Lorenz GPS and NMEA

I managed to get a Lorenz chart plotter and Raymarine DSC Radio for decent prices on the world famous flea market, however there were no instructions available for the plotter, and for once there was scant little information about it on t'web.

After finding the menu settings on the Lorenz and discovering that it was sending out NMEA V1.X sentences, I then looked up the communication protocol and found out it is based on RS232, i.e. ground and +5 V signalling.

So all I had to was strip back the wires, plug in the scope and test each one to find the +5V signals. Second attempt gave me this:

Now I had found the signal wire, I just had to hook it all up:

And sure enough the radio detects the GPS information :)

New Cushion Covers.

The old Cushion covers were vinyl, and i have never liked Vinyl!

Additionally, one of the cushions was stolen whilst the boat was in the yard before I bought her, and so as I had to replace one I decided to make new cushions.

After buying a bargain ( love a bargain ) sewing machine for a tenner on t'bay, I set about watching videos on how to sew cushion covers... here's the pics !!!

Compass Find

Unfortunately 'Penny' as SWMBO has nicknamed her doesn't have a compass fitted, so I've been watching t'bay for a while now hoping against what seemed like all odds to find a bulkhead mount compass at a sensible price ( read cheap! ).

In the worst case scenario I was prepared to buy one new ( as luckily I don't have to replace the Depth Sounder ). All of a sudden, not one but two turned up within a matter or hours, the same model - Plastimo Mini Contest.

This was perfect, the only question was would they go for silly money?

Well to cut a long story short, I managed to get one for a reasonable price, knowing that it wasn't perfect.

It arrived quickly, but the first observation was that 2 of the mounting bolts were missing and one was broken off in the unit.



After turning the bolt, it turns out it's a actually threaded rod... and not only that I have some stainless bolts that are the same thread.



Hacksaw to the rescue..



Drilled out the stuck bolt and now there are 4 mounting bolts where they should be :)



Next unscrewed the light as it wasn't working...




Bulb totally blown, but it's the same size as a 5mm LED, so a quick search of t'bay later and for the princely sum of £1.42 I have a 12v LED installed.

Combined Cabin and Chart Light

I found this on ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-12W-Waterproof-Car-LED-White-Red-Light-Reversing-Brake-Stop-Light-Lamp-/262474813851?hash=item3d1cb7d19b:g:FZsAAOSwepJXV~tP

Combination white and red LED light in one fixture. Perfect for those with smaller boats as a cabin light / chart light.

To make it easy to switch between the two, I swapped out one of the switches on my panel with one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252246909694?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=551073891416&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
(SPDT Option)

So that switching one way is white and the other way is red.

Stepping the Mast

Major moment this weekend, the amazing guys at the brokers / yard ( James and Stig ) helped ( or rather showed me how-to ) step the mast.

Their help was invaluable, amazing, and above all patient, and now the mast is stepped and rigging is in place.

She now looks proper, and it's a relief to have the rigging in place and shipshape.

I also managed to fit a solar panel and controller, and check through the electrics. At first the only thing I could get working was the cabin light. The nav lights and depth sounder were dead.

Now I don't particularly care about the nav lights as a: I don't intend to be sailing at night for some time and b: they are not that expensive to replace with LED's ( which is my preferred choice ).

However, the depth sounder is another cheesecake altogether, and a rather important one that deservers to be placed at the head of the table! This is ( as far as I am concerned ) a seriously important piece of kit!

So I started to take a look at the wiring in more detail and discovered that the wiring for the depth sounder was not intact. Queue a few minutes of clipping, sleeve removing, swearing, and reconnecting,  and then I was jumping for joy as the Depth Sounder came back to life ( or at least showing me the 'Out' message :) )

Additionally the kids helped 'cleaning' and getting soaked at the same time. Oh well, at least it was fairly sunny at times and windy so their clothes dried quickly !

<btw> Is it only my son and I that kiss the boat goodbye ??? bought a tear to my eye when he climbed up, kissed her and said 'love u so much' !

A happy Girl

She's happy with the new addition :) ( however her brother insists that he's the Captain ( swashbuckle cheer 'ahh hah' )

I have a new boat

I don't know what happened?

I have been thinking about buying a boat for a while, and I found myself browsing the website of Andy Seedhouse in Woodbridge.

A week later I was wandering around his yard, and found myself looking at a very nice Leisure 17, which my partner also liked the look of.

A couple of days later, I'd bought her. To be honest I think she bought me!

So this will be the story of our journey with her.