SSB - A Fiasco Only Partly of Our Own Making.

London, ON

Communications has become of increasing importance to us as we contemplate crossing a major body of water.  Single Side Band Radio seemed to offer the possibility of extended communications ability.  What a waste of time and money it has been.


We purchased, in 2005, an ICOM 802 SSB and a pactor modem to allow us to have email and other data capabilities.  A large dynaplate was installed on the hull as we knew we had to "ground" the radio to the sea if we wanted it to work properly. 


It is possible to have a SSB modified to permit use of the full range of frequencies available to ham radio operators and we had this done.  A ham licence was obtained by me to keep us all legal and everything.


All very nice but the radio has never worked very well.  We frigged around with the antenna and the dynaplate.  We strung miles of copper ribbon everywhere.  Miles of wire have been installed and removed and relocated and cursed by us. 


Short description: SSB is a major headache.  Some of the radios work well enough in the Bahamas and their owners believe they are the cat's ass.  All they have right is the ass part.   The Bahamas is so small an area that no one can tell if their radio really works.


Worrying that the radio was malfunctioning we took it an authorized ICOM service centre in Florida.  After testing the service centre provided us with a bill for $880 of work and told us the transmitter section of the radio was buggered.  All our poor radio could muster was 10 watts of power on transmission.


We declined to have the radio repaired.  For $880 we could buy a new full feature ham radio and use it (after modifying it to handle SSB frequencies.  It's complicated - I'll tell you about it sometime).  


Some things the service centre told us bothered me.  They said they would have to desolder a bunch of parts from the radio and replace them - resistors, transistors, capacitors and so on and they allowed $500 for this.  Now this did not ring just totally correct.  


We re installed the radio and went to the Bahamas on the clear understanding that our radio would only receive - not transmit.


Our understanding was incorrect and the radio transmitted just fine but reception was faint beyond 200 miles.  Data transmission was very very difficult.


Returning to the USA we sent the ICOM to a much better repair facility, Clairmont Skyland TV in Atlanta, GA.  They ran it through its paces and after 8 hours of bench time called to tell us THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE RADIO. The techs were broadcasting in real time at 100 watts.  Reception was a dream.


Although expensive the diagnostic time was invaluable.  The guys at Clairmont Skyland recommended a few things to try with respect to our antenna as this seemed the next logical problem area.


We also learned there is no authorized ICOM dealer in Florida.  At all.


So if you have a steel boat maybe SSB is a good idea.  If your boat maker epoxied 100 square feet of copper screen in your hull at time of manufacture maybe SSB is a good idea. If you have an older production fiberglass sailboat SSB is a disappointment unless you consider the very limited range of the Bahamas sufficient.  Even then you may not be happy much of the time.


Now all you guys can tell me how great your radios work. 

Modding an Iskra 100 Amp Alternator

London, ON

The procedure in this blog worked for me.  I do not guarantee it will work for you and if you attempt the mod yourself good for you but you are on your own.  You are responsible for any damage you incur.  Don't be stupid.  I do not know much about alternators or diesels and if you do what I suggest it is a case of the blind being lead by the blinder.  I have no expertise.  This is just something that worked for me.  It may not work for you.

Here you see the alternator in its native environment.
Note the rugged construction - and the 5 Groove serpentine Belt

When we ordered our new Beta 43 diesel a couple of years ago we fitted a 100 amp alternator built by Iskra, a company out of Slovenia equipped with a 5 groove serpentine belt.  With only one exception we were totally satisfied.


Unfortunately the Beta supplied Iskra is regulated by an N type internal single stage regulator.   Most boats in North America use three stage external regulators to drive their higher output  alternators.  

• The benefits of multi stage regulation are discussed by Don Casey in a decent online article at www.sailnet.com/forums/miscellaneous/22175-understanding-three-stage-regulator.html.  

We modified our Iskra alternator and it is now uses P type externally regulated three stage regulation.  It was a simple modification.  Here's how:


What you Need:

1. Iskra brush holder available from Beta marine for a reasonable $40,
2. 5/16" combination wrench and, if you have it, a 5/16" socket,
3. 1/2" open end wrench,
4. a small phillips head screwdriver,
5. a pair of sidecutters or a sharp knife.

