A frequent happening evidently but seeing in person never gets old. These creatures are free and fun loving. You can see them jumping waves on their way to greet. Riding the pressure wave off of the bow is sport for them. Graceful aren’t they?
…on location off of Bald Head Island NC
Sometimes there is a surprise when the anchor comes up. Usually you find that the bottom was sandy (clean or grassy) or muddy (unclean). If it’s rocks or coral, then you probably knew that already because holding would have been poor to nil.
A recent overnight stay rest break took place off the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) outside buoy marker 23. The anchorage has easy access but frequently shares parking with tugs and barges. For this stopover there was plenty of sea-room and I snuggled in. Raising anchor the next morning seemed routine until the last bit and this is what I saw:
My plow anchor had dredged up what looked like cable and I was aghast thinking it was critical telecommunication infrastructure or electrical utility for the island adjacent. But my chart provided no notes of caution had that been a concern. Sometimes when an anchor fouls it remains planted to the seabed where you can’t see the cause; not without a swim and a free dive for inspection. I’m lucky that the anchor windlass on deck had the muscle power to lift the cable from the bottom of its 10′ depth. No SCUBA needed.
A close look revealed this cable to be a crusty steel hawser that had gotten away from a work vessel. Where a recreational boater might use a 1/2″ or less light size/weight rope for securing his craft, this one was industrial gauge; at least an inch or so in diameter and very heavy duty. In fact, due to the angle of the anchor plow, the beast was well caught up. I tried backing down to see if it would just flip off but I couldn’t shake it. I thought maybe a neighboring work crew that was busy getting a barge ready might have tools, skills, or desire to take claim. I decided to solve this one on my own.
If I had a do-over, I would have tied a length of rope to the cable and the bitter end to my bowsprit platform. Simply lowering the anchor chain at that point would have freed my anchor. What I ended up doing was raising the anchor until the plow edge went horizontal. With a flat surface I figured I could just slide the cable off. But bare hands still couldn’t budge. I went aft to find my boat hook pole to gain leverage. With not too much heave-ho the cable slid aft toward the anchor tip. The distance to freedom wasn’t far but each inch required some grunt on my part. As the bulky cable was finessed off it immediately plunged back down to the dark depths. Unfortunately, and I realized in an instant too late what was to happen next and what the outcome would be, because — the boat hook was still hooked! The heavy cable was about to claim it and my arm too had I not made the correct choice and released my grip.
King Neptune has his cable back — and my boat hook as well.
Phase 1 was a re-fit. The original [35 amp] Hitachi was removed and replaced with a new alternator of higher output. The Hitachi was intended to maintain an engine start battery. However, it was ill suited to restore charge of a large capacity house battery bank and could barely cope. The new 100 amp unit will be a big improvement.
In order to do a proper job the original 3/8″ V belt was changed to a 10 rib Poly Micro V belt (aka serpentine) with pulleys. This was not easily accomplished. The Yanmar 3QM30 diesel is an ancient (but solid) lump of iron that was manufactured between 1976-1980. They aren’t that common these days and it’s a challenge to find parts. As such, it was hard to locate a belt drive conversion. I searched and made inquiries and finally found encouragement from a lone blog post from a trailblazer who appeared to have success.
 the Before (note the belt dust!) |
 and the After… |
With the higher output, new temperature sensors on both the alternator body and battery itself were added. These talk to an advanced charging controller (fka a generator regulator) to insure long life for all components. The Hitachi had an internal regulator that output 14v regardless. This was fine for old tech lead-acid batteries but state of the art batteries are AGM and they need special feeding utilizing a 3 step charge algorithm.
Smooth running and no more belt dust and shredding failures. Over-tensioning the old V-belt would have helped to cut the slippage but doing so would overstress the water pump bearing and did I mention that parts are hard to find? There is only one guy I know of that can/will rebuild a 3QM30 fresh water pump so handle with care.
Phase 2 – Solar Energy!
The electrical system onboard Talmid, while well executed and adequate by OEM standards, could benefit from a re-fit. Modern comfort necessities and new equipment rely on a robust electrical system not foreseen back in the day. Battery chemistry has improved but that comes with stricter charging care and feeding requirements. There are improved energy source options in both solar and wind.
Follows is a schematic and narrative for what I have in mind for the boat. Central is the Battery system which is comprised of the House Bank (Battery #1) and an Engine Starting Battery (#2).
