Some Upgrades Are
a Matter of convenience; some are a matter of necessity. The necessary
upgrades to SV Tiburón were the
propane system and the electrical system. When the vessel was surveyed, Jim
Wallace, found precious little wrong with this boat. Given its age, we knew
that, despite its glowing bill of health, that changes would have to be made to
allow the boat another fifty years of life on the water. On Jim Wallace’s list
was the location of the propane tank and slope in the hose that leads this
extraordinarily flammable and heavier-than-air fuel into the stove.
This was easily enough accomplished: we moved the propane
bottle to an exterior mount on the stern of the boat. The line falls at an
acceptable angle and has no curves with low points into which propane could
accumulate. The key part of this project was to make certain that there were no
attachments in the hose where leaks could occur.
The more difficult problem lay in the wiring of the boat.
I am not an electrician. I felt that this was a job for a professional, especially
where AC power is involved. We had a combination of fuses that was attached to
a buss bar and, upon inspection, betrayed several generations of wiring. The
issue rose to the top of the list when a fuse exploded, not simply blowing out
but exploded, when the water heater was engaged.
The process began when I had a bypass installed for the
heater to an AC Breaker. Now, allow me to say that this was compounding the
problem. We were just bypassing a systemic problem; this is a bit like treating
a symptom rather than the disease itself. Problems continued. Running lights were
dodgy. We had issues with our fridge. We came to the conclusion that it was
time to have the boat rewired.
We contracted Beacon Marine Electronics
to do three things: Rewire the boat and bring it up to date, update the
electronics, and to install solar and wind power. The decision was made to
install new AC and DC power systems and to use a system of breakers rather than
fuses. The wiring proved to be a major project. The fuse boxes were removed and
the wiring reorganized. A veneer was placed over the original teak bulkhead to
cover the many access holes that were drilled and that were necessitated for
installation of the new system.
The installation of the new wiring is one of those things
that is not “sexy” like a new set of sails. But this is a necessary part of the
care for a boat of this age. It is necessary, however. We have eliminated potential
fire hazards, and enabled the installation of the new electronics (which will
be discussed in our next installment) and solar and wind power (to be done, at
this time). I will follow thru with a discussion of our goals for electronics and what has been installed to date to meet those goals.
Fair winds and following seas!
- Pablo
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