Splatters

This post I should have done at least a few weeks ago. Got distracted because of work being crazy busy lately.

The last time I did any painting on the boat, it had warmed up a little that day from the previous week. Not bad, right?

Well, warmer weather brought on some (ok, a LOT) of flying things. I thought the last coat of paint was going on pretty good but the downside of it was a bunch of gnats flying around. It seemed like they were attracted to the paint. That figures!

Not only were they trying to fly into the cup the paint was in, but they were flying into the paint on the boat too while it was still wet. Frustrating, to say the least. I figured I could get them off by washing the areas and/or when I sand for the next coat. Either way, they're done for.

Can you spot them in this picture? all the little black spots on the paint, those are gnats.

I went down the starboard side, got gnats. Went down the port side, then a new surprise.

I was painting with a plastic cup. You know, the one's you use for picnics. Well, by the time I was finishing up on the port side, I look into the cup and saw there wasn't as much paint as only a moment earlier. Turns out that the paint (or maybe it was the thinner) had eaten through the plastic.

The paint didn't just leak out the cup, it got all over the ladder, the ground, part of the trailer and down a pant leg and part of my shoe and on the BOAT. I was wearing gloves so I didn't feel it running down my hand.

With the streaks on my pants, I was thinking it looked like I had a nose bleed. So, a good pair of pants are now work-pants, for boat work and yard work, etc.

During the same visit, I took out the Garmin 546s to sell as I intend to upgrade someday to a larger-screened and more "proper" chartplotter. The latest from Garmin, like the 741xs is looking nice. I'd like to install a new radar and have it all integrated. So now the swing arm is empty of electronics for now. But all that will come later in the refit.

Some good news, due to good timing. I've been looking at battery chargers to replace the 10 Amp charger I had before. There were a couple of them that I was considering. While looking at Cruisers Forum in the classified ads, someone had just listed a ProNautic 1230P charger. Apparently, the guy who listed it bought it then changed his mind for what he wanted to do. So, I nabbed it up quickly as it was at a discount from the list price shown on Defender's website.

It's bigger than I expected it would be so now trying to figure out how/where to mount it, then may have to make new wire runs to hook it all up.

MMSI Issued by FCC

Yesterday, I logged onto the FCC ULS website to see if there was an update to the application I submitted on the 10th. I was pleased to see that I now have a callsign and MMSI issued for Rhapsody. It only took 4 days. This is good news in case someone is coming up on a long voyage and needs it quickly.

Since I don't need AIS or DSC functions right now, I have plenty of time to research equipment and add it during the refit period or as funds come available.

How do you get an MMSI from the FCC?

This question is asked by many by those who want to get a DCS capable radio or to be able to transmit AIS position reporting. Some day, I'd like to add both of these capabilities and need to get an MMSI ahead of time.

From my limited research, you file for your MMSI from the FCC if your vessel will be traveling to international waters and foreign countries, even if it's to Canada or Bahamas and beyond. If your vessel is going to be in US waters only, you can apply through BoatUS.

I was looking at the process of how to do this and found a forum post where someone talked about it in a post from 2007. To get started, you need to get on the FCC Universal License System (ULS) website. If you don't already have an FCC Registration Number (FRN), you need to register for one. Being an amateur radio operator, I already had one so I just had to log in and submit a new application in order to get an MMSI.

There's a lot of pictures here, but follow this process with the information needed for yourself and your vessel and you should be good. I'm no expert here but this will give you an idea of what to expect during the process. I just did this process and it didn't take long to do at all. The longest part of this was making the screen shots to share with everyone else. Good luck!

NOTE: The cost for this application is $160.

REFIT Plan: Instruments

This part of my refit plan, I'm looking at replacing the Garmin 546s and Furuno radar. Lately, the Furuno stopped working which I may just need to trace the power to see if I can get it working again. While the 546s still works, I like the idea of having a bit larger screen.

Both of these are mounted by the electrical panel on a swing out arm to be viewable in the cockpit. Both take up quite a bit of space and I'm thinking it would be nice to consolidate the two into one system.

My idea for the upgrade is to get a Garmin 4208 chartplotter with a Garmin Radar, either the 18HD or 24HD. The Garmin 740s also seems to be popular and is touchscreen and costs less. Currently, the Furuno radar antenna is mounted on a pole on the stern rail. I'm thinking to mount it a little higher with a Scanstrut mount on the mast.

I can mount this single screen on the swing mount but I'm leaning more towards the idea of placing it where the bulkhead compass is currently mounted. This way, I won't have to have it swing back and forth on the swing mount. I'll look into how it might work out later but this is my current plan.

If this new chartplotter is mounted in place of the compass, I thinking to make a new companion way panel that is low profile, but big enough to mount the compass. This panel would removable for the times when not sailing.

Garmin also has AIS capabilities that can be viewed on the chartplotter. This is something I considered adding to this installation but I may not use AIS (yet). Maybe a VHF radio with AIS receiver could be a good alternative. Another aspect of some of the equipment is the possibility of using it outside of the US. That's when the FCC comes in where a Ship Radio Station license and Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit seems to be needed. Just something else to research along the way.