Bedlam Aboard

David is working on a project. Let me see if I can get this right. Unlike a car, the batteries on a boat rarely get fully charged causing sulfation to occur (bad!) which reduces battery capacity (very bad). Since we live in a 12-volt world (like relying on your car battery for all your power requirements), battery power is key. We have a battery charger aboard which in theory can “equalize” a battery, i.e. remove the sulfation, however most battery chargers, including ours, do not do the job adequately.(bad) So...my engineer-husband is designing and building an “adequate” equalizer which first requires the designing/building of a load tester. He's totally engrossed and can barely stop for a meal although he does do the “happy dance” once in awhile and then I know the project's going well.

Have you fallen asleep yet? (bad) The whole point of explaining this is that the boat is torn apart at the moment as it is for most projects. On a 45' boat, there's no work shed or niche in the garage or cellar for these projects. You have to live with them for their duration. Floorboards are up. Settees are torn apart, the cushions piled up on the aft bunk or on the floor. Tools are everywhere. Soldering irons are plugged in with extension cords snaking along the passageway just waiting to trip you up. The nav station is a workbench, totally covered with wire, components and “stuff”. Every flat surface is a repository for parts used, parts to be used or extra parts that were stowed with parts to be used. Wires are sticking out of odd places. Some parts are dead on the floor. He's ransacked every nook and cranny for needed items, like my cutting board for a fixture base. (I won't mention the 20 liters of anti-fouling paint sitting next to the mast since it doesn't have to do with this project.) Walking down the companionway and into the salon is totally at your own risk. Luckily we have guests invited for dinner on Thursday which will instigate a pseudo clean-up for the evening. By Friday 0800, it'll be a wreck again. (bad)

But in the end...we'll probably have a battery charger that works and non-sulfated batteries. (excellent)