Upgrades to our Fast Passage 39

We did a whole wack of work on the boat last week. We installed two new solar panels with a solar controller, and we took off the wind generator. The wind generator was outdated and unreliable and creaky and Barry didn’t trust it and we were unable to tell how much power it was generating and it took over 20 knots to get it going, so off it came. The new solar panels have a controller that tells you exactly how much power they are generating, so you can watch it change as it gets sunnier and cloudier and as the sun gets lower you can see the output decrease.

We also installed a new ham radio, my goodness, our pocketbook is quite a bit lighter but we are quite happy with the results. We have a Pactor 3 Modem that comes with it so we will be able to send e-mail through our ham radio when offshore. Our ham radio internet e-mail address is VE8BL@winlink.org You can not send attachments to this address, only text messages, so please do not send chain messages or jokes or funny comics to this address, we can not access the internet but can send and receive e-mail.

When we bought the radio we got the main unit, the control unit which has all the buttons and dials on it, a speaker and a modem. They all had to be mounted and hooked up on the boat. We also had to install a new tuner and a new antenna wire. Installing all the wires involved getting into small places, hanging upside down in a locker doing up nuts and bolts and climbing up on the tower at the back to install the antenna. I think while I was doing that it was the nastiest weather that we have had so far this winter. It was blowing about 25 knots, pelting down with rain and it was close to freezing, NOT FUN! It took us three days of fairly constant wiring and installing before we were done.

Somehow the boat feels more like it is ours now, things are starting to look like how we would like them to be and it seems that we have stopped fixing things the former owner had. We are updating his 10 – 15 year old technology and installing new more powerful and better functioning equipment. It feels like we are getting pretty close to being done all the important things and now just have to fine tune the minor stuff. We still have to purchase an EPIRB and a life raft and I would like a permanent ladder to board the boat. We are planning to buy the EPIRB at the boat show this weekend so should be able to get that done.

I hope you like the pictures of all the new equipment and if you want explanations or more details on anything, just let me know. Okay, I tried for over an hour to get those pictures to upload, but no luck. I will try again at another spot. I think we are going to have to get the upgrade to a bigger antenna on the mast, this is just ridiculous.