Last night I had a phone conversation that reinforced our choice of the company for a major system on Harmony. At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, my experience with vendors has largely been one of unfilled expectations. Yes, I accept responsibility for either not communicating clearly in some cases or enlarging expectations beyond the norm. However, last night I was sincerely blown away.
As I have described in an earlier post, we had met an intriguing couple at the Newport Show in September who had started a company which makes and sells watermakers, or in the technical parlance, reverse osmosis systems. DIY Watermakers, started and operated by Raymond and Amanda Fosdick, was the company we selected, and they have provided tremendously responsive support and service since we purchased our system.
Last night, Raymond, and I were discussing the significant product development and expansion they have being undergoing in the past weeks. We were also discussing the final component that was needed to complete our system, the control panel. Harmony will sport a remote control panel which has been in development for a few weeks.
In the few weeks that we have had the system components in the house, I have consulted Raymond numerous times for insight. I am sure that he has been convinced that I got the system working, but connected the output to my brain. Anyway, Raymond has displayed not only patience, but an impressive intimacy with what Harmony's installation will require. Business hint: nice way to make a customer feel really important!
As an interested customer, I have tried to learn as much about the watermaking system as I can. Raymond has used our conversations to gather my perspectives on his ideas for business expansion, boat show issues, and system applications for folks like Beth and me. For my part, I have enjoyed the conversations, as it helps me develop a valued relationship with a vendor who has supplied an important system on Harmony.
OK, it should be obvious that Beth and I are impressed with DIY Watermakers and it's owners. We also can't wait until Harmony is in the water and we can use the system. Well, if that was not enough to seal our deal as loyal customers, Raymond committed to upgrade our remote panel to his newest technology at no cost. Now, that is not just unnecessary and unexpected, but hugely appreciated.
Regardless that DIY Watermakers is working hard to build a customer base in an industry filled with good competitors, Raymond is treating those customers he has as people whose relationships he values. Thanks Raymond and Kudos DIY Watermakers!
Yes, there have been times when I have been thirsty for water, but as I have immersed myself in Harmony's restoration, I have often been parched for sincere respect and response from the vendors of the systems, equipment, and materials that we will invest significant boat dollars in. What a nice feeling to be quenched!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Boat Doctor - Good Medicine
Today was an interesting day on Harmony! Usually I am a solitary figure doing whatever tasks are on the every growing list of boat projects. Today I had company on-board. The Boat Doctor made a house call and we started the rewiring project. What a way to get charged up!
So instead of having a 3 way conversation with me, myself, and I, I actually was able to talk to another person. Our primary focus today was on giving Greg, the Boat Doctor, a general lay of the land since he'd last been on Harmony during the summer. We went over where to put batteries, bilge pumps, and switches. However, our biggest focus was on gathering data for wiring the lights, both inside the cabin and external navigation lights.
We have decided to go with an all LED set-up in order to require less energy and save a chunk (a nautical term referring to something larger than a bit) on wiring costs. We often don't consider the cost of the wiring when we look to either add a component or rewire something. However, the gauge of wire required for a long run can get fairly expensive.
For instance, Harmony's mast is about 55 feet high and roughly 25 feet or so from the circuit panel. In very simple terms that means a run (round trip) of about 160 feet of wire. With an incandescent bulb I might need to a 10 gauge wire costing $1.63 per foot for a total cost of $260.80. However, with an LED bulb I would need 160 feet of 16 gauge wire at $0.69 per foot or a total of $110.40. The net saving for that one wire run is $150.40!
Ok, now that is the savings for one 160 foot wire run for ONE bulb. On a typical mast, one would have an anchor tricolor, a steaming light, and a deck light. On Harmony we will have all of these, but they will be LEDs and they should require 3 wire runs. Remembering the savings from above, our using LEDs will net us a $450 for just the masthead wiring!
So, this type of savings is also possible relative to the other lighting runs. We will need running lights at both the bow and stern. The bow lights will require an approximate wire run of 60 feet for each light and the stern light will require a 40 foot run. Using the $0.94 per foot saving from the masthead example, our savings for the deck level running lights is another $150.40!
