The Mysteries of NMEA 0183

We ordered a new battery charger and GPS chartplotter when we were at the Southampton Boatshow. What we had onboard worked but the old GPS chartplotter wasn't modern enough to show AIS data. We'd tried using a notebook to display this whilst we were away in France but notebooks are not really designed to be used at sea and need to be secured. We found it frustrating to set it up and wanted something more robust that would monitor for potential conflicting traffic all of the time.

The new battery charger is only a little bit more powerful than the last one but it has three big advantages.

Firstly, it knows the right voltages and charge rates to deal with our modern AGM batteries. Having fitted new AGM batteries we don't want to risk any damage to them from by being charged at the wrong voltages.

Secondly, the charger can be fitted with a battery temperature sensor (still to be delivered) so that it adjusts the charging voltages to compensate for hot climates. Ideal given that we plan to sail in hotter climates.

Thirdly, the new charger works with US and European mains voltages and frequencies so Blue Velvet is now equipped for worldwide travel.

Fitting the new charger went very smoothly. It is effectively a very updated version of the old charger and, happily, all of the existing wiring reached. To install it we just needed to drill a couple of fixing holes and solder on and connect some different terminals. Integrating the new GPS plotter was more complex.

With its two configurable NMEA 0183 comms channels I had hoped to save myself the hassle and expense of having to fit a new NMEA2000 data network to link the plotter and the AIS. So, before cutting any panels, we connected up the wiring and ran a series of tests. The problem is that the NMEA 0183 network only likes to have one thing 'talking' on each comms channel whilst everything else listens. With a GPS aerial, an AIS, a plotter and a network of wind, speed and depth sensors all wanting to 'talk' there is plenty of scope for interference.

The other minor problem for us is that we want to use our existing GPS aerial mounted on the pushpit. The new plotter does have its own internal GPS aerial but that does not get such a good signal as the one mounted outside (probably because we have lined the deckhead with heat reflective metal insulation sheets). After several hours of trying out all of the options we concluded that the only way to get a really stable GPS signal around the network, without any interference, was to dedicate one of the plotter comms channels to the outside GPS aerial. That meant no free NMEA 0183 comms channel to configure for the higher data-rate AIS. Blue Velvet will therefore need to have an NMEA 2000 network added so that the AIS can talk to the GPS plotter. At least that will configure her for the future as any new equipment is likely to be able to plug into the more capable NMEA 2000 network.

A Fishy Tale

Nicky and I escaped for a few days sailing (plus a bit of technical work along the way). We listened to Solent Coastguard's warning about lots of debris from the rivers which had been washed down by heavy rain, and we noted the brown water and lots of floating sticks when we stopped at Lymington. At 0400hrs when the fridge (which is water cooled) woke me up making some unhappy noises, I assumed that the pump had sucked up some leaves or rubbish so switched it off and left clearing it until the morning. Once we were up in the morning, after a quick bit of testing, it was clear that no water was getting to the cooling pump; debris in the inlet... must be. Yes the inlet was blocked, but not by debris.  Surprisingly, a fish had got completely jammed inside the inlet and stopcock. The only thing we had onboard of the right dimensions to push it out was the handle of one of our wooden cooking spoons. Not ideal but it worked and we now have cool wine and beer again...bliss! Important enough I think to add a dedicated long piece of doweling to our shopping list to have onboard in case it ever happens again.

We had one very misty day with no wind and so used the time usefully to get out our storm sails and set them up so that we know how to get the correct sheeting angles.

Storm jib and trysail

They look the part and are very strongly made but I dearly hope that we are never in such bad weather that we have to use them in earnest.

Hillwalking Temporarily Halts Preparations

The view from the cottage we stayed in

Nicky and I have just returned from a week of hillwalking in the English Lake District. We had excellent weather and walked 105 kilometres in 6 days climbing everything 'big' we could get to in the time. Seeing the beautiful scenery in autumnal colours certainly justified the pause in work on BV. We also now know that we will definitely need to find space for our hiking boots when we finally pack BV.

A great few days away but now we are back (aside from sending off our tax returns), it should be full steam ahead on BV prep.