The Procedures Step by Step:

1. Turn off the DC power (shut off the main switch),
2. Remove the alternator from the engine and remove the three existing wires,
3. Remove the back cover from the alternator (3 nuts),
4. Remove the internal regulator (2 nuts and one screw),
5. Install the brush holder (2 nuts),
6. Cut an access hole in the back cover for the wires to the brush holder,
7. Run the wires from the brush holder through the access hole,
8. Gently replace the rear cover (3 nuts),
9. Wire up the external regulator,
10. Return the alternator to the engine and reconnect the three wires,
11. Restore DC power

In Pictures:

The alternator sits calmly unaware of what is about to happen.

There will be three wires on the back of the alternator.  Depending on what is easier you can remove the wires and then the alternator or remove the alternator and then the wires.


Often the wires are short. If you remove the alternator before the wires you may rip the wires out by accident.  Just go slow and be gentle.

Removing the big wire from the back of the alternator using the 1/2" open end wrench.  


The big wire is positive and is connected through the battery switch directly to the battery.  If you short it to the engine block you will get a lot of sparks and some melted metal.  Avoid this.


I wrap all tools in electrical tape when working around wiring on the engine.

In an excess of caution I wrap the exposed end of the big wire with electrical tape to prevent accidental shorts.


Once I did not wrap the end and I got lots of sparks and some melted wire.  This is how I learned to avoid this.



 Here is the alternator removed from the engine.  It is resting face down (the pulley is on the blue mat) and you are looking at the back.


I have drawn orange circles around the three nuts you must remove to take off the rear cover.  One of the nuts is recessed and if you have a 5/16" socket it makes life easier.

Shown here is a lug on the back of the alternator which is held in place by another 5/16" nut.  You only need to remove the top nut and the tab.  Do not remove the nut which you will find under the tab.  Not fatal if you do but why cause yourself more work.


When you have removed the tab just gently pull the rear cover straight off the alternator. GENTLY.  You do not need to worry about brushes or anything.  Just gently pull the cover straight off.

When the cover is removed this is what you will see.  


Cool.

The photo to the right shows the internal regulator.

Here you see the regulator from a different angle.  Circled are the two nuts and the one screw you must take off to remove the internal regulator.

Just remove the nuts and the screw and then gently lift the regulator off the posts on which it is braced.  Be careful because you are removing the brushes too which are an integral part of the regulator assembly.

Removing the nuts on the internal regulator assembly.

Removing the single screw on the internal regulator assembly.

Installing the new brush holder.

You have to place the brush holder on the two posts which held the regulator assembly, depress the two brushes and gently lower the assembly and brushes into place.  

This is not hard but it is fiddly.  The brushes rub on the rotor and can jam.  The brushes are fragile.  Being gentle will pay huge dividends.

If you have trouble getting the brushes to go on the rotor wrap some heavy paper around the rotor and press the brushes against the paper.  


You can then press the brushes against the paper and easily lower the brush holder on its posts.  When you have the brush holder in place just slide the paper off the rotor.  Easy peasy.

Here you see the brush holder sitting nicely in place where the regulator used to sit.


You now have to replace the two nuts on the posts holding the brush holder.  


You can see the wires coming off the holder.  

You can see the wires coming off the brush holder.  You must lead these wires outside the rear case.  


To do this cut off a hole in the ventilated part of the rear cover.  Just cut off one of the plastic bits.  Leading the wire harness through the resulting hole is tight but doable.  Why have a bigger hole than you need.

The hole is made.  


Lead the wire harness out the hole and gently replace the rear cover.  This cover will only go on the rotor one way.  Look closely at the inside of the rear cover and this will be immediately obvious.


If it isn't find someone with an IQ of 65 or higher and ask for help.  If your dog is smart he may be able to assist.

The rewired alternator. A lot more connections but all
due to the external regulator.

Replace the nuts you took off the rear cover and put the tab back on.  


You can see the wire harness leading out of the back of the rear cover.


Now it is time to rewire the alternator.


This is remarkably easy.


You put back the three wires you took off in the first place: the big positive wire, the tach wire and the voltage sense wire.


