Steering Modification....

Hard to believe that I've being faffing around with the quadrant section of the steering for almost a year. The initial plan was to bolt an aluminum plate onto the forward quadrant bulkhead and run the pull-pull conduits directly into "L" brackets on it. This sort of copied the original Edson design. I went as far as having the plate made. The attempted installation was a PITA and I hate having to work upside-down.

Now I know that all of you with wire steering systems check and oil the sheave bearings MONTHLY and check and oil the wire ANNUALLY (monthly if its a pull pull system), as per the Edson instruction manual. If I am to do it more that once a decade it cannot involve me hanging upside-down.

On a whim I called the help desk at Edson and talked to a very helpful person who appeared vastly knowledgeable on the subject of steering. I told him that I was following the Edson conversion plan for the Whitby 42 and he promptly told me that that plan didn't really work. In fairness I had conveniently ignored the penciled in "Extra Sheaves here" bit. Basically any 90degree bends in a pull-pull system are not recommended as the wire tries to straighten out the conduit. The conduit is ideal for small vertical/horizontal bends to allow the cable to move in a more or less straight direction. He talked me through some modifications.

To shorten the story I have now purchased two in/out pull-pull sheaves and the larger reversible sheave bracket rudder-stop.




The wooden part is a mock up for an aluminum plate which hold all the components and will be bolted through the fiberglass bulkhead.



No more upside-down steering maintenance for me. For info, the help desk guy I spoke to double jobs as the Edson President, Will Keene.

Arty farty shelving......

Oak balance shelving is available from the Conran Shop for $973.75



Gerry's clearance priced teak shelving is available at West Marine (now almost sold out) for $100 (all 4 shelves). A lick of varnish and its done.

Secret toy.......

I bought this device over a year ago, smuggled it on-board and have kept it very quiet ever since. It looked too good to be true and like many of the "must have" items I've bought at boat shows from efficient looking women, destined to be taken ashore in the dead of night and put in a dumpster. But NO. After 12 months of use, it rocks. Its not for the likes of RJ and his fancy smancy CNC table or those poor kids who did shop is school while us rich kids did useful stuff like Latin and Greek. Its for anyone who can not cut a straight line or screw in two screws without getting a blister.

More importantly all the bits fit into the locker on the port side of the saloon.

Check it out here but, while I love it; "caveat emptor" (that's Latin).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FWXODC

Don't get too used to that...sweetie!!!!!!

Wow, do I know my wife or do I know my wife.

My projects generally break down as follows, 50% planning, 25% looking for my tools, 25% working. The pegboard was an effort to reduce the 25% tool search to 20%. After showing the photo to my wife the first comment was as posted in the title. This is a temporary setup, which will be removed once the boat is operational, :-(.

We got Jimmy Buffett...it's all good...

Fusion radio with Ipod dock, installed.



With AC controls and Fusion remote control installed.

120V system...finally

How did I get from this for $80 at the Dania Flea Market;



To this, from Blue Seas at several multiples of boat buck$;



And yet I am well pleased.







And I'm finally rid of the hanging cable farm over my head.