Winter Maintenance in London #3

Hi everyone,
Since the New Year we've had several spare days in which to concentrate on maintenance.

Jobs Done (HF/SSB at left)

Here's the list we attacked...

• Refurbish instrument panel facia
• New HF/SSB
• Autopilots Networking/Location

Instrument Panel

When we originally bought Zen Again (Zen at that time) instrument panel was small with a book case aft.  The nav table top was in two halves with instruments taking up a lot of space...

NavStation 2010

Over the next year we transformed it into this...

NavStation 2011

Since then various instruments have come and gone.  The original polycarbonate panel was modified to accommodate the changes.  Empty cut-outs were covered with laminex patches which eventually created an ugly patchwork.

The first step of the refurbishment was removing the backup autopilot controller and the solar panel regulator from the panel.  The former was to move to the cockpit and the latter moved below the panel to a spot previously occupied by a speaker.  We now use bluetooth speakers aboard.

Relocated Solar Panels Regulator

The next step of this job was removing the laminex patches, exposing the ugliness beneath...

Initially stripped instrument panel

We then made a template for the new instrument panel facia.  Happily we had enough laminex aboard to make it up in two pieces.  Cutting them to shape used a drill, three different saws and our marvellous Dremel.  The latter is fantastic - every boat needs one!

With the laminex fitted over the polycarbonate the panel was looking a little sparse!  So we attached a couple of pictures.  For future passages we'll probably attach relevant reference material.  By the way, the two boats shown are (left) Critical Path, a Viking 30, and (right) Degrees of Freedom, our lovely one-off Runnalls 38.  Over the years Zen Again has become Degrees-like in so many respects.

Refurbished instrument panel

While working on the NavStation we also updated the labels documenting the travels of Shirahae / Zen / Zen Again...

Updated Zen Again Story

HF/SSB

When we initially fitted-out Zen Again for Bluewater cruising we fitted an Icom M802 marine HF/SSB.  This replaced an Icom IC-7000 amateur radio which we'd had prior to buying Zen.  The M802 proved to be a great radio as shown on this blog at various times...

• Darwin-Dili Race 2012
• St Helena DSC Reception 2016
• North Atlantic to Australia

Over the years we've also blogged on general HF topics...

• HF Tech Topics

A little background is worthwhile here.  The M802 is a marine radio primarily designed for the "rest of world" market.  The EU mandates more exacting standards, and Australia even more exacting.  So Icom produces the M801E for Europe and a special variant of the M801E only sold in Australia.

On arrival in the UK in 2016 we decided to sell various items.  We sold the M802 since it commanded a good price on eBay and we knew we wouldn't be Bluewater cruising for several years.  So deciding to buy a new HF radio is an exciting step - we're thinking about returning to Bluewater again!

We've been researching options for some time.  We decided to fit an Amateur radio since they are generally much cheaper but also offer much greater control.  Many more buttons to play with!  We decided on an Icom IC-7300. 

Happy New Year to Zen Again!

Unpacked!

Installation was straight-forward.  We had left the antenna feed and antenna tuner control cables in place, running from the NavStation aft to the lazarette.  A few weeks ago I reconnected the antenna tuner output via the thru-deck to the backstay - it had been disconnected since the standing rigging renewal last winter.

Happily our Icom AT-140 antenna tuner (which we kept) is compatible with the IC-7300, only needing rewiring to a larger connector.

Up,  Running & Tuned for the Shipping Forecast

Last night we tried out the radio's reception.  On the 40m/7MHz amateur band stations were booming in from all over Europe including Austria and Spain.  Very nice.  I tried tuning up the radio but didn't try to join the party.  Transmitting out of St Katherine Dock will be challenging (like any marina) since we're surrounded by masts and also high apartment buildings.

Some of you may have noticed from the top photo above that the radio isn't readily controlled manually from the NavStation.  That's OK since Icom provide software to control the radio from a computer.  That's how we plan to drive it at sea.  In harbour I can play with the radio while sitting in the saloon - perfect!

AutoPilots

We have two entirely redundant Raymarine SPx5 autopilots.  These have previously been connected into our NMEA0183 network.  The latter is rapidly disappearing as we migrate to NMEA2000.

Although the SPx5 supports NMEA2000 it does not use a standard connector.  Instead it provides bare-wire connection.  Initial testing shows it works just fine.  The only trick was that the power/ground pair must be connected as well as the data pair.  The chartplotter can now see the autopilots.

With the networking accomplished we fitted the backup autopilot ST-6002 controller in the cockpit.  It replaced the VHF speaker previously installed there.  We want both autopilot controllers in the cockpit so we can "even up" their use.  There's a switch in the NavStation which selects which drives the ram.  A stock of rams completes our autopilot redundancy.

SPx5 autopilot in NMEA2000 device list

Twas great to get so much work done.  We're not cruising again yet, but we are doing "boat maintenance in an exotic location".

Trust all's well where you are!