The original system is wholly dependent on the engine driven alternator to restore a discharged House Bank. Proper seamanship dictates that the Starting Battery always be reserved for engine starts for which this need should be obvious. Switching allows the selection of Engine Battery or House Battery or Both (together in parallel) or OFF. This is good flexibility but when you crank the starter motor there is huge voltage sag. This results in lights dimming, the GPS signal being lost, and the Navigation Course Plotter resets. Sometimes it kicks off the Auto Steering too. Surges and spikes aren’t good for electronics. This happens because all consumers are tied to the same battery. The switching can only direct to the source.
This new design above allows for three battery switch choices: ON, OFF, and Manual Combine. Combine (aka Both) is for an unusual situation only (e.g. a battery bank has gone flat) and the normal operational selection is: ON. Each battery system is split. 
Thus, if the engine is started, the other consumers can continue to chug away without interference. Split batteries are good practice because if there is a heavy discharge, or a short circuit or failure loss on one battery side then the other battery side is not likely to be affected.
This new design will require battery charging leads to one battery system or the other in order to maintain the desired isolation. However, there is a way to maintain a proper charge 
state on both battery banks through the use of an Automatic Charging Relay (ACR). This hardware, through a one way only (diode protected) connection permits charge voltage to pass to both batteries. When the ACR senses discharge the connection between the two banks is opened. The schedule is programed to work with system voltage as follows when:
There is some overhead for the ACR. It has a small energy draw. Also, there is a fallibility with voltage sensing relays to do with combining and isolation cycling. To mitigate the possibility, the charge energy sources are defaulted to the (house) battery bank that is likely to experience the most discharge. Further, when adding complexity to a system you have to assume it to be a point of failure.
In removing the original Hitachi I noted the mounting saddle and associated bolts lacking the standard Yanmar grey but coated instead with rusty corrosion. Wanting to dress things a bit in anticipation of the new alternator upgrade, the mount will be cleaned and Rust-Oleum applied. 
Further, after having read of other people’s woes specific to alternator bracket failure, I want to inspect for cracks or metal fatigue. For sure the bolts will be exchanged as a precaution. Witness this sad bolt in particular which suffered thread galling. I suspect that It is an SAE thread that wasn’t meant for the Metric hole tap or vice versa. I shall visit the parts bin and compare to find out more; but in either case the receiving threads in the engine block will need re-doing.
Conserving energy is a way to help cut carbon emissions and save money but on a boat it takes on an overriding importance; and that is because energy is finite. You are either bringing it with you, stored in the form of Diesel Fuel to be converted, or harvesting energy from the Sun and Wind as you may.
Alternative Energy will be pursued but at this moment part of the big picture is to reduce reliance upon it by not wasting. 
Observe that the boat has a dozen or more light bulb consumers. These are 12v single filament bayonet mount style which are relatively cheap and serve well but at they are hungry. The old school bulb on the left squanders 15 watts. The new solution pictured right is an LED using only 1.5 watts for an equivalent light output. There are even red LEDs (vision preserving for night ops) and .8 watts with reduced lumens.
More minutia: It only took the better part of a day to properly source this retro-fit. There are quite a few styles, sizes, and types from which to select. The Sea Dog dome lights utilize a double contact base for + and – not to be confused with the automotive setup which uses the base itself for a negative ground and the double contacts for dual filaments. The challenge was to procure a globe that fit the lense fixture and a socket that fit into the ba15d base as designed.
It all adds up, but this small effort will reduce the need for additional capacity. I suppose this brass wick oil lamp might be the outstanding supreme fix.
The simple engine driven charging system onboard Talmid was designed to serve a lead acid starting battery. With rated output of 12v and 30 AMPS, and as the sole source of energy, the Hitachi alternator is also called upon to recharge a 300 Ah capacity house battery bank. When the house bank is depleted, discharged after a day under sail for example, the little alternator is overtaxed which manifests in long charging times and a heavy strain load on its 3/8″ drive belt. Spares are carried because at some point the belt will inevitably perish, possibly at a critical! moment. Monitoring its condition and becoming mechanically adept at adjusting proper tension is crucial. Belt tensioning is achieved via adjustment bolts on the alternator mounting brackets. All other pulleys are fixed in their positions. Measuring belt slack while flexing the belt with a finger means the procedure is rather subjective. Too loose results in slippage which translates to premature wear. 
Adjusted too tightly and the added stresses will accelerate [water pump] bearing wear. The image shows the original belt drive system on the old Yanmar 3QM30. It is driven by a 6″ crankshaft pulley [lower]. The pulley for the water pump cooling system [upper] and the alternator completes the triangle.