Within the cabin, we will use LEDs, as well. As I described in an earlier posting, we will have 3 categories of lights: Overhead, ambient, and courtesy. These lights will require wire runs, as well. Since the minimum gauge of wire we can use for ABYC standards is 16/2, we can use the same savings per foot as above.
Harmony is a big boat with a bow to stern length of about 43 feet. A stem to stern round trip is about 90 feet including the length needed to connect to the circuit panel. We will probably need to run port and starboard circuits for at least the overhead and ambient lights, and the courtesy can be on one circuit.
For the sake of discussion, we can assume that each category of lighting will require a 90 foot of wiring per circuit: 2 overhead circuits, 2 ambient circuits, and 1 courtesy circuit. Doing the math, that is 5 wire runs of about 90 feet each for a total length of wire of 450 feet. At $0.94 savings per foot, the net savings on the cabin light wiring is about $423.
Of course, the LED lights cost more than the regular incandescent bulbs. A rough calculation shows that the wiring savings basically covers the premium price for the LED lights. Now, what I haven't added into this cost/benefit discussion is the long term savings from bulb cost and fuel to charge the batteries to cover the extra amperage draw from the incandescent bulbs. Nickels and dimes, perhaps, but over the years they do add up to real dollars.
All in all, we are creating an minimal energy footprint which day in and day out save us money, make life on-board easier, and allow us to leave behind a more environmentally responsible wake.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
So instead of having a 3 way conversation with me, myself, and I, I actually was able to talk to another person. Our primary focus today was on giving Greg, the Boat Doctor, a general lay of the land since he'd last been on Harmony during the summer. We went over where to put batteries, bilge pumps, and switches. However, our biggest focus was on gathering data for wiring the lights, both inside the cabin and external navigation lights.
We have decided to go with an all LED set-up in order to require less energy and save a chunk (a nautical term referring to something larger than a bit) on wiring costs. We often don't consider the cost of the wiring when we look to either add a component or rewire something. However, the gauge of wire required for a long run can get fairly expensive.
For instance, Harmony's mast is about 55 feet high and roughly 25 feet or so from the circuit panel. In very simple terms that means a run (round trip) of about 160 feet of wire. With an incandescent bulb I might need to a 10 gauge wire costing $1.63 per foot for a total cost of $260.80. However, with an LED bulb I would need 160 feet of 16 gauge wire at $0.69 per foot or a total of $110.40. The net saving for that one wire run is $150.40!
Ok, now that is the savings for one 160 foot wire run for ONE bulb. On a typical mast, one would have an anchor tricolor, a steaming light, and a deck light. On Harmony we will have all of these, but they will be LEDs and they should require 3 wire runs. Remembering the savings from above, our using LEDs will net us a $450 for just the masthead wiring!
So, this type of savings is also possible relative to the other lighting runs. We will need running lights at both the bow and stern. The bow lights will require an approximate wire run of 60 feet for each light and the stern light will require a 40 foot run. Using the $0.94 per foot saving from the masthead example, our savings for the deck level running lights is another $150.40!
Within the cabin, we will use LEDs, as well. As I described in an earlier posting, we will have 3 categories of lights: Overhead, ambient, and courtesy. These lights will require wire runs, as well. Since the minimum gauge of wire we can use for ABYC standards is 16/2, we can use the same savings per foot as above.
Harmony is a big boat with a bow to stern length of about 43 feet. A stem to stern round trip is about 90 feet including the length needed to connect to the circuit panel. We will probably need to run port and starboard circuits for at least the overhead and ambient lights, and the courtesy can be on one circuit.
For the sake of discussion, we can assume that each category of lighting will require a 90 foot of wiring per circuit: 2 overhead circuits, 2 ambient circuits, and 1 courtesy circuit. Doing the math, that is 5 wire runs of about 90 feet each for a total length of wire of 450 feet. At $0.94 savings per foot, the net savings on the cabin light wiring is about $423.
Now, Greg, the Boat Doctor, will use his ABYC Master Technician's expertise to design an appropriate schematic for the wiring and that will determine just how much wire we really need. But, if I add up the estimated savings I calculated above, we are looking to reap $1,023 in potential savings with just the wiring.
