Swim Ladder Pull Down Rope

It doesn’t happen very often… and it doesn’t happen very often to anyone on my boat… but it does happen.  Someone loses their balance and falls off the boat.  Sometimes this happens while the boat is still in the marina.  Hopefully, the person falling in cleanly misses the dock, and just goes into the water.  WHAT AM I SAYING???  Into the water - - this time of year???? YIKES!!!!

But, the question is, what do you do once you are in the water?  How do you get out?  How can you get back aboard the boat?  Do you have enough strength to hoist yourself up onto the dock with its slippery logs underneath?

Here’s one idea that works if you have a swim ladder that you lower to climb aboard after swimming in the summer time.  Get some polypropylene line and a fid (hollow tube with a tapered end).  Fit the fid over the line and then double the line around the next to the bottom rung on the swim ladder.  Now push the tapered end of the fid into the middle of the line and pull it through for six or seven inches.  Point the fid through the weave and pull it free.  This will lock the line and establish a loop around the rung on the ladder.

Now, tie a loop in the line that will reach the top rung of the ladder and wrap around your stern rail and the ladder a couple times.  Have the loop extend aft over the top of the ladder/stern rail.  Push a loose loop of line through the tied loop and repeat several times to make a “chain of loops”.  Simply pulling the long end of the line will now pull the loops free and the ladder will deploy.

Now cut the line so that you can use the fid again to make a loop in the end of the line.  This way if you are in the water, you can easily grab the loop near the water’s surface and pull the ladder into place.

You may have to “figure” things out a bit for your own ladder.  BUT - - This is such a little thing… but might just save someone’s life on a cool spring weekday when there aren’t many folks around.

BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

5099933214

Be Careful With Boat Electrical Work

I am not a certified marine electrical provider.  But, I do have electrical credentials.  I put myself through college working as a journeyman electrician at a very large electrical sign company.  And, I have maintained an interest in things electrical for years - especially aboard Snickerdoodle.
And, first of all, I don't consider electrical circuits too complex for the average person with some common sense.
Like many of us, Snickerdoodle came with a basic factory installed 12VDC (that's 12 volt direct current) system for running lights, interior lights, and extra circuits ready for electronics like 2-way radio, depth sounder, etc.  Unfortunately for me (and I suspect many sailboat owners) there was no electrical schematic diagram provided with the boat or in the owner's manual.  There was a switch panel with several circuits indicated; and the switch panel included an in-line fuse for each circuit.  But, that was about it.
Fairly soon after buying Snickerdoodle, I wanted to add a 2-way radio, depth sounder, an auto pilot, and other electronic devices.  These all are powered by the 12 volt battery.  I also wanted a backup for the battery that would help create a "house" battery system.
Of course, to keep the batteries charged up, I needed a battery charger.   And, since I had shore power available, I began thinking about putting in a shore power system and circuits for a battery charger and extra circuits for plug in appliances like a microwave oven.  That was when I realized that I needed to be careful to not mix the 12 VDC (battery powered circuits) with the 120VAC (shore powered circuits).  And, this can be confusing because of wire colors used.  What follows is some thoughts about these two very different electrical systems.

A simple 12VCD circuit uses a red wire for the positive (hot) or + side of the circuit and a black wire for the - or ground side of the circuit.    A "proper" circuit will also have a switch on the hot side of the circuit and probably also a fuse so-as to not overload the circuit.  Simple, right???
As we add 12VDC circuits everything is pretty similar... but becomes more complex.

So, here we have three 12VDC circuits made up of three red wires and three black wires.  When extra circuits are added, a switch panel with switches and fuses or breakers is often added.  And, a buss bar to connect the ground wires is often used as well.  But, the circuits are still red for + hot and black for - ground.
When shore power is added though things start to become more problematic.  This is because 120VAC circuits use three wires instead of two that you have been using for the 12VDC.  BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, the 120VAC circuits also use black colored wire for the "hot" or "lead" wires.

These 120VAC shore power circuits connect the shore power plug with appliances or wall outlet inside the boat.  There is a black wire that creates the "hot" or lead side of the circuit; a white wire (shown as a dashed line) that makes the common or return side of the circuit; and a third wire that is the ground wire.  The ground wire might be bare copper or a green covered wire.  As with other circuits, there should be a switch and a fuse or breaker in the circuit.

