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For the third weekend running, Lübeck has been at the centre of a high-pressure system. No wind. But there’s always something to do aboard.
First, new foam seals for the hatch and lockers. Cleaned and degreased with alcohol, then laid strips along the old marks. The hatch needed thicker 20mm × 15mm strip, two metres long, for a tight fit. The lockers took thinner 25mm × 5mm strip, three metres, cushioning contact without preventing closure.
I cleaned the water tank. Following the instructions, added 250ml of treatment to eighty litres, filled the pipes and waited a day. Then filled and drained three times. A full water tank lowers the centre of gravity and improves stability. But when I pressurised the system and looked for leaks, I found empty pump connections and a leaking hose beside them. Apparently, they’d been disconnected for winter drying. I pumped the bilge with a pump driven by an electric drill.
Then electrics until two in the morning. I ran 6mm² AWG10 cable to the AIS and plotter to stop them suffering from voltage drop.
Marine electronics use NMEA data standards: the older NMEA 0183 and newer NMEA 2000. AIS can send vessel details to the plotter, the plotter can initiate a radio call, and the radio can broadcast coordinates from the GPS antenna. In NMEA 0183, each device has four wires: a high-speed TX1/RX1 pair and a normal TX2/RX2 pair. In principle, connect one device’s high-speed TX1 to the other’s high-speed RX1, and vice versa.
My experience:
1. I couldn’t connect the radio to the AIS GPS feed
2. The plotter lets you choose which pair is high-speed. I discovered that after resoldering everything
3. The wires are finer than hair. I had to solder them with the insulation still on
4. AIS had four wires for each high-speed and normal connection: TX+, TX−, RX+, RX−. A Garmin guide helped: leave TX− unconnected, RX− to ground
5. Check each device’s documentation for wire colours
Now the plotter displays nearby boats and gives warnings. Unlike Navionics, it also calculates time to closest approach.
#maintenance
First, new foam seals for the hatch and lockers. Cleaned and degreased with alcohol, then laid strips along the old marks. The hatch needed thicker 20mm × 15mm strip, two metres long, for a tight fit. The lockers took thinner 25mm × 5mm strip, three metres, cushioning contact without preventing closure.
I cleaned the water tank. Following the instructions, added 250ml of treatment to eighty litres, filled the pipes and waited a day. Then filled and drained three times. A full water tank lowers the centre of gravity and improves stability. But when I pressurised the system and looked for leaks, I found empty pump connections and a leaking hose beside them. Apparently, they’d been disconnected for winter drying. I pumped the bilge with a pump driven by an electric drill.
Then electrics until two in the morning. I ran 6mm² AWG10 cable to the AIS and plotter to stop them suffering from voltage drop.
Marine electronics use NMEA data standards: the older NMEA 0183 and newer NMEA 2000. AIS can send vessel details to the plotter, the plotter can initiate a radio call, and the radio can broadcast coordinates from the GPS antenna. In NMEA 0183, each device has four wires: a high-speed TX1/RX1 pair and a normal TX2/RX2 pair. In principle, connect one device’s high-speed TX1 to the other’s high-speed RX1, and vice versa.
My experience:
1. I couldn’t connect the radio to the AIS GPS feed
2. The plotter lets you choose which pair is high-speed. I discovered that after resoldering everything
3. The wires are finer than hair. I had to solder them with the insulation still on
4. AIS had four wires for each high-speed and normal connection: TX+, TX−, RX+, RX−. A Garmin guide helped: leave TX− unconnected, RX− to ground
5. Check each device’s documentation for wire colours
Now the plotter displays nearby boats and gives warnings. Unlike Navionics, it also calculates time to closest approach.
#maintenance
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