Firsts

Like much of the Hampton Roads area, I held my breath in anticipation of the 'big storm'.  Ice was the real danger, and after my mishap a few days ago I wasn't going to take any more chances.

The snow and ice didn't materialize in Hampton.  Very unexpeted!  I woke to the realization that F&P was in the marina, with the temps in the low 20's, with over 400 gallons of water in the holding tanks.  Quickly, I set out with the intent of heating her up enough to prevent anything from freezing, and if there was any water damage - to address it.

I arrived to find her cold, bitter cold actually (sub freezing interior temps), but with no leaks / burts / malfunctions.  Best to keep things that way.

I fired up the diesel heater, then finished re-installing the second.  Within 4 hours the temp inside was in the 50's and climbing.  I decided to spend the night.

I have been installing a full Victron marine solution that not only monitors the energy systems but nearly everything else on the boat (tank levels, GPS position, bilge, temperature, motion sensors, water alarms, door alarms, and so on...).  I have two temperature sensors installed, one in the main salon and another in the port hull.  You best believe I spent far too much time tracking the temperature and balancing the two heaters.

The current readings:

For context, It is 1:00 AM right now and 27F outside.  The heaters are set to medium and the marina is icepacked.  

Those aren't waves, but a 3" - 6" thick icepack.  

I made a happy discovery as well.  The overhead LED lights can be set to be motion activated.  While lying in my berth I can wave my hand and vola, lights.  It's the little things.

This morning I woke to an interior temperature in the mid 60's, and a flock of starlings squacking and pooping on the radar dish.  All as it should be.

A little later I received some news.  A long-running situation is resolved.  We learn and life goes on.

And with that I attacked the day with the kind of energy (mental and physical) I wish I could muster every day.  I had a few things that I wanted to check out.  The marine head (toilet) is a type that I haven't seen or used before.  After finding the instructions I was happy to discover it works as it should and may be my favorite design so far.  I like that it consumes saltwater, I've never trusted marine plumbing not to somehow backup into the freshwater (drinking water !) tank.  I always cook and drink from a five gallon water bottle dispensor.  For now I will continue until I can get my hands on a water quality tester.

I heated some water on the alcohol burner, and with that milestone passed I realized I had checked out everything required to be self-sufficent.

There are some electrical mysteries.  The AC system doesn't use marine grade wiring, which prompted me to replace it. Yet, with it 100% disconnected, the meter shows 25volts.  Either an instrument failure, or current is crossing from somewhere.  I ordered the correct multimeter to tackle this, it will be here Friday.

On the DC side.  The starter battery bank is reading low, and didn't bounce back when the solar came online.  I have a new pair of marine AGM batteries (boy-howdy, the 'boat tax' is real, everything marine is inflated and nowhere is this more true than batteries - I drove a car for four years that cost less than these batteries) ready to install.

The prospect of frozen / burst water tanks made me realize I need to install bilge alarms (they detect leaks).  Yikes on a trike!  F&P has seven compartments in each hull.  For now I'm going to put one in the first couple of crash compartments and one between the water tanks.  

Four of the seven compartments in each hull.  There is safety in numbers.

Installing fourteen bilge alarms is going to be a project.  I'll likely create two zones on each hull and feed multiple bilge sensors to the same zone.  Otherwise I'll chew up half of my sensor inputs with bilge alarms alone.  Four alarms will let me know where to go look if I'm underway, otherwise I would tie them all together.

Tomorrow I'll find a new spot for the starlink dish and head home.  Currently it is on my Irwin 33 Mk II which I've sold.

Tonight marks the second night aboard, and I'm warm, fed, hydrated, medicated (oops, forgot last night) with the sound of the icepack rubbing against the hull, a full moon overhead (love the skylight), and peace within my floating domain.

May you all have peace in your domains.