Of course, the LED lights cost more than the regular incandescent bulbs. A rough calculation shows that the wiring savings basically covers the premium price for the LED lights. Now, what I haven't added into this cost/benefit discussion is the long term savings from bulb cost and fuel to charge the batteries to cover the extra amperage draw from the incandescent bulbs. Nickels and dimes, perhaps, but over the years they do add up to real dollars.
All in all, we are creating an minimal energy footprint which day in and day out save us money, make life on-board easier, and allow us to leave behind a more environmentally responsible wake.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Monday, January 7, 2013
The Water Maker - Liquidity is Good
Well, after making the decision to purchase a watermaker, we needed to order all of the components. We had chosen the DIY Watermaker system, and had worked closely with the owners of the company to make sure we had all we needed. Just like an oasis, the system arrived the other day in 3 boxes!
After doing an inventory of the contents, I noticed that elements of the control panel were not included. A quick email and call to Raymond Fosdick, solved the mystery. Since we were mounting our control panel for easy access at the galley sink, we needed some customization. Mystery solved, but it was more like light dawning on my Marblehead rock-like head: I guess we can take that for granite!
Now, I had to figure out how to configure the system on the aft bulkhead of our engine room. One of the advantages of going with a modular or componentized system is the flexibility of installation. Even though the Westsail 42 offers tremendous interior volume, fitting a rigidly boxed water making system into the boat would have required either a serious compromise of the internal storage space or a rethink of the engine room layout.
Once Raymond patiently walked me through some of the systems elements (remember how dense granite is?), I was able to make headway. I had constructed a mock-up of the aft bulkhead in the engine room out of dry-erase panels. This would enable me to sketch hose layouts and component placement before making a permanent design decision.
Another benefit of this exercise is that I could actually see what the system would look like on the bulkhead. We very much want a neatly laid out engine room where systems are orderly and easily reached for maintenance and trouble-shooting. Besides that, I know how quickly a space like an engine room can become a rat's nest of wires, hoses, cables, and other assorted mechanical flotsam.
Harmony's engine room is not only huge, but very accommodating for things like workbenches, parts storage, and easy engine maintenance. Since we want to minimize, if not eliminate, the risk of inadvertent overboard discharge of pollutants, having an easy access to oil filters, fuel filters, and other engine stuff will go a long way to keeping the engine pan AND the bilge relatively pristine.
OK, as I worked and reworked the configuration of the water maker layout, I found the water flow made more sense to me. I finally arrived at what I felt as an optimal design. Before I lug all of the components down to boat for installation, I will need to get all of the control panel items in hand. Additionally, I will have to fabricate a few items to not only facilitate the installation of the membrane tubes, but to make periodic maintenance easy. Not to worry, however, for the winter is long.
Yes, it is a good feeling to see how the system will be configured and to visualize the clean, fresh, and plentiful water flowing into our tanks. Yes, liquidity is good in many ways!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
After doing an inventory of the contents, I noticed that elements of the control panel were not included. A quick email and call to Raymond Fosdick, solved the mystery. Since we were mounting our control panel for easy access at the galley sink, we needed some customization. Mystery solved, but it was more like light dawning on my Marblehead rock-like head: I guess we can take that for granite!
 |
| The Aft Bulkhead in Harmony's Engine - a blank canvas for water making components |
Once Raymond patiently walked me through some of the systems elements (remember how dense granite is?), I was able to make headway. I had constructed a mock-up of the aft bulkhead in the engine room out of dry-erase panels. This would enable me to sketch hose layouts and component placement before making a permanent design decision.
Another benefit of this exercise is that I could actually see what the system would look like on the bulkhead. We very much want a neatly laid out engine room where systems are orderly and easily reached for maintenance and trouble-shooting. Besides that, I know how quickly a space like an engine room can become a rat's nest of wires, hoses, cables, and other assorted mechanical flotsam.
 |
| A view of the commodious engine room for starboard to port |
 |
| A look at the bulkhead mock-up and trials of configuration |
 |
| The DIY Watermaker components neatly laid out with drawn-in hose paths |
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
A Sea Hood - Not a Deliquent Item
One of the first things we added to Poetry's deck was a turtle hatch or in modern parlance, a sea hood. This structure covers the sliding companionway hatch and prevents water, green or otherwise, from leaking into the cabin via the companionway hatch. Another way to look at it, the sea hood is a garage for the companionway hatch.