When we add more shore power circuits, we add three wires each time a circuit is added.  So, here we have three black "hot" "lead" wires; three white common wires; and three copper/green ground wires.  There is also a buss bar for the white common wires and a second buss bar for the ground wires. 
And, everything works just fine as long as we remember whether the circuit we are working with is for the 12VDC "house" circuits or if the circuit is for a 120VAC shore power circuit.
The PROBLEMS OCCUR when we forget what circuit we are working with and connect a black 12VDC ground wire with a 120VAC shore power circuit.  Mixing 12 volt direct current with 120 volt alternating current will not work.  And, if you do this, you will almost certainly destroy your 12VDC electronic device.  This is easier to do than you might think.  The black wire buss bar can easily be confused with the 120VAC switch panel.  And, wire nuts are convenient... but it is all too easy to use a wire nut on two very dissimilar black wires.
So, be careful and keep the 12 volt and the 120 volt circuits completely separated.  Remember that a 2-way marine band radio is a 12VDC electronic device and a microwave oven is probably a 120VAC appliance; while an AM/FM stereo radio may be one or the other... make sure you know which it is.  If it has a wall outlet plug, it's 120 volt...... if the radio has a red wire and a black wire coming out the back, it's 12 volt.
Again, this is not difficult... but it can be confusing.  The wires look about the same.  So, be careful.

Bill Holcomb
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

New Cutting Board

During last summer's "Sail Around the Lake", Kathy mentioned that she would like to have more cutting board space aboard.  I thought about building a fold-up table at the end of the portside settee... but we decided against that.  So, I measured the area above the galley sink.

This proved to be 11" X 16".
BTW: the picture shows the ice box cover turned 90 degrees and our coffee pot sitting on the cover.

So, I bought a plastic cutting board that measured 12" X 16" and cut one side so that the new cutting board would fit.  I also had to cut out a little 1" X 1.25" notch in the left corner farthest away from the cabinet front.  After making the cuts, I too the new cutting board to Snickerdoodle.  It fit perfectly.

The nice thing about this arrangement is that it will provide added counter space that we can cut on; AND the board can be moved to a different place when we want to use the sink.  Bonus!!

Bill Holcomb
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

Winter Project - Rig Single-Line Reefing System

Rigging a Single-Line Reefing System

 Got the winter blues?  Or, are you trying to think of a good project to occupy your time this winter?  How about rigging your mainsail with a single-line reefing system.  If you sail alone much of the time like I do, a single-line reefing system is great.  Snickerdoodle has two full reefs for the mainsail; and both are rigged with a single-line system.  This means that I can easily tuck in a reef in about thirty seconds - - AND never have to leave the cockpit.

	These two pictures are of Garry Hoyt's single-line reefing system.  Secure a stainless steel eye-strap to the port side of the boom near the clew of the mainsail.  Then secure three cheek blocks on the starboard side of the boom.  One near the clew corner; one four or five inches aft of the gooseneck; and the third near the gooseneck.  Install a turning block near the mast base and a line organizer if you need one.  And finally install a cleat near the aft end of the cabin top.  The line is secured to the eye-strap and then rove through the leach reefing point, around the aft cheek block, forward to the next cheek block, up to an reefing hook that is hung in the luff reef point; down through the most forward cheek block and around the turning block, and then back to the cleat on the cabin top.   On Snickerdoodle, the line is quarter inch and all of the hardware is appropriately sized. (Of course, make sure that you install the three cheek blocks so that the line runs fairly)

I originally copied the Garry Hoyt system and it worked pretty well.  The only thing that I did not like was the reefing hook.  There was additional friction unless I secured a small block to the hook.  But the block made the system jam at the forward cheek block.  So I designed a modification that has worked well for me for many years now.

The two main changes was to eliminate the middle cheek block; and to install a swivel block at the mast base.  Now the reefing line is secured to the eye-strap (I like a "figure-8" knot), then is rove up through the leach reef point, down and around the aft cheek block, forward to the front cheek block, through the luff reef point, and finally down through the swivel block.  I use this same sort of system for both the first and second reefing lines.  It is easy now to tuck in a reef all by myself - - and then shake it out again when the wind dies down.  I generally raise up the aft end of the boom six inches or so with the topping lift before reefing.  Then, I simply slack off the main halyard as I pull in on the reefing line.  Lower the boom when the reef is tucked in.  It works like a charm.
Enjoy your winter project.  It's only about a dozen weeks till sailing season commences.

Barnacle Bill Holcomb
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com