SV Sialia – Fall Projects

During our 2024 sailing season, we focused on familiarizing ourselves with Sialia, our Aloha 32. As with any change-of-boat, there were challenges with various marine systems, including aging rigging, electrical, and mechanical components. Our primary goal was to enhance safety and ease-of-use, so we spent much of our time problem-solving and planning the modernization of these systems. For the 2025 season, we plan to implement the knowledge we gained throughout this year into several (do-able) technical projects, which include:

Re-plumbing Water Systems: We will overhaul our water plumbing to improve efficiency and reliability, incorporating new materials and fittings to prevent leaks and enhance flow. 40 years of previous owners have left hose and fitting that “lead nowhere”, or terminate in cut pipe! We will pull all the redundant stuff out.

Installation of Tank Level Gauges: We aim to add tank level gauges to provide real-time monitoring of our potable water, ensuring better water-use management during our trips. I overfilled the two tanks a few times last season!

Revision of Solar Controller Panel: We will update the solar controller panel designed in the previous season to optimize energy management and increase solar panel efficiency. I completely re-wired both the DC and AC distribution systems in 2024. Solar charging was new to me, and although I think I made some improvements in the safety of the existing systems, I would like to use some of what I learned in using it last season to reduce the likelihood of overcharging batteries. Also, I would very much like to know what is happening with the charging system when we are ashore, so I will be adding a Raspberry Pi contraption with a Wi-Fi dongle to facilitate remote access of connectable systems. For the Raspberry Pi computer — don’t assume that I am that smart! Thankfully, there is a vast number of user-programmers out there in the boating community, and many plans are available open-source.

Re-rigging the Boom: This project will include rigging an internal outhaul, and re-thinking reefing lines to enhance mainsail handling and performance.

Dry Bilge Project: I designed and started to install this in October. This is an undertaking aimed at creating a near-dry bilge environment, minimizing water accumulation, and the subsequent stagnation and damp smells.

Improved Ventilation: We will enhance ventilation in critical areas, including battery, holding tanks, and sub-galley compartments, to prevent moisture buildup and ensure component longevity.

We hope that these projects will improve Sialia’s overall performance and comfort, which is already pretty amazing!

Below is a mock-up of a new solar controller panel. The first image shows the original, the middle shows what I rigged for last season (including a switch to isolate power from solar panels), and the addition of “smart” battery monitor. Lastly, the current design will include dual water tank gauges, and I will change the solar controller from a PWM dual bank controller to a remotely mounted single MPPT controller for charging the house bank, with a monitor here. The start battery will be topped up through a DC-DC charger instead of using the solar controller directly (in our experience last year, it rarely needed charging, while the house bank nearly always did). My instinct to add a cutoff switch was sort of correct — the new switch will be the better two-pole photovoltaic switch (isolating pos and neg). Oh — and I am toying with adding an (inexpensive, used) inverter… but I have resisted having one of these on board for the past 15 years.

Arrow shows where this stuff lives.
Original set-up… This shows the solar panel controller, and a remote monitor (a bit redundant). Just visible on the left is a holding tank level gauge.
This was my revision last season. I rewired the controller and monitor to a new backing board, and added a cutoff switch for the positive feed of the combined solar panels (total of 200W). To the right, is a smart battery monitor, so I can see what the house and start battery banks are doing… and oh yeah, it’s bluetooth — so I can monitor via my phone.
This is a late design revision of what I want to see here. The lower grey box has a photovoltaic 2-pole switch to isolate the feed from the solar panels.
2nd to last revision
What I plan to install now.

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Sialia – Fall Projects (update)

I am finishing up Phase II of my ventilation and dry bilge projects. I’ve run 160 ft of wire fore to aft, and port and starboard. Switch box made to control 4 compartment fan circuits, and a midship bus installed to connect these and cabin fans to the main panel. I’m happy with the execution of the plan (which was in my head), and fortunate that my lack of measuring beforehand for the placement of the switch box did not interfere with the reinstallation of the below galley cabinet door. There is no accounting for dumb luck!

This is the area below the galley sink. To the left, is the compressor for the fridge/freezer. The grey pex-looking tubing is the hot and cold water lines. The mess of wires is a result of having snaked these to the various compartments that will house repurposed computer fans. The white duplex shown is 14 AWG that will connect to a “fan bus” adjacent to the main panel switch.
Same sub-galley compartment. On the far right is a board mounted that is home to both a pos and neg bus to connect switches from the “fan feed” from main panel, to this sub-switch panel.
14AWG duplex ready to route up behind the main panel. Much fishing has gone on here!
Sub-fan switch panel installed. I have marked the various circuits temporarily with labels. At some point, I will do something fancy.
Partial inventory of 120mm fans for compartments, and 60mm fans for inside fridge. The RAM mount arms have been repurposed from another project to mount the 140mm ventilation fans that will be in the aft quarterberths.
Assembling “made” compartment fan switch box.

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SV Sialia – Fall Projects (update)

Productive boat day, making progress on three projects I want to finish before next season.

1. Ran wire from the dry bilge pump contraption back to the DC panel, and installed switch for 1.2 gph diaphram pump

2. Ran main wire to power fan circuits to area under galley sink that will house a homemade switch panel. Ran 4 branch wires to areas where small fans will move air below the cabin sole and in various compartments

3. Began mapping existing water systems. The existing is a rats nest, consisting of a make-shift pressure system, and old hose runs that go nowhere. A couple of old through hulls (water intake) had hoses attached that terminate at cuts. Was one curious turn of a valve or two from setting the boat at the bottom of the harbour last season! The plan is to make the water system sensible

Warm enough on board to be in short sleeves!

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Sunset at BYC

May be an image of boat and twilight

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Stillness this morning.

May be an image of body of water

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Robot Overloads…

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Bad Art: Messing with Watercolours

Very briefly thinking of my borderline personality / narcissist ex this evening — who shit on my artwork (and pretty much anything else I undertook creatively) from her perch. Fuck her particularly.

Letting my freak watercolours fly!

Encourage from within, folks!

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Bad Art: Mr Fox

What’s up, Mr. Fox?

Mixed watercolour and wet pencil

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Raven – watercolour study #15

14″ x 8″

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Bad Art: Fall Colours

Fall watercolours.

I like these… working on a bunch of studies (series, maybe?)

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Arggh.

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Bad Art – Trout!

Reworked some previous drawings, and digging the plain background. cpaulcarter.com!

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Photo – After the Storm

Shot at Lac St. Louis, QC — early September 2023.

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Don’t Plant Your Bad Days

“Don’t plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me – choke those little bad days. Choke ’em down to nothing.”

~ Tom Waits

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