Calling in some help
Lochmarin
Sun 10 Jun 2012 16:53
Well, those of you tracking us on AIS will have noticed - we've moved! But, no not yet to Spain...
Whilst we were holed up waiting on weather we've been trying out all our systems. We decided to try the generator, which works well, shoving out power: we'll be able to run the water maker, freeze down a freezer full of food, do the washing etc when we need to. Only thing is, we sort of expected it to charge the batteries as well, if it had any oomph left after all those other jobs, however, it doesn't seem to be, and we can't figure out why!
Phil decided the day had started at 3:30 this morning, cabling and connections and amps and volts and such refusing to let him sleep, so we ended up getting up and trying to trace cables and poking meters on connectors left right and centre to try and figure it - to no avail. Problem is, the electrical system on board here has evolved over the years with successive owners, assorted electricians and increasingly complex electronic navigation aids available, from the original little transformer / charger in the corner of the saloon (it's still there, you never know we might need it one day!) As new, updated or additional equipment has been added, the old stuff's been left in, (same premise: you never know...) and it's become a bit of a maze.
Hence the move - we hear tell that there's a great chap called Shaun round the corner here in Mylor, who understands all things to do with boats and electricity. He's going to be able to help us solve the mystery of the non- charging alternator tomorrow. We figure it's better to get this sorted whilst those around us speak English!
However, the marina is disconcertingly close to the shore.. see the picture below. We came in on trust that the channel was dredged as deep as they said and we seem still to be floating, and it's neaps which means the tide doesn't vary by as much at the moment ( in between full and new moon) so so far so good. We have a centre plate that we can drop to extend our keel, like a centre board on a dinghy, so we only draw about 6 1/2 feet with it fully up, but about 12 ft with it down. It means we can get into shallower places safely, but it's a real struggle to pull up once it's down - no motorised winches on board except the windlass for the anchor.
Meanwhile, it's a delightful little village, with a pretty creek where the old fishing boats are moored, a wine bar, little shop, and a sailing club. Oh, and the showers look great here too!