Spent the last few days trawling the internet for various bits and pieces I need to get Phoenix back into tip top shape... some easy to find, others less so... or at least less so at sensible prices!
I need 10 overhead lights... currently we've got teak discs, with a brass fitting on each... replacements are £40 each... ouch. However, i've found a source of just the brass bit at £12 each... much more like it... they've also got 10W bulbs in... OK for a couple, but 10 of them will be a bit heavy on the batteries (OK, we're unlikely to have them all on at the same time)... so want LED alternatives... which are £15 each.... have found a supplier of a converter from bayonet to G4 connections, that also provides surge protection... and then the LED G4 bulbs are 95p each from eBay... total £3 a light fitting.. much better!
Then its on to bilge pumps... again, not cheap... looking at about £80 a pump by the time you've added float switches... but have just found a supplier of slightly smaller pumps (still well recognised, good quality brands) that cope with 350Gph, but if I fit 3 of them, then that's enough... if the water is coming in faster than a 1,000 Gallons an hour, we'be got bigger problems!
Then on to shower pumps... jeepers! £100 each.... so that'll be only one heads with a shower unit then.... and it'll also save on taps/shower head fittings too..
After that, its nav lights.... need a tricolour... but 'er indoors is buying me the NASA LED Tricolour as a crimbo pressie!
I'll worry about the steaming light etc later.
Finally, I need instruments, so that when Phoenix is lifted, I can remove the old log and sounder and fit new ones... was going down the Raymarine route with ST40s, but can get two of the new Garmin colour instrumets for the same money.... and they are multi display... in fact as they include more cabling than the Raymarine ones, actually they work out cheaper!
They are NMEA2000, but also have an NMEA0813 input... so plan is to have Standard Horizon VHF with AIS receiver, sending NMEA to a Raymarine e7 plotter, which will also output GPS info to radio and instruments... neat set up, that allows me to have an iPad down below that repeats e7 display, as well as lots of other funky features.
Not onboard this weekend... too much to do at home... but back on the case soon!
Neil, my concern about taking Lat/Long from GPS to VHF is that you are still dependant on GPS to be working if you have to send a Distress.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I had on the last boat and will have on this one, a seperate GPS antenna just for the VHF.
This way, if I can have the VHF on without it alarming because the main chartplotter is turned off.
Nick H
you can set up the regular raymarine gps antenna (raystar 125?) to output nmea 0183 instead of seatalk and take that to the plotter and vhf, then the GPS is independent of the plotter power. Downside is that you might not have enough nmea inputs on the plotter, so you end up with a seatalk-nmea converter in the mix. might also need, depending on number of instruments, a NMEA mupliplexer (MUX). Brookhouse do one with built in wifi so all the nmea data on your network is available to e.g. an iphone - v. cool. The VHF should remember last position is got from the GPS so if you send a distress it uses that, fine if you have plotter on always at sea - we do because it draws very little and we could keep the radar on standby and give it a few spins every 15 mins. I do some of this for work now, mostly on security / police boats so if you need any more info, let me know. Nick W.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick, the new Raymarine e7 has built in wifi and bluetooth, so does that too, as well as let you do things like control the iPod from the plotter... But its a good point ref a seperate GPS for the radio so that the plotter doesn't have to be on for the radio to work (or a least not alarm all the time)
ReplyDeleteWill think about that!
Should add, not so worried about radar start up times, as i'll put one of the new 3G radars on which have instant start up
ReplyDeleteNeil,
ReplyDelete350gph is measured on flat surface, with horizontal suck and blow.
Performance deteriorates dramatically when you are pushing a one way valve and uphill to the hull outlet, not to mention the weright of water in the plong pipe run to the outlet.
I have 3000gph going up 800mm in a 7m run, and I reckon its less than half the quoted performance.
When FC was filled to above the floorboards, it took 40 minutes to empty it with the standard Jeanneau fit of a 1000gphh Whale unit.
I have one 3000gph for each tack, as I dont have a sump like you, plus the 1000gph near the keel box. They are fed off 2 separate battery banks, and one is hooked solely to its own 110ah battery, through its own fuse breaker circuit.
I am fitting a Whale Super sub 650 this winter into the compartment with the log impeller, just to suck up the litre or two when I clean the impeller.
Also going to swap out the float switches for the no moving parts ones, as I have had a couple of issues with the floats not firing the pumps.