Looking SE from Pavey Ark

Harrison Stickle and Langdale Fell

Glenridding on the shore of Ullswater 

Striding Edge - our route up Helvellyn

Looking North from Helvellyn

The evening view from our cottage

The House Looks Like a Sail Loft!

Replacing the sacrificial UV protection strip

Now that we are back home I needed to spend a bit of time giving the genoa and the staysail some TLC. There were a few runs of stitching that needed redoing because the thread had been weakened by UV light, a couple of patches to attach to reinforce some worn spots on the sails, plus a section of the sacrificial UV protection on the staysail needed replacing. Nothing too major. However, when I unpacked the foresails at home I quickly realised that 750 square feet of sail and our living room don't go too well together. The staysail, which looks fairly small and insignificant when it is on BV, seemed to fill all of the available space in the living room. The genoa, which is three times the size, was definitely a bit of a monster to manhandle around and work on.

The UV protection strip on our staysail gets a bit of a battering from the genoa sheets which run across it at every tack if the staysail is furled. So whilst it is a pain to do, it is better to replace the strip promptly before there is any risk of damage to the sailcloth below it. The old adage 'a stitch in time saves nine' seemed very apt.

All in all it took a day and a half to complete everything; far longer than I expected. On the plus side I only got a couple of stab wounds from the awl when I was hand stitching a really thick area near the clew. I think it worked out as 16 layers of sailcloth and acrylic fabric so it was a bit much to fit under the foot of the sewing machine.

It's not just been work on the sails. One of the lightbulbs in the main compass had blown whilst we were away so you couldn't read the compass very well at night when on port tack. Replacing that was another job that seemed like it should be a relatively quick fix but turned out to be a little more fiddly; a common theme on boat jobs it seems! What looked like a simple 'undo 3 screws and lift out the compass' job ended up as a 'take the compass surround apart in situ so that the compass could then be lifted out' job. Fiddly but a lot easier than disturbing the stainless steel work, wiring and radar display. Typically, access to some of the screws was awkward and needed some improvisation. Having got it all apart, changing the tiny bulb took just seconds to do. With the compass removed we got rare access to the upper gears for the steering wheel so they got a healthy dose of gear grease before everything went back together. 'Change compass light bulb' crossed off the list of jobs and, having disturbed it, 'swing the compass' added to the list.... I think we are making progress but the list never seems to get shorter!

I also managed to tidy up the way that the bottom mainsheet block is attached to the traveler. When we got BV the bottom block used to flop over and catch so, as a 'quick' fix, we had supported it with a short length of large diameter hose pushed over the shackle and attachment loop. Not pretty but it has worked for the last 5 years with an annual replacement of the hose which cracked. However, at the Southampton Boat Show last week I finally found a suitable spring to hold up the mainsheet block - a much more elegant solution than a piece of 38mm sanitary pipe!

Back to Home

The Southampton Boat Show was worth the visit and allowed us to get a few bits and pieces for BV. We also did the rounds of the insurance companies to get quotes for sailing around and into the Mediterranean. In the evening the Rustler Owners dinner was also very good. A couple of fellow owners enthused about the Spanish Rias we plan to visit next year; it sounds like a great place to visit and we are both really looking forward to that adventure. We were also able to discuss our leaking window experience with another pair of owners who had had the same symptoms of just a few drops of water but more than could be put down to just condensation. They found that it was the rubber seal around the glass that had started to perish. It looks as if we will have to remove our window and send it away for the seal to be replaced. Getting the aluminium frames out is apparently a time-consuming job and it's easy to cause damage to the interior trim and gel coat so we will have to do that very carefully. Also, given that one of the frames has started to leak we really need to refurbish all of them. Not ideal but not unreasonable given that the rubber seals have been exposed to all weathers continuously for the last 12 years. It's also much better for us to do them now; one less thing to worry about, plus we know a company that will do the work well.

The first of many loads we moved to the car

And so after all of that excitement, it was time to sail back to our mooring. The Solent was busy with yachts and lots of people were out enjoying the end of season sun. However, we spent the afternoon emptying our clothes and food from BV. We also removed the genoa and staysail as they need some stitching replacing and some other small repairs. The kit piled up on the pontoon and in the end the car was jam packed for the trip home. It felt very strange to be driving again having not been in a car for 5 weeks.

