Tag: electronics

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Major progress on dehumidifier

With foam in the saloon, pushed hard this weekend to get dehumidifier installation complete and get interior humidity to mold-unfriendly levels.

First, used the old battery support shelf to make new mounting shelf. Templated with cardboard to fit the curves of the hull and deck drain hoses.

Next, extended the ducts to wrap from port side to starboard. Added inline filters in an accessible place. Used protruding deck hardware bolts to hang ducts closer to the deck and away from potentially being squashed by stuff in the locker (e.g. anchor & rode).

Then, made new back panel for the unit with connectors and flanges that will simplify installation and any needed removal for servicing. My friend Viktar helped get all the connections right.

And finally, mounted the unit and connected intake ducts, cables, and drain hose.

Next on TODO: test operation, strap it down to the shelf, and cover with panels (with vents).

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Time to stop sailing blind. Instruments!

One of the goals for 2025 is to get the instruments story figured out. My current situation is that I have a Raymarine mast-top wind transducer, a depth sounder with knot meter (that is not installed), and a i70s multicolor display. The motor came with its own monochrome display that shows state of charge, draw, and RPMs.

What I’d like to be able to see:

  • Temperature indoor and outdoor as well as water temp
  • Barometric pressure – current & historical
  • Humidity indoor
  • Wind speed & direction, both true and apparent.
  • Depth
  • Position, on charts
  • Speed over water and ground
  • Heading
  • Date & time
  • Battery state of charge, current draw by engine & house, estimated time/distance remaining
  • Engine/prop RPMs

For many of the above I’ll need to get new sensors. Raymarine is on a SeaTalk NG bus but I’d like to have N2K bus, bridged over to SeaTalk. I’d also like to see all that on an iPad, preferably over WiFi or Bluetooth instead of a cable.

Here is what I’m planning to put in place:

All the stuff in red is something I’d need to buy. Most is just connectors.

And that, in theory, would give me all the data I need (and more):

The only question mark is how to interface the engine to the NEMA2000 network. I reached out to Electric Yacht and they currently don’t have anything to offer. That said, there seems to be a good example I could follow. It’s so great to have people smarter than me share their knowledge (and code!)

This will be a fun learning experience!