Here are some images of the jobs done on the boat in April.
Some of the jobs done are:
Somewhat of a ‘here we go!’ moment to put the drill to the bottom and go straight through! Reminds me of the joke: “What does a belgian (fill in your neighbouring countryman here) do when his boat has a hole and water is pouring in? .. he drills another hole, so the water can flow back out.” Ghe.
Anyway, my father brought his milling machine to mill a circle out of the bottom plate and the saildrive fits superbly.
Next up: mounting the motor to the saildrive.
A (couple of) blackbird(s) decided to build a nest on the pulpit of the boat. Two out of four chicks are still alive and well. I’ve tried to do as little work as possible on the forward part of the boat and the birds seem to have gotten used to me, so I hope they make it.
Here are some pictures
Edit 25-4: The little birds seem to have left the nest. I hope they are well! I’ve removed the nest, just in case the mother decides to have another go..
First solar panel for the electric boat.
I bought some PV cells on e-bay and put the first panel together this morning. This is my first DIY solar project, so I started out a bit shaky, first breaking a cell and then heating one up too much while soldering, which caused the conductive layer to come off, but after that, things went smoothly and I have completed three of these panels now.
Next, I intend to encapsulate the cells in resin, but I haven’t quite figured out what type to use yet. I get the impression 2-component silicone is best, but It is rather expensive and I wonder if it is hard enough when it is the only protection. I prefer not to use anything else like glass or so. Many industrial cells are encapsulated in epoxy, but I haven’t found one (yet) that is UV resistant and won’t discolor.
The electric motor and generator for the electric propulsion system that I am planning to install on my boat this spring, have arrived this week!
The motor is a Motenergy (Mars Electric) ME0907 and the genset is a Kipor IG1000 1Kw 4 stroke petrol generator.
Just installed wordpress to replace my old plain html website. I hope to be able to put stuff online easier this way. Hold on while I try to figure out how this all works…
