! (It is too
small on the inside for him to get into it! I asked him how it was done in
the first place and he said "they must have hired a midget!")
The two grounding strips to the bolt
leading to the ground plate on the outside of the hull corroded
and were loose on the bolt. This would cause the SSB to not
work properly. (The two green pieces should be connected)
when exposed to water, begins to corrode (turn green) and
becomes less effective.
Since I was sewing most of the day...I would look out the window
and see dolphins swimming by....
Whoever wasn't the busiest at the time,
would run out and try and get a picture of them!
back-flowing into the boat through the emergency bilge
pump thru hull. When a wave hits the thru hull the water
becomes pressurized sending water back down through the hose
and into the bilge! The check valve only allows water to go out!
transmit on a couple of channels but you have to have a General
license in order to transmit on most channels.
A couple of years ago I studied and took three tests to
get the highest license available. I wanted to make sure I could talk
anywhere just in case it was needed (Bob says now I'll never run out
of people to talk to). The little box on top of the SSB is used for email,
TV channels, and telephone calls. It works, but needs to
be updated, so I need to send it out to do that. I can use it now (providing)
I get everything to work but I would be on a radio frequency for quite
a while and other boaters would not be able to get on that particular channel
due to us. So unless it is an emergency, I won't be using the small box.
Once we get it upgraded though, will be another story!
he has to lean inside this hole and try to find and fix the problem
while laying across the bottom of the frame. Hard on the belly! (It is too
small on the inside for him to get into it! I asked him how it was done in
the first place and he said "they must have hired a midget!")
leading to the ground plate on the outside of the hull corroded
and were loose on the bolt. This would cause the SSB to not
work properly. (The two green pieces should be connected)
This is the inside of the hole. The SSB needs a certain amount of
"grounding" surface which is made up of copper strips. Copper,when exposed to water, begins to corrode (turn green) and
becomes less effective.
and see dolphins swimming by....
would run out and try and get a picture of them!
Our sunset tonight
We had a busy day today and got a lot done....it was one of those days where you really feel like you accomplished something! We are trying to get all the little (big) things done before we cross over so we don't have to spend a lot of time working on the boat and can enjoy the beauty of it all over in the Bahamas. I was coordinating defrosting the freezer and the fridge at the same time before our big shopping spree over the next 2 days and somehow or another I made it happen. Both are defrosted, cleaned and ready to be replenished! I also got another 2 curtains made today. I'll say no more about that, we know my feelings on these curtains already!
Bob did a lot of work also. I've been having a problem getting my SSB (single side band) radio to work. We can listen and talk anywhere in the world on it (depending on weather/atmospheric conditions and it is functioning properly) but I haven't been able to pick up many stations. There is a lot of copper on the boat to provide an appropriate, "ground," but unfortunately we found out yesterday that the connection was all corroded and the connection points. But, the good news is, at least we found out what the problem is, hopefully! Bob says the nut is so tight it will probably take him a couple of days to loosen it up without destroying it! The couple of days comes in because Bob has to lean over in a small hole in the back of one of our bedrooms, then he has to stretch as far as he can to the right side of the hull to reach the area he needs to work in, and all this while laying on his stomach on the small hole! So we are babying it by putting "stuff" on it to help clean up the corrosion and hopefully help with the loosening.
Well tomorrow is another big day...we go into Titusville, get a ball, hopefully pick up our mail so Bob can fix the dinghy motor...do some laundry and the first half of our grocery shopping. We have a lot to get so we are making it two trips. Once for dry goods, the other for meats. Busy, busy, busy!
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