There must be a better way. Indeed. On order is a higher output 100 AMP alternator, which is better sized to match existing battery capacity. 
Even more load for the feeble V belt you say? No. Central to this upgrade is a new serpentine drive belt system. Serpentine is a descriptor derived from modern automotive application as the belt snakes to and from numerous driven accessories in one continuous loop. This is a simplification from early days when an engine had several belts. A serpentine belt has ribs and grooves that track precisely in machined pulleys and significantly increased width will enhance grip surface area.
Another modification, to complete this installation, will be the addition of an updated voltage regulator. The original Hitachi has an internal regulator which supplies a constant output of 
approximately 14volts. 
This is suitable for lead acid batteries but harmful to Absorbent Glass Mat batteries over the long term. AGM batteries require extra care and feeding in order to insure longevity. A 3 step charge algorithm calls for 14 v during the bulk charging phase but also includes an absorption and float stage. These included stages scale back the voltage and allow the AGM to be restored to full capacity. Long life preserved.
This is the first step toward a robust energy system because as the sole source, it is a single failure point. Alternative energy will provide redundancy. Available and useful are Wind and or Solar. In any event, I believe that outfitting with the new alternator scheme will go along way toward solving previous weakness while eliminating the belt dust nuisance and shredded rubber breakdown.
…for the Wine Making Industry.
“MOG” is material other than grapes. i.e. stems, leaves,
The harvester machine [ Korvan 3016 ] straddles a row and utilizes a set of longitudinal Nylon Picking Rods, Metal Rod Holders and Wings to shake the entire vine. In this fashion the grapes are separated from the vine and fall by gravity onto a cupped conveyor. Along the journey to toward the hopper gondola which collects the harvest for transport, MOG is extracted by powerful fans and jettisoned overboard. The entire procession moves along at 2.67 mph
Running again after years of storage.
Uncontained fuel is volatile and a safety issue but there are degrees. Here is a list in order of seriousness:
Sometimes Seepage will, overtime, fix itself and become Weepage. My fuel pump, when off, was the latter. Containment was not difficult, however when operating [pressurized] there was definitely a leak. The old seals had become dry and hardened from disuse, decay, and exposure to old gasoline and would no longer stem the tide.
Happily there is a restorative kit available though billed as a solution for the models W113 [Pagoda], W111 [Fintail], and certain W108 models using the “Long Style” pump. Mine was an early 1st version and I was confident that it would be suitable.
The way to find out was to order the package, disassemble, compare old parts with the new replacement and find out. The many pieces included 6 “O” rings. These would solve the escaping fuel problem. Also included were new shaft bearings and motor brushes. After 50 years / 125,000 miles use these original wear items had served their purpose. A tutorial explained the inner workings and was invaluable. The method for keeping fuel from going past the shaft housing was a clever bit: To seal the shaft to the pump housing there is a black plastic-type insert with what looks to be a neoprene collar that fits into the opening of the housing. It has a flat surface that matches a flat surface on the Bellows seal. The Bellows Seal is called a “Mechanical Seal” or “Slide Ring Seal”. A small O-Ring seals the Bellows onto the shaft. The Bellows Seal sits on the O-Ring and rotates with the shaft held in position by the locating washer. … and so on and so forth.
I merely had to follow the instructions and was only flummoxed when I compared my [removed] washer with that of the cup shaped washer from the picture tutorial. They didn’t look the same; not one bit. I rationalized that it was my 1st gen design and at this point it was deep thought and analysis to achieve understanding. The new bearings were sealed type and so I left the little cup washer out completely — thinking it superfluous. I didn’t want to alter the shaft [shim] height orientation but I deduced that its absence would not and even became convinced that it could have been a detriment.
Still, having a piece left over after reassembly is unnerving and leaving it on the bench was a leap of faith. Fingers crossed there.
Last task was to dress the commutator. Wear and tear had built a ridge of copper, or rather a valley from the carbon brush(s) track. I knocked that down ever so gently and precisely using a fingernail file not wanting to booger the armature.
Finally, the unit was complete (excepting the confused washer) and was buttoned up and re-installed. A twist of the Ignition Key would determine success or failure. I poured fresh fuel into the tank checked for Seepage. So far so good. Jumped in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The pump at this point should and did run; purring quietly. Most importantly, no Leakage. Hoorah! and again roadworthy.
