After moving to SBFZ in July 2024
June 28-29
Launched in Iba and sailed the boat to Subic Bay. Moored at Watercraft. Crew were Miriam, Regis and Martin.
July 4
Paperwork with Watercraft. Monthly fee is P 16,500
July 6
- Cleaned the boat with help from Mavic
- Made a sun shade for the restoration work
- Installed a provisional land power line
July 7
- Tried to buy water hose and electric cable at Handyman. Totally overpriced and not in the right length. Ended up ordering some from Lazada.
- More cleaning of the boat, sorted out lines
July 8
- Tested solar panels at covered sky, all still work despite being in really bad condition
- Made main sheet hull attachments and attached them to the hulls
- Started to replace the rope holding the trampoline, got too hot to finish
- Searched components for possible LiFePo4 battery to replace the broken AGM battery
- Plan to change electrical bridge connection of starboard hull, source components
July 9
- Finished trampoline rope
- Fabricated new main sheet traveller and mounted it
- Changed port speaker. Second spare speaker is not working, need to order a new one from SVB
- Changed lock in the port hull
- Started to make the mechanism for retractable joystick for electric outboard motor
- Designed the battery boxes, decided to go for a simple hose solution for the drainage after doing a lot of research on drainage valves
- Lazada, SVB and internet searches for components.
- Made cable for LiFePo4 temporary battery
- Ordered the LiFePo4 cells, 120 Ah, from a supplier in the Philippines.
- Ordered an ANT BMS on Alibaba, we’ll see how that will work out
- Ordered the speaker, shipped to Kata
- Ordered a few small things needed.
Getting into a routine, working on the boat early in the morning to beat the heat, then go for a swim, and then do some work at home.
July 10
- Fixed the main sheet shackle and block and installed the main sheet
- Measured cockpit area for joystick location
- Tested battery, 11.8V after disconnecting it from the landline (maybe one cell is damaged). The AGM charger also never reaches maintenance charging status.
- Left anchor light and three color light ON to check from the road
- Explored the option to install the batteries inside the hulls. That would bring a bit more weight forward, protect them totally from water, but would have the disadvantage of having to take them out from deep inside the hull when no land power is available.
- Tried to install the new, cheap Chinese garden hose for water – leaking. Took it back for testing at home.
- Note: There was a big branch of a tree under the boat. Chris, the owner of a home built catamaran he bought in Cebu, said that he had been at the pier that was assigned to us. It is shitty in heavy rain, river velocity is then up to 6 knots. He is moving to a mooring tomorrow on the other side of the bay.
- Started making the box for the joystick at home.
- Cut the motor battery holder to shape to test it tomorrow.
- Ordered some parts (Battery main switch, enclosure for motor display..)
- Tried to fix the speaker by re-solderign the contacts, did not work.
- Sorted out boat keys
- Repaired the covers for the landline connectors.
July 11
- Vacuum cleaned the boxes in the seat boxes. The middle one (cool box) is rotten and needs replacement. Not properly sealed at two locations.
- Installed the water hose and rinsed the deck, under the cross beams and the seat boxes.
- Checked the box for the joystick, fits, could be a bit narrower, need to think about drainage
- Fixed the protective covers to the landline
- Checked whether the LiFePo4 batteries will fit under the floor in the middle section of the cabins. Fits.
August, 3
It has been q while. A small accident resulting in a torn ligament in the knee prevented fast progress, but today I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
- Made two new covers for the cockpit storage lockers on the port seat, laminated them, fitted stainless handles – they need finish and painting
- Replaced the plugs of the cabin connection cable with a connection box. The power cable did not have contact anymore, and I can’t see that we will take apart the boat often. In that case the cables will just have to be disconnected in the connection box.
- Mast top light is working
- Almost completed the joystick box
- Re-set the parameters of the electric motor controller, reduced the delayed response, reversed the direction since the joystick is the wrong way around
- Made a new box for the Arduino display and tested it, it is integrated in the Joystick box.
- Ordered cables, boxes, connectors, battery switches, voltmeters, logbooks, and lots of small things that were needed. Had some trouble with the delivery boys who did not find our new house easily
- Made a new land power cable with waterproof connectors
- Made a new gardenhose for water supply
- Replaced the jib halyard and bought main halyards, that still need to be fitted
- Updated the manual and placed it also online
- Made two floors for the LiFePo4 motor batteries, one in each hull, laminated them with Rowin cloth on top, ready for fitting
- Transferred to home page and created a calendar for events
August 4
It is Sunday, so only little work was done. I tested the idea to go to the boat really early, do some work and then go swimming and then return home for breakfast coffee.
- Drilled the drainage hole for the Joystick box in the cockpit floor and the other wholes for mounting the box. Sanded the marine epoxy I had done yesterday to fill old holes and repair some damage.
- Finished the hull connection box on the starboard cabin,
- Replaced the starboard speaker (which Miriam had brought from Germany) and tested it, it works!!
- Tested the starboard seat locker boxes covers. They fit too. Need to think about a way how to secure them in tough weather.
- Made distancers and mounted them to the joystick box
- Put some thought into the voltmeters for the different batteries, After initially planning to put them into the joystick box, I decided to put all three in the Captain’s cabin, cables will go there anyway for the 48V charger that will be located there.
- Replaced starboard bow crossbeam cleat, still with a wooden one. Measured the required screw length for the aluminum cleats for the port aft crossbeam.
August 5-12
Steady progress but no major steps. I was mostly working on the Joystick box.
August 13
Sunny day today and yesterday, the exposed plywood of the cockpit drainage hole has dried. So I could continue working on sealing it.