Then you have to follow your regulator instructions for wiring.  Usually these were written by a Taiwanese teenager with a serious crack habit and a passing acquaintance with the English language.  Oh well.  You are on your own except for this:


You will have to connect two wires to the wiring harness.  One is a negative wire and you can take the negative wire off any DC ground. I use the "neg" post on the alternator itself.  The other wire to the wire harness is "stator" and it will come from the regulator.


Here is the joyous bit: IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH WIRE YOU CONNECT TO WHICH.  There are two connections in the wiring harness.  One is negative and the other is stator.  It does not matter which is which.  Cool.


You are done.  Reinstall the altenator and start the diesel.  If nothing burns up you are golden.

Here is the brush holder.  You will see immediately

Cruising Nova Scotia

London, ON

Last summer our sailboat, Meredith, took us out the St. Lawrence River, around the Gaspe and delivered us in Nova Scotia.  It was an easy passage and the effect on crew was dramatic.  An astounding trip and a fabulous destination.  Even the hurricane that greeted us in Halifax failed to dim the magnificence of the trip.

Last Saturday we arrived in London to find waiting for us a brand new copy of Peter Loveridge's just published Revised Cruising Guide to Nova Scotia.  It was with our general mail pile and we did not open it until today.  Sad for us.

All you Great Lakes sailors who want an exciting sail in domestic waters need to give serious thought to buying this guide and moving your boat out the St. Lawrence for a summer.  Nova Scotia is sort of a saltwater North Channel with actual historical sights and really really cool anchorages.

An easy to do, exciting trip and with Peter's Guide almost fool proof (almost to allow for the magnitude of the fool behind the wheel).

Peter has a decent blog at http://www.cruisingguidetons.blogspot.com/.  If the photos alone don't create an irresistable urge to sail east check your pulse.

To see if you have one.

To comply with the legal requirements I must confess that every picture on my blog has been unabashedly stolen from Peter's.  With his DVD in hand you can muster a fair reasonable wallpaper for the old laptop.  Something to feed the spirit on those long Ontario winter work mornings.

The guide was a fabulous aid: well written with a distinct maritime flavour, packed full of detailed drawings, tidal progressions, charts and information.  Peter is a very careful sailor and if you follow his guide you will come to no harm.  We maintained rather a looser affiliation with his recommendations but at least we were informed as to the risks.

We used Peter's recommendations on departure from Yarmouth heading to New England incorporating both tide and weather forecasts.  The three large American boats who failed to do so left 30 hours before we did and arrived to clear customs 2 and 1/2 days after we did.  Unhappy were they to see us nicely moored and showered and relaxed, they wet, beat up and tired.

And if you do as we did Peter's wife, Heather, will worry about you as if you were one of her own.  And when she meets you she will give you proper hell for being a careless fool.

We did the trip.  We loved it.  We will do it again.  Soon.  And we will be using Peter Loveridge's Guide.

Being Responsible

London, ON


For those of you who have written to ask why any sane person would even consider a direct Vero Beach to Beaufort NC sail I offer the following:

For it to have any meaning you must only accept that I am sane.  And consider that much of the trip could make use of the northbound current of the Gulf Stream.  And know that we had a four day forecast of light winds all out of the south.


How could we miss?


Here's how:

• First the wind was only light and variable out of the south for 1 day.  Then it was 22 knots out of the North East clocking through North.

• Then the NOAA forecast finally recognized the fact that the winds were not out of the south and began to forecast increasing amounts of wind from the dreaded North at increasing velocities.

At that point the forecast changed we were cruising niftily along at 9 knots in a strand of Gulf Stream some fifty miles or so south of Charleston and about 120 miles east of that same target.  That was of no consequence.

Brief discussion with the Budget Committee disclosed that what we really wanted to do was head west out of the beneficial Gulf Stream and run to Charleston screaming like a little girl.  

If only it were that easy.  

As we turned west our forward speed began to fall off.  The more we turned the slower we moved at least in a forward direction, which was, of course, the direction in which we wanted to travel.  

Long before we were pointed on our desired course we found ourselves stopped dead in our tracks.  Well, in a Westerly direction.  Although pointed west we were traveling both north and east at measurably significant rates.  Sideways sailing.  Sideways sailing.  Cool.