On Poetry, I outdid myself and made the structure out of teak. Roughly $800, in 1996 dollars, later we had a very nice looking and almost iron clad structure. However, it was a real pain to keep good looking. I mounted a canted dash onto the dodger was attached and to help direct water down onto the side decks. It was solidly bedded and securely through-bolted to the cabin top. It worked and continues to work after almost 20 years.
Harmony will need a new dodger, as well as a bimini. So, before I have Sperry Sails construct the dodger, I need to consider what to do about a sea hood. Harmony did not have one, but I had seen some nice ones on both Westsail 32's and Westsail 42's.
However, I did not want to make it out of teak. Firstly, the cost of such a thing would be huge, and we already have enough teak on deck to keep us busy varnishing in perpetuity!
After lengthy consideration, I decided to make the sea hood out of merranti plywood sandwiched between epoxy and glass. This way I can have a stout structure, but build in some ease in maintenance. I will attached a canted teak dash on its aft end in order to attached the dodger and direct boarded water off the cabin top.
The trick to this is making the sides and front mimic the angular proportions of the cabin top. Hopefully, this will allow the sea hood to blend in and look like it is a natural part of the structure. Beyond that the angular sides will help deflect spray and add to the structural integrity.
So, I needed to fashion not just a mold, but a mold in which the main panels are the actual sides. It was relatively easy to measure the angles of the sloped cabin sides and front. Once the camber of deck was scribed, it was a simple task of adjusting either the sabre saw or table saw to that angle. The front and sides were joined with temporary struts to keep the angles true and to provide an attachment for the top.
The top was constructed by laminating two sheets of 1/4 inch merranti plywood over the top. Because of the temporary struts having been planed to the deck camber angle, the sheets of merranti took on the same camber as the deck. The sea hood was to be attached to the deck through a 1/4 inch fiberglass sill that would be formed during the glassing of the merranti sandwich.
By screwing and bedding the sea hood with this lip, I could remove it to refinish the companionway hatch whenever necessary. The bedding would prevent any water intrusion and, more importantly, prevent the sea hood from being ripped off by a huge boarding sea.
The construction of the sea hood has started, but will be completed over several weeks of work. A lot of time has been spent in the early stages to ensure the lip camber and height of the sea hood fits the deck properly.
As I continue to work on this item, I will provide updates. However, I do need to have this completed by late Spring or early Summer in order to have Sperry design a proper dodger. So, this sea hood will not be a delinquent item, for sure.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
 |
| Poetry's stout and secure teak turtle hatch or sea hood |
Harmony will need a new dodger, as well as a bimini. So, before I have Sperry Sails construct the dodger, I need to consider what to do about a sea hood. Harmony did not have one, but I had seen some nice ones on both Westsail 32's and Westsail 42's.
 |
| Harmony's companionway hatch is large and inviting to a boarding sea |
After lengthy consideration, I decided to make the sea hood out of merranti plywood sandwiched between epoxy and glass. This way I can have a stout structure, but build in some ease in maintenance. I will attached a canted teak dash on its aft end in order to attached the dodger and direct boarded water off the cabin top.
The trick to this is making the sides and front mimic the angular proportions of the cabin top. Hopefully, this will allow the sea hood to blend in and look like it is a natural part of the structure. Beyond that the angular sides will help deflect spray and add to the structural integrity.
 |
| Canted merranti front and sides with temporary support struts (black items are shims to help maintain the proper angle for the mold) |
 |
| Laminated sheets of 1/4 inch merranti plywood forming the top of the sea hood |
By screwing and bedding the sea hood with this lip, I could remove it to refinish the companionway hatch whenever necessary. The bedding would prevent any water intrusion and, more importantly, prevent the sea hood from being ripped off by a huge boarding sea.
The construction of the sea hood has started, but will be completed over several weeks of work. A lot of time has been spent in the early stages to ensure the lip camber and height of the sea hood fits the deck properly.
