The Maintenance Guy

Hello all, Ben here... Although Lisa and the kids get to live a relative life of complete leisure, someone has to, as they say.. keep the ship afloat. So, that is me I am the maintenance and improvement guy. The Cartermaran was well-maintained before we bought it, but she was born in 2002. Things need to be replaced and updated periodically, so that is one of my other duties.

Below is a bunch of technical information and IT geek stuff, so enjoy.

IMPROVEMENTS: When we were at survey, I noticed some things that were cutting-edge in 2002. Things like the solar system and onboard ship systems, I wanted to improve.

SOLAR: I am unsure what the 4 panels were originally intended to produce, but I saw a peak output of a minuscule 273 watts.

The new panels were ordered right after we returned from the survey. I ordered 2 residential style panels (LG Solar- LG370N1K-A6) from Eco Direct which produce 370 watts max, each, at a higher voltage. I also ordered a ton of products from Victron Energy- parts to make it all work and integrate all the boat systems. I spent a half day installing the panels while Lisa and the kids were off in North Palm Beach with family and I was waiting for the new turbocharger to arrive from Yanmar. Results were great in partial sunlight. The two panels produced 722 watts at 79v which is a huge improvement. I also took the opportunity to remove the 20 year old obsolete and unused mobile satellite dish.

THE BRAIN: Technology is crazy these days and with us planning on being away from the boat for long stretches, I wanted to be able to monitor everything remotely, so I began installing products from Victron Energy which allow me to wirelessly and remotely monitor: battery voltage, solar output, battery capacity, water tank level, fuel tank level, remotely start the generator, and countless other things. I also installed a system from BRNKL which I have set, not only as a security system which activates all the boats lights and a siren when activated, but also monitors a camera, both bilge pumps, battery voltage, inverter status, and GPS position (and geofence). It gets routed through an internet router that automatically selects the best signal from local WiFi or a mobile hotspot. Both get their signals amplified through an external antenna and signal booster. All these systems and data can be viewed by us any where in the world! Technology is crazy!

Control Panel

THE HEART(S): Anyone that knows me, knows I love engines. I also briefly went to college to be able to work on them. Our dual 240hp YANMAR 4LHA-STP engines have been great and would have been completely reliable without a rag accidently stuffed in one of the intakes (not by me), but we rely on them A LOT (we don't have sails as back up). I wanted to give them the most love possible, so one of the first things I did was give them fresh air by installing blowers into the engine compartments, installing tons of lighting (you used to use a headlamp to see and I check the engines and fluids before running every day), and installing WiFi cameras to see them from the helm while underway. I also installed about 80 sq. ft. of sound/heat insulation around the inside of the engine compartment (the factory barely installed any). This has allowed the kids (they sleep on top of the engine compartments) to continue to sleep, and sometimes Lisa, while underway when I get up early and get going on long travel days.

BLOOD: Filters, filters, filters, and fluids. Being that it's not that easy to get parts or go to the store, the boat came with and I have since acquired tons of spare parts. There is a spare for almost everything: dozens of filters for oil, fuel, water, and the water-maker, 15 gallons of oil, belts, screws, gaskets, pumps, starter, 8 gallons of coolant, and on and on. At first opportunity, I changed both the engines and generator to full synthetic oil. Although more expensive, we rely on them, so they only get the best. I am partial to Rotella and it gets changed every 250 running hours in our Yanmars.

MAINTENANCE: Everything wears out eventually, so a fair bit of time is spent maintaining things before they become problematic, like completely replacing all the seals on our dripping hatches and replacing all our bulbs with LEDs.

SAFETY: Okay, I didn't do this stuff last but it did get done along the way. There were some items to change over to have our information on it, like the AIS transmitter, EPIRB, and other safety equipment. 

KIDS EXTRA SAFETY: Whenever we are out of a marina, the kids are required to wear life vests. We also added a man overboard alarm from ACR. Basically, how it works is the kids wear a little wristband and if they get 50 ft. from the boat (because they fell overboard) it sets off an alarm on our navigation tablet and the electrical panel. It's good peace of mind and seems to function well so far.

Until next time...

Love,

The Maintenance Guy