Another strategy was required. Easy peasy.  We turned due north and, as the Gulf Stream made its way east we slipped unnoticed out of its grip.  Twenty five miles north of where we wanted but still, we were free.

Better part of a day later we were approaching Charleston in deep fog.  Thank goodness we planned responsibly.  The fog was sufficiently thick that at 9 a.m. we could not see ocean freighters passing within  200 yards.  No matter how hard we tried.

In this case the responsible and easy decision was to anchor off the channel.  We chose to do so behind the seawall protecting the entrance channel figuring we could shelter not only from the commercial traffic  but also from the growing waves.  It was our view and that of NOAA that the fog would burn off by  noon.  Hope died at 2 p.m.

Resurrection was found shortly after this.  A dead ship, a massive ocean going beast, was being tugged into Charleston by three tugs.  Anchor was hauled and we established ourselves just outside the channel beside a big red buoy.  When the dead ship came by we pounced.   

Jumping into the channel behind the disabled ship and its attendant tugs we ran the diesel at max rpms to keep the dark shadow created by the hulking vessel in view.  Actually most of our journey was completed with me on the helm steering by chart plotter (bad idea) and tugboat wake (good idea) while the Budget Committee could barely make out the heavily shrouded image of the dead giant.

Forty five minutes of this and we were inside the entrance.   Entering Charleston Harbour was like walking out of a curtain.  The fog died in a near straight line and we emerged into bursting daylight and warmth.  

A nice change from the cold damp of the deep fog.


Two days later we were in Mile Hammock Bay.  You know how that turned out.

Responsible decision making did nothing but get us in trouble that week.  Solutions seemed to require a bit more daring approach.

If That's All There Is My Friends Then Let's Keep Dancing,

2011 04 19Ga

Elizabeth City, NC or VA or whatever.  I never get it right.

Twenty Two dead.  Ten miles north of us a bridge destroyed.  Ten miles south of us two docks with boats still tied to them torn away from their marina and reported  by the Coast Guard as a hazard to navigation.  Tornadoes and water spouts all around us.

Two miles East of us a continuous emergency broadcast urged all boats to find someplace safe because hell was about to be unleashed on coastal waters.  No time wasted with Gale warnings or small craft advisories.  Just "Get to a safe haven.  NOW."  The Coast Guard are on edge.

Having been well forecast we chose, on the day of the storm, to remain in our anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay, North Carolina, just south of the Camp Lejeune artillery practice range.  Our anchorage was jammed, full of boats seeking refuge from what became one mother of a storm.


Wind at 30 knots blew steady from about 2:00 p.m. As light faded to dark the wind increased  to 35.  There was just enough light at 8 p.m. for us to see the towering cumulous on the horizon making their leisurely North Carolina way right for the anchorage.  By 8:30 light was not in short supply as the thundercells were over us producing virtually nonstop lightning.  Odd colour though - orange and pink and tangerine colours not the stark yellow of Ontario lightning.


Before the thundercell makes contact with our little group the boat ahead of us, a small Catalina out of Quecbec crewed by an elderly couple, tore loose from the bottom  and, freed of its constraints and urged on by 35 knot winds found itself roaring right for us.  

The Budget Committee rushed forward to do what she could, her actions aped by the old man onboard the delinquent vessel.  Somehow Catalina wife got the diesel going, or more likely had it running the whole time, and tried to power her little craft out of our path.  


It almost worked.  The BC and the old man fended off the stern of the Catalina from Meredith with boat hooks and adrenaline.  


I remained at the wheel, engine running as it had been for twenty minutes, doing the little I could do to manoeuver our well anchored boat out of the way of the rampaging Catalina and more importantly planning tactics in the event, all the more likely now, that our anchor would be torn out of the bottom by the force of impact with the errant Catalina. 


The desperate measures invoked on both boats resulted in only a couple of mild taps on our hull.  We shrugged as the Quebec couple drifted by.  No harm no foul.

The Catalina reset its anchor and dragged again.  Twenty minutes later it dragged a third time.  The old couple moved to a different part of the anchorage seeking stronger dirt into which they could dig their anchor.



