Happy New Year! To take the edge off the winter cold, here’s a picture of the “new” diesel-fired cabin heater I installed last month.
You can also see the rest of the companionway sole that’s been replaced. I had to re-surface and paint the bulkhead behind the heater and install a heat-shield, as well as the flue-pipe and the thru-deck fitting. Once I figured out how to tune it and clean the fuel lines, that baby pumps out the heat. So no more electric space-heater. And heat away from the dock when we need it!
I also completed the installation of a secondary 200-amp alternator on the starboard engine. It directly feeds the house 12-volt system. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of it. When the full-size battery box is reinstalled, it should show any pictures I take of that, so stay tuned.
On that note, I received delivery of 4 200 amp-hour 4D size AGM batteries for the house bank. They’re monsters! Thanks to Anthony at batterystuff.com for a great price, and free shipping (it was a holiday deal). Free shipping on 4 125-lb batteries. That’s huge! I wasn’t really ready to buy them yet, but with that deal going on, I had to jump. So now refurbishing and reinstalling the battery box and putting in the new battery bank has moved up the priority list.
There’s a similar story on the refrigerator. I had been poring through the internet, looking for a fridge that would fit in the alcove in the galley. We found one that was close, but would require enlarging the alcove and losing a chart-drawer that’s above it. We bought that fridge last spring and set it up in the garage at home, with the intention of moving it to the boat when the galley is ready. It served as a secondary “beer-fridge” in the garage all summer. Then I found another fridge online that was the right size without modifying the alcove. Afraid that it would be out of stock by the time the alcove is ready, I jumped on that fridge. It’s now sitting in its box in the foyer at the house. And darn, we’ll just have to keep the first one as a beer-fridge. So the galley alcove refurb moves up on the priority list, too! I’ve a new 120-volt circuit installed; all it needs now is paint and new decking for the fridge to sit on. Then we can get rid of the tiny dorm-room fridge that’s been taking up counter space in the galley. I’ll get pictures of that when it’s installed.
So, things move along. I need to learn to take more pictures. New Year’s resolution, perhaps? Happy New Year!
-K