I am putting these notes here for others. S/V Fizzgig, a 2015 L450F was commissioned as a 240VAC 50Hz EU boat. We are in the US so I needed to support dual voltages/frequencies. In the past few months we have added and changed quite a few things. The schematic here has details as does this text. swapped out the AGM batteries for a 122KWh (960AH @12.8V) Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery battery pack.added 2x 3600W Isolation transformersswapped out the masscombi inverter-charger for a 5KW @240VAC Victron Quattro inverter-charger.swapped out the mastervolt 60A solar charger for a Victron 150/35 MPPT charger.added a 120VAC 3000W inverter to supply 120VAC loads.added a 120VAC electrical panel for 120VAC loads.added a victron cerbo GX to monitor and control the system.swapped out the candy washer-dryer with a Splendide (the candy died.. and was dumb!)added an autostart device to the Onan genset to allow the victron cerbo system…
When I was in college I had the opportunity to hear Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, give a lecture on, of all things, environmentalism. At the end of the lecture there was a Q and A period with the audience. “Why a towel?” was asked by a burly gentleman with thick glasses and a fluffy towel tossed casually over his shoulder. Mr. Adams answered, his wife believed there were two types of people in this world, those who always know where their towel is and those who don’t. He is in the latter group. I am firmly in the first group. Waponi Woo had a towel problem. My extensive collection of luxurious, terry cloth towels followed me from our house on land to our home on the water. In Washington, attached to a dock with cheap power and dehumidifier, they served us well. In…
Ryan has a job, which requires Internet and phone connectivity wherever we happen to roam. As a result of this and my wireless ISP experience, we have sifted through most of the available consumer communications gadgets, gizmos and systems currently available. Here is a run-down of what communications devices we have aboard Waponi Woo, what they are supposed to do and how we use them. 1. Standard Marine VHF Radio Waponi Woo came with a Uniden UM525 VHF radio. A nice feature of this radio is Digital selective calling, or DSC, so we can hail other boats directly. As most of you with a boat already know, VHF works pretty well for line-of-site, short-range calling. We rarely turn our VHF off. In La Paz, and many other cruiser infested ports and anchorages, one can hail other boats on a designated “cruiser hailing channel.” There are also a few VHF cruiser…
The weather is warming up and the sea life is appearing in full force. We ran into this gentleman while just south of Isla San Francisco. Much to our delight, he decided to hang out with us for awhile while we put the engines in neutral and just drifted. He got some shade and we got a fin bump from a sea turtle.