Starting 2008

     It has been a long time since I have added anything to The Sailors Place Blog and this year I have resolved to add something at least once a month and, hopefully, twice a month from now on. I have been working hard on The Sailors Place web site for the past couple of months and a lot has been added, changed and updated. Check out the "What Is New" page for all the details -- CLICK HERE.
     One of the most obvious changes is a new web site logo on the Home Page and all of the pages immediately under it. The logo came from a picture I took at the Big Daddy Regatta this past summer. The most recent change, and one I am really excited about, is THE SAILORS STORY PLACE. This is a Forum developed to let sailors tell their special sailing stories so that others can read, enjoy and learn from their experiences as well. This Forum allows anyone to view the stories. Members can put their stories on the Forum with opportunities for other members to comment on them. If you are reading this and have a story for THE SAILORS STORY PLACE then CLICK HERE and share it with everyone that visits The Sailors Place.
     Last of all - some changes have been happening on my Newport 30-III sail boat. For the last few years I have been concerned about the original equipment (1982) DC switch panel. The picture above is of the old switch panel and the hatch is where a new switch panel has been installed. Also, there were lights that have not operated since I bought the boat and I wanted to get them working. I got an electrician to go to work on the problems and do some evaluation of what the electrical problems were.
     One of the first things done was to check out why the Anchor, Steaming and Foredeck lights were not working. Much to my dismay we discovered that the conduit that contains the wires going up the mast, which is pop riveted to the mast, is loose at the top and has pulled loose the connections to the lights on the mast. This means a haul out and removal of the mast from the boat to get everything fixed – about $2,700 worth of work over a three day period. That is scheduled for January 29 - 31, 2008 and will be done at a boat yard in San Rafael.
     After that he got to work on the cabin electrical wiring. The DC lights on the Port side of the boat, aft of the Head have not worked since I purchased the boat. In addition, a lot of the wiring was not fused and I needed to install a float switch on the bilge pump for automatic operation (it has been a manual switch, only, up to now). The end result of all the work is that a new (really nice) switch panel has been installed with breakers on all of the switches rather than only one breaker controlling all of the switches, which was the situation with the old panel. A bilge pump float switch and a 3 way switch to control it is installed, now, above the new switch panel. Wiring was re-routed to allow the Port side cabin lights to work and a fuse block was installed in the battery compartment. There were a few other electrical wiring issues addressed that brought the wiring up to proper specifications and overall the electrical wiring in the boat, now, is in much better shape. When the mast wiring is completed, the boat will be in really good shape and I look forward to getting that all done in about three weeks.