To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.

Team Red Cruising

Winterizing

Mon 12 November 2018 | Archive November 2018 | Tags Marina Life Maintenance Electrical

Sigh.

Fuel Jug Covers
Old T-shirts to protect the spare fuel jugs

Seasons come and seasons go. As we get on toward winter, we need to strike Red Ranger's sails, winterize Mr. Lehman, take the food out of the galley, upend all the cushions to let air circulate.

We replaced the T-shirts keeping the direct sun of the spare fuel.

It's not like we need spare fuel for pottering around the Chesapeake. But. Before too long, we hope to take off again and see more of the world.

Steve
Steve rolling up the dinghy

We rearranged the mizzen cover a bit. It needs some serious sewing.

CA made the covers in 2010? I'd have to check back through the old blog to see when she made them.

We've squeezed a lot of years out of them. They need to be rebuilt.

Here are the fenders sleeping in our bed.

Fenders in the aft berth
Fenders in the aft berth

It seems to very wrong and sad to be keeping fenders inside the boat.

Among the sadness, a note of joy, though.

Last year, we had problems getting Mr. Lehman to start. I put in new house batteries. Then — mid-season -- I also replaced the starting battery.

I've been noting when the engine fails to crank and start. I worry about the starting motor.

At the Whitby Rendezvous, I talked with folks about my starter being irregular.

The response was a resounding nope. Starters aren't really an "irregular" kind of thing. They either work or they don't. If there's irregularity, it's electrical. Batteries.

But the batteries are all new! The solenoid is new! What can possibly lead to intermittent starting?

Today. I think I figured it out.

  1. It's gray. It's cold. There's hardly enough sun to charge the batteries.

  2. When we try to start Mr. Lehman there isn't even a click from the solenoid. NOTHING.

I look around. I notice the switch for the starting battery is off.

It's likely that it's been off since I replaced the starting battery.

We have a voltage-sensitive relay (VSR) that bridges both batteries together after the starting battery is fully charged. When the starting battery slides below 13.8 volts, the batteries are isolated.

Conclusion.

Up until today, I've been starting in full sun with both batteries at high power. I think we've been starting only because the batteries were bridged. And any irregularity in starting stemmed from the odd voltage fluctuation that left the VSR off.

Today I think the VSR was open. Nothing was connected to the starting battery and it was switched off. So. Zilch.

After turning the starting battery on? Kaboom. Started immediately.