Blog I Found Interesting

Here's a link to a blog about a guy named Nathan that cruised from Ft. Smith Arkansas down the Ar and Miss Rivers to the Gulf and on to the Florida Keys and the Bahamas in a very small boat . Check it out.

http://sailingmatilda.blogspot.com/2009/12/toad-suck-lock-and-waltzing-matilda.html

Bingo!

I was missing a few parts from the Hella Marine Anchor light on my Rasmus and searched the internet with little hope of finding them.   I found the exact light from Wolfs Marine right here in the USA.  I went ahead and bought the entire unit for the low price of $49.00(on sale from $115).  The packaging was old and yellowed and a bit tattered (which Wolfs apologized for) but it contained a beautiful and well made light from Hella Marine.  I bet it was the only one in the United States for sale.     Miracles do happen.

An Update from Pat

I am now waiting for the second set of custom engine feet to arrive before I can get the engine in its spot.  In the meantime I am finishing up some interior woodwork which included making four drawers and 2 doors for the galley.  I used cherry for this job.  I am also doing some finalizing on solar panel installation and I put in a lightning ground plate where the Dynaplate was located and moved the Dynaplate.  After reading a lot on grounding systems, I am getting a better feel about this fairly confusing and contradictory subject.  It looks like the lightning ground and DC ground are kept separate, and that's what I am doing.  It also looks as though the SSB radio ground is kept separate from the DC ground, but I've read that you can accomplish this via electronic circuitry.  My engine should be installed in a few weeks and then I will finish the mast rebuild.  That will get me very close to getting the boat in the water.  I am planning a 4 month cruise starting in February 2013.  I will start from Little Rock, Arkansas and cruise down the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers to the gulf and head to Key West and then the Bahamas.  I expect my brother to join me there and we will cruise the Bahamas for a month together before I drop him off and head......well, who knows.  I hadn't decided yet.  I will start another blog and document my travels as they happen.
Cheers
Pat

Communication Problem with Beta Marine

Well, I have spent over $800 on the wrong size custom engine mounts from Beta Marine just because Beta didn't tell me that I had to subtract for the flexible mounts to be used in the installation.  The HR Rasmus 35 does not have long flat engine beds, so it is impossible to use Beta Marine's measurement worksheet that they provide in ordering custom engine mounts. But I had my original engine, the Volvo MD21A, and asked if I could take measurements off of it.  Beta said no problem.  I had the engine head off so I had a nice flat surface to extend a straight edge from it to get the measurements for the engine mounts and transmission coupling.  In all the conversations I had with Beta never was I told that the flexible engine mounts used in the installation needed to be taken into the measurements.  So when I received my final drawing from Beta to sign off on, I focused my attention on the dimension figures, which all were correct, but failed to notice that the dimension lines for the height of the engine mounts terminated at the base of the flexible mounts, not the engine mounts(feet), a difference of about a 1/4 inch on the drawing.  This mistake led to an engine that sets 2 1/2 inches too low.  I argued my point with Beta and they gave me a discount on new custom engine feet(not enough in my opinion).  So now I am ordering new custom feet from Beta Marine and have a few weeks before they are delivered.  So my hassle free engine installation has turned into a hassle.  I will move on to some interior woodwork projects as I wait.

Cheers
Pat