- Sealed the lower cockpit plywood with epoxy
- Inserted PU foam between the cockpit bottom plywoods. Used foam from a spray can that I had ordered on Lazada and that came damaged. Luckily it still worked.
- Mounted the port battery floor board with previsionary fillets.
- At home made a waterproofing cover for the joystick hole when the joystick is hidden. Started working on one that serves as a Joystick condom when it is out, but I got impatient and abandoned it. Postponed for later.
August 14
Today was a bit frustrating. When painting exposed epoxy parts white, I found that the mast foot has cracked and obviously water came inside. The wood seems soft and the mast has actually dented it inwards for around a millimeter or two.
- Fitted the starboard battery floor board
- Added some fillets to the port battery floor board
- Painted the fresh epoxy parts white
August 14-September 6
Progress was slow because of other jobs and some help did not push through due to hangovers and a tropical storm.
- Sourced the materials and made a gin-pole for lowering the mast.
- Mounted the gin-pole and came up with a plan, which requires 4-6 people to help.
- Primed the covers of the hatches of the starboard seat
- Bailed out water from the Starboard hull after heavy rain
September 7-8
Two days of nice weather, no rain and cloudy, so not too hot either. So I made good prgress in installing the electical system for the electric outboard motor:
- Bailed out around 3 liters of water from the starboard hull after the tropical storm. Need to find and fix the leaks. One is obviously the hatch of the hull, which was never 100% watertight. The other one is probably the solar fan.
- Drilled all the holes for the 48V cables in the port hull, sealed the raw wood with expoxy. Some holes in the cabinet were difficult because the cabinet sections are so small that I could not get in with an electric drill. Drilled them manually with 12mm drill bits with lots of duct tape tied around the ends to serve as handles.
- Made a big hole for the grommet in the back of the cabin, sealed the wood, glued in the grommet and led the cables through. Mounted it with plenty of silicone for water tightness.
- Installed the main battery cable.
- Installed the Port 48V Battery
September 9
Today it looked like rain on Windy, and it indeed rained in the morning. After lunch it did not appear as if there would be more rain, so I went and thought I can at least go and do a few connections. It then was clear until the evening, so the afternoon was actually quite productive.
- Connected all the cables of the starboard hull in the joystick box
- Connected the charge panel (in the process I could actually feel the 51V the battery currently has. Good that I went for 48V and not a higher voltage).
- Connected the port 48V battery.
- Made a mold for the outboard motor down position securing device and formed it using marine epoxy. Covered the whole thing in packing tape in case it rains tonight.
Did not go swimming this night
September 10
Surprisingly another sunny day, after some rain in the morning. A bit too much sun to be compfortable, but I set off around 10:00 determined to make some more progress. Managed to do the following:
- Took off the upper motor downhold terminal I fitted yesterday to the aft crossbeam with marine epoxy. This needs some work to make it look OK
- Brought the outboard motor to test it with the joystick box
- Connected the motor power cable to the joystick box. This sounds easy but it is quite laborsome. Cut to length, remove insulation, crimp on the fitting cable lug, if it is loose also solder it, insulate with silicone and heat schrinkable tubes.
- Made the cable for the 48V Battery charger and found a location under the step of the port hull for it.
- Tested the motor with the joystick and the port battery.
September 11
- Installed the electrics for charging the 48V batteries
- Started fixing the port rudder
September 12
Made components
- Gap filler for port rudder (newly cut plywood, coated with one layer of Rowing fabric and epoxy).
- Made an angle piece from six layers of 250g/m fiberglass for the motor downhold bottom part
- Finished the upper part of the motor downhold
September 14
Miriam and Regis came yesterday. The weather report looked good for the morning, so we decided to lower the mast today. It was the tree of us and five guys from the yacht club Regis had arranged for the lowering part. It went surprisingly easy and fast. And revealed a very rotten mast step and top of the cross beam. Good that we decided to do it.
I had already prepared the gin pole and the jib halyard a weekend before when I thought we could lower the mast then.
- Moved the boat backwards so that the end of the mast could be temporarily caught by the wooden x placed on the pier
- Removed the safety lashing at the mast foot and the cable for the masttop light, which was stuck between the cockpit and the crossbeam. Also, one of the helpers tore violently at the cable to free it from a rope that it was entangled with when lowering the mast. Will have to check whether the cable got damaged in the process.
- Connected the two aluminum motorcycle ramps together and placed them across the hulls at the back so that one can walk on there if needed. Tied it to the hulls to secure it. Turned out to be a good idea because the mast top is now also resting on it.
- With the help of the 5 guys, lowered the mast, Miriam on the winch with the jib halyard, slowly releasing it, Regis coordinating the other guys and making sure that the mast does not move sideways, and Martin at the forestay, slowly releasing it. We did not have a photographer:-(
- This all went very quick and well, we tied the mast onto the crossbeams and secured the ropes.
The
We secured all ropes and cleaned up the boat and then went to Texas Joe’s for lunch. Rain started in the afternoon, so further work has to wait until next week.
Still to do, high priority
- Replace main halyards (Who wants to go up the mast – or do we need to get the mast down?)
- Repair mast step and top of the cross beam
- Check bottom assembly of mast for water intrusion
- Mount battery on starboard and install cables
- complete the a device to keep the motor down when reversing
- Change / replace wooden cleats
- Mount and connect the 48V Charger
- Aluminium protection for jib sheet blocks
- Find and mount Tackimo
Lower priority
- Test solar panels
- Make a new 12V main battery
- Stainless steel protection for anchor chain
- Make cusions for the cockpit seats