Captain's Blog

     Something I think any boat needs, especially one where you may spend long hours on "slow" straight runs, like we did on our 9 hour trip from Tarpon Springs/Anclote Key to Crystal River.  An Auto Pilot, even my wife agreed after spending a couple hours at the wheel.  It was 1 turn North of Anclote & 1 to the East approaching Crystal River 1A and nine hours of mostly open water, perfect scenario for auto steering.     This entry "Auto Pilot Part I" is be about the installation of the Electronics portion of the Auto Pilot. "Auto Pilot Part II"  is about the Pump, Hydraulic Hoses & Rudder Sensor installation.               This boat had virtually no electronics on it when I bought it.  The previous owner used an ipad & Navionics software. While it worked for them, I wanted to expand what I could do with the boat.  I started by installing a Simrad GO9 (prior to our maiden voyage, see "Today is the Day" blog entry) on the upper statio

     Our Camano had carpeting & after 20 years it was pretty ugly.  We did a lot of brainstorming to decide what type of flooring we wanted to install.  We knew we didn't want to go back with carpet in the main salon as it just gets so "cruddy" after awhile.  I started at the bow/stateroom area and removed the piece of carpet there which went partially up the sides.  I had some 1/4" finished cabinet plywood left over from a job so I installed that on the sides.       This worked out perfect since there was a small lip all the way around the teak top cap & the teak up rights where the old carpet was tucked in & the new plywood could be placed.  I left a small gap at the bottom of the plywood so I could tuck the new carpet in.  This area will be the only one with carpeting, just seems like a nice landing place for your feet when you climb out of the berth.                                                          I also removed the carpeting from the face of

     I have been having some intermittent electrical problems.  Minor but irritating.  Suddenly the VHF wouldn't work or some odd issue.  After a boat has been around for a few years things get added. A light here, a pump there, a circuit that's not quite up to par, you get the idea, and if you own an older boat you know that after awhile things start getting messy & jumbled up.  I had several breakers & switches that I had no idea what they did.     The original wiring in this boat was done well.  I have spent the last few months finding & identifying wires and switches.  I decided it was time to straighten out a few things & label as much as I could.  I started with the main fuse panel.     I was inspired by a friend of mine whose nearly 20 year old center console was in need of some electrical TLC.  He completely rewired the entire boat and I helped him make a new panel complete with the boat logo, some cool LED lighting and some nicely laid out switches with

     I love almost everything about this boat...almost everything. The Camano's one short coming is the holding tank.  I think it is on the small side.     The polyethylene tank is located under the step in front of the head.  At 14.5 gallons it is small for a vessel you plan to spend time on.  To be sure, you must always be careful when using the facilities on any boat. You don't get unlimited water and you don't get unlimited "poop" storage.  The old adage "We don't flush for #1" comes to mind.       The Camano has 2 fuel tanks @ 50 gallons each & 2 water tanks @ 35 gallons each.  The newer models (this is a 2000) had slightly larger fuel tanks installed.  I'm fine with the 100 gallons & at our cruise speed of 8 - 9 knots we burn about 1.9 gph which gives us about a 400 + mile range.  Considering we only travel 40 - 50 miles a day, that is a long way between fuel stops.     Back to the holding tank.  I believe a tank monitor of some sor

     An issue that bugged the crap out of me was the seacock or ballvalve for the generator.  It was the one valve that I couldn't budge, it was frozen open.  Not good, you have to be able to close all your valves not just for safety sake but to work on and maintain the equipment the thru hull is attached to.  I couldn't open the sea strainer to clean it out since I couldn't shut off the flow of sea water.  When I put pressure on the handle...it stripped the brass end.     It appears the generator was installed later and was not original equipment.  Overall the installation was professional except for the seacock. While the scoop was marine grade, the valve was not. You just cannot & should not put regular plumbing parts in very important places like this! A marine grade valve has a stainless steel handle (this one had regular steel & was rusted), the stem is beefier (this one was small) & there is no bonding screw.  Hardware store valves are not constructed to