As you read this post, Wil added his two-cents worth in a couple of places.
Someone should have told me to run wires before stowing our provisions! The fine-tune details of running wires through the boat never even crossed my (Jen’s) mind while I was stashing all of our stuff. Although in reality, I don’t think the order of things could have changed. We had moved aboard, and with the stacks of provisions and personal belongings all over the place, we could barely walk through the main salon. Other than stowing our items, it was impossible to think about any major indoor projects amidst the mess.
While Wil spent yet another day in the engine rooms (claiming that he was relaxing and watching TV), I tackled running the AIS antenna wire. The antenna is mounted next to the solar panels at the stern of the boat. That means the wire needs to run under the solar panel arch and into the boat at the starboard engine room. Since Wil was already down in the engine room, that is where we started. Colin fed the wire to Wil, who pushed through the front of the engine room to the head in the starboard aft cabin. I pulled it from under the sink in the head, and pushed it through conduit under the floor and forward through the galley. Once it reached the forward part of the galley, I had to remove drawers, and push it upward toward the starboard main salon seats.
Then came the time consuming part! Food provisions from four compartments under the salon seats needed to be removed before running the wire any further. Of course, the location of all the provisions had been recorded, so I had to be careful not to accidentally mix items from different compartments. Once the compartments were clear, I was able to determine which conduit would carry the wire to the port side of the boat. The only way to run wire across the width of the salon is through a conduit that runs under the step between the main salon and the forward crew quarters. However, this conduit by-passes the nav table which is where I needed it to stop. Therefore, after crossing the step, we cut an access hole into the conduit located under a port salon seat. Then, I ran the wire along the outside of the conduit and through all of the compartments leading to the nav table.
The last step involved crawling under the nav table and removing the 13 (let’s just say 12 or 14) lifejackets stored there. Then, I had to crawl into the compartment and remove the back panel in order to locate the wire. Once I had the wire again, I was able to push it up through to the navigational equipment area. It was such a satisfying feeling when the wire reached it’s final resting place.
But the job wasn’t finished yet! I had to go back to step one and begin the cleanup process, as well as zip-tying and labeling the wire. Somehow and luckily, as I was re-stowing the provisions, I ended up with extra space, so I was able to stow more items and make even more room in the salon. An added bonus to the day’s job!
While I spent the entire day wrestling with AIS wire, Wil worked on reconnecting engine hoses with new hose clamps, bonding wires, new engine filters, building new Li-ion battery box, as well as running hoses to the new proper thru-hulls. He also started re-plumbing the water maker system.
At the day’s end, we used a borrowed laser level that is used to help create a straight waterline. We waited until sunset and then set up the laser line on the boat. Since the boat isn’t sitting perfectly level (which was confirmed when we aligned the laser beam), we created a straight line based on the original starting points at the bow and stern of both hulls. We were surprised at just how unlevel certain areas of the waterline were! Using pencil, we marked dash lines along the laser line. Now, we have a guide for taping off our waterline. If the weatherman is correct, we will start applying the barrier coat Saturday morning.
makes for a straight waterline
laser light on a tripod
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