As I continue to work on this item, I will provide updates. However, I do need to have this completed by late Spring or early Summer in order to have Sperry design a proper dodger. So, this sea hood will not be a delinquent item, for sure.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Refrigeration - This is Cool
While we are working towards a goal of being as self-sufficient or "off the grid" as possible, we are not willing to deny ourselves some modern efficiencies. While boat refrigeration has been available for a long time, in some applications having none may have been a much cooler idea!
On Poetry, our 1965 Pearson Vanguard, we attempted to benefit from refrigeration. We had used blocks of ice and were less than enthused by the results. Since we had remodeled the outward look of the galley, we didn't want to gut the whole thing to rebuild the icebox. While having a better insulated box is KEY to the refrigeration thing, we felt that by rebuilding the box from the outside in would give us a box the size of a thimble. We insulated the inside and installed a Grunert unit. While it kept the box cool (read NOT cold), it ran 24 hours a day and never cycled. The fault was the box, not the Grunert.
On Harmony, we had the perfect opportunity to rebuild the ice box area from scratch. We had done all of the research about how to build a well insulated box. However, we hadn't decided which unit to install for chilling the box. There are many good companies, but we had to first choose whether to use an evaporate with a separate compressor or an engine driven cold plate.
OK, to set the stage, Harmony will have 2 cold boxes: one will be a refrigerator, and the other will be a freezer. However, we want to provide ourselves with an additional option of being able to use only one box while cruising for a long weekend or a week. This will prevent us from having to fire up both boxes every time we sail and having to corral a separate cooler sliding around the sole. So the refrigerator box will also be able to provide a small freezer compartment.
Now, our broader objective is to live on the boat sustainably without having to run the diesel to charge the batteries every day: an ideal situation will find us using solar and wind to replenish the amps we use in a 24 hour period. A vital necessity is to provide refrigeration with the lowest amperage draw as possible or the lowest need for engine hours as possible.
Since we only want to run the engine for propulsion in an ideal situation, we decided that an engine driven cold plate would not work for us. Beyond the required engine hours to freeze the cold plate, the holding plate system would not work for us when we did short cruises over the weekend or for a week or so.
So, we narrowed our choice down to an evaporator plate with a separate compressor. We would need two, one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. As I mentioned before there are many quality companies that provide this type of system: Adler-Barbour, Sea Frost, Technautics, and Frigoboat, to name a few. We needed an efficient compressor that came with a small footprint to enable us to mount it in a convenient enclosed space near the galley.
That narrowed the choice even further, actually down to two: Sea Frost and Frigoboat. We went to the 2012 Newport Boat Show to do our final evaluations and talk to the companies to get their perspective. As so often happens at the boat shows, decisions are often finalized by those who are willing to actually discuss the subject with us. I can still not fathom why vendors will not entertain a serious discussion with someone who is literally waving money in front of them!
We casually went to the Frigoboat booth, and a very pleasant person quickly gave the show spiel, but then did something unexpected. She directed us to another booth where she said that we could get our more specific questions answered. OK, nothing ventured nothing gained! We journeyed over to the Great Water Marine Systems Booth and met Kathy Groh: remember the hot water heater person!
Kathy was very helpful, as she listened to our prospective design ideas. She offered her own perspectives and gave us a couple of options. In a later discussion or what I can label as a design meeting, we finalized our choice. We will use the Frigoboat keel cooler models for both boxes.
The refrigerator box will house a small bin shaped evaporator that will handle the chilling duties, but will also provide a small freezer for short cruises. We will only have to fire this box up during our short cruises.
The freezer box will house an evaporator panel and give us frozen food storage for the longer cruises. The two compressors will fit perfectly under the salon berth just forward of the where the two boxes will be.
With between 3 to 4 inches of foam insulation, the reefer box will draw less than 1.0 amp an hour, while the freezer will less than 1.4 amps per hour. As a combined system, the hourly amperage draw will be between 2.0 and 2.5. Compared to what we have experienced before, this is miserly. On top of that the compressors will be relatively quiet in operation.
