| Ameera |
Making Her MineWhile Ameera was in Liverpool I visited her regularly and faithfully, and did the miscellaneous odd jobs that boats are always in need of, but now I've got her to Fleetwood, and I'm in possession of a boat to sail on the sea, the picture becomes more focused.What do I want to do? What do I need to do it? Etc. I want to sail single-handed a lot of the time. I want a boat that's prepared for sailing offshore, not just racing in the confines of the Mersey with other boats in close proximity if help is needed. I realised that I needed some back-up systems and some more kit. Specifically, a hard-wired GPS to backup the handheld, a handheld VHF to backup the fixed set, and an autopilot to make single handing easier. I bought the GPS on eBay - £58 - a bargain.... Then spent a couple of weeks fixing it. The display was shot, the internal memory backup battery was dead.... Oh well, spent the money so better make it work. Fixed it, took it down to the boat, the antenna cable was too short for where I wanted to mount it. I was reusing the antenna post from the old Decca, and needed 25 feet of cable. The GPS antenna came with, and was tuned for, 20 feet. Took the antenna apart, wired it to the old Decca coax. Mounted the display unit where I wanted it, et voila.. the beast lives again. 15 years old but quite sufficient for my needs.  The antenna - held on with gaffer tape until I buy U-bolts - but what the hell.  The display - newly rejuvenated and finding satellites. Who really needs one of these colour, 3D, realtime video chartplotters anyway? Time for a self-congratulatory lunch - and beer!  Only the best on this boat! After the hassle with the GPS I had gone off the idea of a second-hand tiller pilot, and had treated myself to a new one. At a very competitive price from Martin of Malthouse Marine I purchased a new ST2000+. Much less hassle, although Raymarine's connector leaves a lot to be desired, obviously not designed for use with thick, current-bearing, cables. Removing the old connector from the previous autopilot, expanding the connector hole and fitting the new one didn't take long - so now we're ready to go.  Yes, I know the cockpit's filthy. I'll wash it out before sailing. One more session now, wire in the Gas Alarm courtesy of Lidl's bargains dept., and connect the NMEA interface between the GPS and the tiller pilot. Hopefully next weekend, and then, weather permitting, off sailing!  Ameera at Fleetwood 8:17 PM - Feb. 18, 2007 - post comment
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