Ship's Log 07/14/09 8:00AM
No thunderstorms last night! I was able to do power naps and rest very well. But the winds were so light that I barely made any progress. This morning while motoring the alternator belt ripped to shreds. Perhaps that had to do something with the alternator overheating a week ago. Belts usually start slipping. Slippage adds to more heat friction, and that is probably enough added heat to cause it to overheat. It was a 5 minute fix, as I have three spare ones. The only pain is that with a new belt, tension needs to be adjusted often. How often we'll see, it was a long time ago that I changed the belt but as soon as it starts slipping(squeeking noise) it needs to be adjusted. I don't think I'll be doing that in 8-11 foot seas. Hopefully I won't need to.
I finally saw a tanker today, it was only the third one since Beaufort, NC. I must be east of the shipping lanes.
Weather as usual changed again, but I can no longer get the station from Islip Long Island. Now I get the Virginia Beach which is giving me the Cape Hatteras weather. That's not very helpful.
One good thing is happening. The fridge is finally cycling. It actually has a duty cycle. Its been off so frequently that I was afraid it might be broken. I had that happen in Georgetown Bahamas once and its a not a pretty feeling. But no, I think the colder climate and the fact that I've made so much ice since West Palm Beach made it reach its cooling point and I can hear thermostat shutting it off. This is great because it means less power is used. In the tropics, the poor compressor was working 24/7. Now, it might make sense to actually measure the duty cycle and get an idea of the daily AH consumption. Extra juice means more power for music or laptop or HF emails. I can now send them pretty much any time of the day, not just at noontime. I do have to have favorable propagation.
The batteries are great, ever sense I took out the one with 3 dry cells, there isn't as much acid evaporating in the battery compartment, and the voltage is holding at a much higher value overnight. I no longer have to run the engine overnight.
I finally saw a tanker today, it was only the third one since Beaufort, NC. I must be east of the shipping lanes.
Weather as usual changed again, but I can no longer get the station from Islip Long Island. Now I get the Virginia Beach which is giving me the Cape Hatteras weather. That's not very helpful.
One good thing is happening. The fridge is finally cycling. It actually has a duty cycle. Its been off so frequently that I was afraid it might be broken. I had that happen in Georgetown Bahamas once and its a not a pretty feeling. But no, I think the colder climate and the fact that I've made so much ice since West Palm Beach made it reach its cooling point and I can hear thermostat shutting it off. This is great because it means less power is used. In the tropics, the poor compressor was working 24/7. Now, it might make sense to actually measure the duty cycle and get an idea of the daily AH consumption. Extra juice means more power for music or laptop or HF emails. I can now send them pretty much any time of the day, not just at noontime. I do have to have favorable propagation.
The batteries are great, ever sense I took out the one with 3 dry cells, there isn't as much acid evaporating in the battery compartment, and the voltage is holding at a much higher value overnight. I no longer have to run the engine overnight.
posted by sundowner-cruise at 6:48 AM
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