We sat in the cockpit of "Meredith the Erstwhile" listening to the mounting number of emergency Coast Guard broadcasts on the VHF.  The reports of damaged and warnings to people too stupid to come in out of the rain were as numerous as the thunderclaps. 

Thundercells brought wind - sustained 40 knots for almost an hour.   Even Meredith was smart enough to bow to the force of this wind and we frequently found ourselves heeled 20 degrees in the wind pushed by the bow sideways to our rode.  

By storm's end another boat, which we dubbed the "Virginia Wolf" (Edward Albee fans will know why) had broken loose of its tether and, in a flurry of angry recriminations expressed at full  volume, the husband and wife team motored into the storm rather than reseting their anchor.  

This tactic did not work and one by one each of the boats in the anchorage turned on all available lights so the Virginia Wolf, a loose cannon in a tight anchorage would be able to see where the obstacles were.  Finally, its crew blaming each other at full volume for a series of personal defects which apparently resulted in their boat breaking loose, the boat decided to anchor in very shallow water.  The rest of us turned our lights off.

Funniest was the declaration by one self righteous prig that his radar showed the storm was past and we could all relax.  As he removed his thumb from the mic key the heavens opened and two feet of water (or so it seemed) dropped in a solid mass on the whole anchorage.  Following the water came renewed wind.  Atmospheric rage continued for another 20 minutes.


And then it was over.  Near instant calm.  No wind. 

Well, it felt like no wind.  The anemometer saidwas still reading 25 knots but it sure felt calm to us.

Next day the toll exacted by the storm continued.  Embarassed by events the two boats which broke loose left the anchorage almost before first light.  Neither has been seen or heard from since.  

Two other boats which left the anchorage just after us ran themselves aground in open water.  Both needed tows.  Both headed immediately for marinas after being rescued by BoatUS and Towboat.  

Six other boats just sat in Mile Hammock and went nowhere.

We have been bone tired since we left.

Vacation

2011 04 07

Meredith leaves Vero in the next day or so headed for the Chesapeake.  This will be our last sail of this season.  With a bit of luck we will be in the Chesapeake in under a week even allowing for our cowardly approach to Cape Hatteras (we don't go there).

Once there we haul out at a small boat yard in Solomons Island to let the hull dry for a month.  Then it is off to see the children.

The crew plus one, our son in law Nic, will return at the end of May to finish bottom painting and float the hull.  Then we are off on the sail to Bermuda.  If that works there is more sailing to be done in an easterly direction and if we get there, a good 4 months of weather to enjoy Europe (there is some disagreement aboard as to whether one can enjoy Europe or whether one should even if one could).  Then we set out on the milk run home (French Sailing Directions: sail south till the butter melts then turn east.  Perfectly clear, easily implemented)

Our preparations for the Bermuda trip will be posted but for the next month we will not be sailing or venting frustration about our fellow sailors.  That waits for our  return to the salt.  We will be talking to Chris Parker about his Atlantic weather routing service and checking out OCENS high speed weather products.  Not willing to trust our lives or comfort to the ferenghi who run ICOM we will also be checking out satellite phones and the SPOT system that so many people are moving to.


To date you know that we have replaced the diesel and all our sails, replaced the standing and running rigging, the mainsheet traveller and boomvang, the batteries and the generator.  We have removed and recaulked the portholes and replaced so many small parts we can't keep track.  The liferaft has been repacked and recertified at great expense and we have a new EPIRP, although I am not really too confident anyone will respond to an emergency midocean.

The ceaseless expense has rendered the Budget Committee comatose on some days but she has yet to object.  

Of course something is going to break because we should have replaced it but we will have some bailing wire and a Newfoundlander on board so we feel ready for darn near anything.


Fuel and water are always an issue but we are reading up on rain dances and will practice over the break.

In the meantime we have arranged to see many of you on our return and we look forward to all our visits. 

Now it is time for you to be working on your own boats.  We will write when there is something more to say. 

How to Install a Mainsheet Traveller

HOW TO INSTALL A MAINSHEET TRAVELLER

WRONG

WRONGER

REALLY REALLY WRONG

RIGHT