One Man and His Tropical Sailing Dream
Finally, the culmination of all this pedestal malarchy is complete! The whole reason I discovered the disintegrated bolts was to run wiring for new helm instrument displays. It is finally done. Boo-yah! Now for some sad news. Two members of the sailing community who have been influential to me have recently perished. Patrick Childress of SV…
Greetings, mateys! As you know, a surprise project came up when attempting to run wiring for new instruments, and it was discovered the steering pedestal bolts were all completely corroded. In addition, it was clear water had gotten into the wood below the cockpit sole, which was rotten and disintegrating in places. So my repair work…
When I bought Sparklemuffin about three and a half years ago, the anemometer at the masthead was broken. So I put in a new LCJ Capteurs CV7 ultrasonic anemometer while the mast was out. Of course it is incompatible with the old wind instrument display, which is at least 25 years old. No problem, I…
Greetings fellow Seamen & Seawomen! Things have slowed. The boatyard is still open, as it’s considered an “essential” service, but it has slowed down. Tools and parts I order are taking longer to arrive. The mast is still out, but S’muffin is back in the water. As of yesterday, all the new sails have arrived. Carol referred…
On this day 25 years ago, Sparklemuffin was born in the sweaty tropics of San Jose, Costa Rica. She was long in gestation, and arrived a very healthy 17,000 pounds, entering this world known as “Bulldog Sally.” She has come so far, and yet her journey is just beginning. Her birthday wish is to return…
SV Sparklemuffin gets even sparklier with LED strip lights! Every once in a while I like to balance boat work with a fun project that’s purely for my own enjoyment. So this time I installed Boomile LED strip lights ($19). It’s 5 m / 16 foot long, has lots of LEDs, takes 12 VDC input,…