Electrifying News

Greetings!

Last Spring, I referred to a plan to order a new mainsail for S/V Seafari, our Watkins 27 sailboat.  The original idea was to construct a kit from Sailrite, thereby saving money and gain additional experience as a DIY sailmaker.  But in the interest of saving time and enjoying a sailing season with a new crisp main, we ordered one from Doyle Sails.  It is a beaut!

Loose Foot!

The difference in sail shape/performance between the original 1981 blown out, limp rag and the brand new 7.4 oz cruising main is enormous. I highly suggest upgrading your sail inventory if you carry legacy rags.  It increases your sailing pleasure exponentially.  Mainsails are now designed with a loose footed main.  When you stop to think about it, a loose foot makes perfect aerodynamic sense.

A new sail cover is now being constructed thanks to an easy-to-build Sailrite kit.

Admittedly, we did more sailing this Summer and Fall than restoration projects, but that is a good thing.  All work and no sailing is not an option.

I would like to recommend an interesting boat restoration series on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5xDht2blPNWdVtl9PkDmgA  It's hosted by Danish Sailor/DIY'er and it is very entertaining!  Also, Boatworks Today with host Andy Miller, who is a top notch professional.  Andy is at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kDqq-pSzdqFUk3oTaHBuA

A hazardous rat's nest

Now that Seafari is winterized and sitting at the dock, it's time to re-prioritize and get to the main problem areas of the boat.  The immediate issue is the electrical wiring.  After watching tutorials on YouTube produced by Pacific Yacht Systems based in Vancouver,  I realized our boat was in dire need of a complete re-wire, both DC and AC.

Back in 1981, many builders took shortcuts to remain competitive in the hot sailboat market. As a result, some wiring was pretty sketchy and over time, became downright dangerous.   Couple that with shoddy quick fixes by previous owners and... well, you get the picture.  The ABYC now has some very strict standards when it comes to onboard electrics.

A VOM is your friend

New 12 volt breaker panel

I noticed my old wiring consisted of various gauges of wire improperly crimped, unorganized, and unlabeled. I even noticed solid copper AC wiring which is totally wrong.  Some wires with bare ends led to nowhere. One AC outlet doesn't function and there is reverse polarity on the rest.  When I recently turned on my cabin light switch, the old glass fuse immediately blew. There was a short in the old 12 volt wiring.  It's all a recipe for disaster and it's a wonder Seafari has not burned down to the waterline.
So, I've been working on a new wiring diagram and am purchasing new supplies for the project. These items include all new 12 and 14 gauge ABYC approved tin plated, stranded DC boat wire, 10/3 stranded AC boat cable, shore power inlet, heat shrink ring and butt connectors, new DC 12 volt breaker panel plus AC breaker box.  We're also replacing all cabin lights and switching to led's.

New stuff - note: 12 volt wires are now
red (positive), yellow (negative)

We also need positive and negative terminals and inline fuses.  Whew!  This is a major project and as Jeff Cote of Pacific Yacht Systems would say,  "Boat wiring needs to be perfect."  Once everything is diagrammed and engineered properly, the rest is just time consuming and painstaking assembly.  Fortunately, this is only a 27 foot boat and the system is not complex.

Helpful to the novice

It turns out, boat electrics is kind of fun if you're a DIY'er.  I'm re-learning a lot about basic electricity and consulting with my Blue Sea amperage calculator app quite often.  There are a lot of resources out there if you don't know an amp from a volt. You just need to know a few basics and disconnect from shore power when working on the electrics.  Running voltages through your boat is serious stuff. The chance of an onboard fire increases as your system ages and decays.

I for one would rather not worry about faulty wiring and deadly fires. The only "charge" we want to get on this boat is the kind you get from experiencing life under sail!