THE SHRINKING CRUISING KITTY

FEBRUARY 19, 2014
 
WAITING AT THE BUS STOP

 
NATIONAL SIGNAL TO STOP A BUS IN TRINIDAD
It is Tuesday and we are still here in lovely Trinidad.  Living on a fixed income aboard a boat is quite a challenge.  Because most of our systems were new when we left the US we have had few large expenditures for repairs.  Well that is a thing of the past.

After our very short trip last Tuesday we have been working on a solution to our auto pilot dilemma.  Of course nothing is as simple as you hope.  Working with our local Ray Marine dealer to try to repair our course computer as it turns out, is easier said than done. 

We have the SBX10 Ray Marine system that we installed new just over 2 years ago with a 2 year warranty.  It has never given us any problem until now. They will repair the SBX10 course computer for $900 plus shipping both ways with no warranty.  Ray Marine has discontinued this model and replaced it with the EV200 system.  This system does not use a flux gate compass so you must buy the EV1 sensor unit along with the course computer.  The upside to the new unit is it carries a  3 year warranty, the down side is if we had any extra money we don't anymore.


The Ray Marine dealer is willing to credit all the labor already paid to repair the old one to the price of this new unit.  The decision to buy the new unit has been made and it will take a week to get the parts to Trinidad. All of this has put a dent in the cruising account along with our sunny dispositions.  It is good to have a solution to the problem, things will soon be looking up.

TOP OF THE MAST 50FT UP
STARTING UP THE MAST













While working on this problem we have gotten our SSB radio working much to our surprise.  Having something new to play with has kept Rod's spirits up.  Like a kid at Christmas he has been working to load the radio memory with Noaa weather stations and print the Noaa weather forecast times and frequency schedules.  Next it was time to install the halyard and block at the top of the mast and attach the antenna.  We will now receive weather information while underway.  He also checks into the Maritime net daily and has talked to people in Florida, North Carolina, Hawaii and New York

Our new unit will arrive in the middle of next week.  Until then I'm sure we can find something to do.  It is after all a boat.

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2 comments:

  1. SkipFebruary 27, 2014 at 5:24 AM

    Dear rod and Linda. It's been a week and I wonder if anything has happened there? In our world the Olympics ended and cold weather is now the lead story. What is going on with you two? -skip

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  2. LindaMarch 1, 2014 at 7:47 AM

    Rod just said "If it isn't one thing it is always another." At least he is not under a hundred year old house fixing frozen water pipes. Must say this is much more pleasant. One of the life lines decided to come apart and he is on his way to Budget Marine for a part. The auto pilot has been installed and is working like new! Oh wait, it is new. There will be something else to fix shortly, life is good.

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