Now, this is cool! Even with giving ourselves the luxury of refrigeration, we will still be able to maintain a relatively small power usage footprint. This should go a long way toward allowing the combined solar and wind power sources to supply the charging capacity we need in a 24 hour period. More on this when we get near to building the boxes and installing the units!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
On Poetry, our 1965 Pearson Vanguard, we attempted to benefit from refrigeration. We had used blocks of ice and were less than enthused by the results. Since we had remodeled the outward look of the galley, we didn't want to gut the whole thing to rebuild the icebox. While having a better insulated box is KEY to the refrigeration thing, we felt that by rebuilding the box from the outside in would give us a box the size of a thimble. We insulated the inside and installed a Grunert unit. While it kept the box cool (read NOT cold), it ran 24 hours a day and never cycled. The fault was the box, not the Grunert.
On Harmony, we had the perfect opportunity to rebuild the ice box area from scratch. We had done all of the research about how to build a well insulated box. However, we hadn't decided which unit to install for chilling the box. There are many good companies, but we had to first choose whether to use an evaporate with a separate compressor or an engine driven cold plate.
OK, to set the stage, Harmony will have 2 cold boxes: one will be a refrigerator, and the other will be a freezer. However, we want to provide ourselves with an additional option of being able to use only one box while cruising for a long weekend or a week. This will prevent us from having to fire up both boxes every time we sail and having to corral a separate cooler sliding around the sole. So the refrigerator box will also be able to provide a small freezer compartment.
Now, our broader objective is to live on the boat sustainably without having to run the diesel to charge the batteries every day: an ideal situation will find us using solar and wind to replenish the amps we use in a 24 hour period. A vital necessity is to provide refrigeration with the lowest amperage draw as possible or the lowest need for engine hours as possible.
Since we only want to run the engine for propulsion in an ideal situation, we decided that an engine driven cold plate would not work for us. Beyond the required engine hours to freeze the cold plate, the holding plate system would not work for us when we did short cruises over the weekend or for a week or so.
So, we narrowed our choice down to an evaporator plate with a separate compressor. We would need two, one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. As I mentioned before there are many quality companies that provide this type of system: Adler-Barbour, Sea Frost, Technautics, and Frigoboat, to name a few. We needed an efficient compressor that came with a small footprint to enable us to mount it in a convenient enclosed space near the galley.
That narrowed the choice even further, actually down to two: Sea Frost and Frigoboat. We went to the 2012 Newport Boat Show to do our final evaluations and talk to the companies to get their perspective. As so often happens at the boat shows, decisions are often finalized by those who are willing to actually discuss the subject with us. I can still not fathom why vendors will not entertain a serious discussion with someone who is literally waving money in front of them!
We casually went to the Frigoboat booth, and a very pleasant person quickly gave the show spiel, but then did something unexpected. She directed us to another booth where she said that we could get our more specific questions answered. OK, nothing ventured nothing gained! We journeyed over to the Great Water Marine Systems Booth and met Kathy Groh: remember the hot water heater person!
Kathy was very helpful, as she listened to our prospective design ideas. She offered her own perspectives and gave us a couple of options. In a later discussion or what I can label as a design meeting, we finalized our choice. We will use the Frigoboat keel cooler models for both boxes.
The refrigerator box will house a small bin shaped evaporator that will handle the chilling duties, but will also provide a small freezer for short cruises. We will only have to fire this box up during our short cruises.
The freezer box will house an evaporator panel and give us frozen food storage for the longer cruises. The two compressors will fit perfectly under the salon berth just forward of the where the two boxes will be.
With between 3 to 4 inches of foam insulation, the reefer box will draw less than 1.0 amp an hour, while the freezer will less than 1.4 amps per hour. As a combined system, the hourly amperage draw will be between 2.0 and 2.5. Compared to what we have experienced before, this is miserly. On top of that the compressors will be relatively quiet in operation.
Now, this is cool! Even with giving ourselves the luxury of refrigeration, we will still be able to maintain a relatively small power usage footprint. This should go a long way toward allowing the combined solar and wind power sources to supply the charging capacity we need in a 24 hour period. More on this when we get near to building the boxes and installing the units!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
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