There will be the usual mountain of mail to deal with and we will then start to work our way through the list of jobs on BV. One of the compass lights has failed; the galley needs a new coat or two of varnish, as do a number of other areas; the winches generator and engine need servicing; we want to put in some extra teak shelves in the galley cupboards; we need to clear out the junk in lockers we don't use and replace it with stuff we will use.... the list goes on and looks like it will keep us pretty busy for the next few months.

However, we have had a great time in south Brittany. It has proved that BV is pretty much ready to go but, more importantly, that we are too. We've been at home now for less than 24 hours and we are already wanting to get back to BV and sail away to new places. But first to the chores!

St Peter Port and back to the Solent

Enjoying the sunshine

Stopping in St Peter Port, Guernsey, again was very pleasant. It turned out that we had several days before the funeral and so would be able to get BV back to her normal mooring in the UK. It also meant we had time to catch up with family and friends on Guernsey over some really nice meals including a barbecue to which we cycled. I think Nicky’s ‘scenic route’ there took us up and down every steep hill on the island. Great views across the west coast though, so the extra pedalling was worth it. That pedalling, along with another run along the coastal path, were a small waistline-reducing token gesture to try and compensate for the fabulous meals out.

Castle Cornet

The tide crossing the sill at Victoria Marina

On Tuesday 18 September it was an early start with our alarm going off at 0515hrs, just as the water was starting to come over the sill into Victoria Marina. It was a spring tide and so, with a tidal range of 8.6 metres, the water really rushed in. Amazingly just 45 minutes later the water level had risen by 2 metres and we were able to slip out of the marina at 0610hrs.

The tide ran strongly pushing us north and then north-east through the Alderney Race. Between Alderney and Cap de la Hague we turned north. With the wind from the west-north-west, and being so strongly pushed east by the tide, we ended up close hauled with 2 reefs in punching north through a very lumpy sea with, at one point, 15 knots speed over the ground on the GPS! The cockpit stayed dry but a lot of water came over the deck on several occasions in some confused seas. We discovered that we have a slight leak on one window in the saloon plus some water came in through a hatch we had not tightened down enough; lesson hopefully learnt on closing hatches properly plus and extra sealing job on the list for when we are back home.  The sea didn’t really calm down until we were about 10 miles north of Cap de la Hague but BV took the brisk wind and confused sea in her stride; she is a very confidence inspiring yacht. The ideal heading for our passage back to the Needles was about 010 deg Mag but the wind was forecast to veer more north-westerly and we were anticipating arriving at the Needles as the tide turned to the west.  Given that, it made sense to maintain a close-hauled course, which took us up to weather, and, if we slowed at all, would put us up-tide of the Needles too. Inevitably, the expected veer did not occur, nor did the wind reduce, so we ended up bearing away to about 040 deg Mag for the last 3 hours of the passage. This made for some very fast and entertaining sailing at the end of what was still a quick passage; we came in through the Needles Channel 12 hours after leaving St Peter Port.

Entering the Solent past the Needles Lighthouse

Once back into the Solent we moored up in Yarmouth and after a quick dinner crashed out for the night. In the morning of Wednesday 19 September, we made a short hop east and anchored in Newtown River for a maintenance day. By fluke there was a chap I knew from work on a yacht anchoring near to us. We’d sailed together in Croatia and, suitably enthused, he was now in the middle of taking his Competent Crew course. He and two of the other guys on the course rowed over to say hello and take a look at BV.

Despite the blue skies it was distinctly chillier in England and we missed the warmer temperatures to which we had become used. Nicky cleaned the grabrails and the teak in the cockpit and then gave it all a coat of teak oil. She had done the cap rails whilst we were in Guernsey so all of the teak has now had enough TLC for a few months. I pickled the watermaker and serviced the aft shower-sump pump; another job where an extra joint or two in my arm would have been very handy to help reach the screws and connectors.

The next step would be a trip up Southampton Water so that we could spend a day at the Southampton Boat Show. Then, in the evening, attend the Rustler Owners Association annual dinner at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club. After a month away finding a smart shirt without creases could prove to be tricky.