Major Overhaul

The sailing season 2019 started with a major boat overhaul. In fact it started already during the shakedown cruise in 2018, when I realized that the depth indicator only showed depth down to about 10m.

Major overhaul ongoing

When checking the transducer, I found that the plastic threaded bolt fixing the transducer head with a washer and plastic bolt in a hull-through hole, had a crack. It looked like that the transducer head was mainly fixed by the remaining sika clue in the hull-through hole. Therefore, this required an urgent repair avoiding that the transducer head may come loose and water may enter the boat.

the new depth, speed transducer

When looking for a new depth transducer, I decided to change the whole system which allows me to network the different boat sensors. I finally opted for the Raymarine i70s system pack with a new speed, depth and water temperature transducer, a new wind transducer, a color multifunction display and cables and terminators for installing a SeaTalkNG / NMEA2000 network. I further installed a ShipModul MiniPlex 3 Multiplexer in order to connect older NMEA devices (e.g. such as the VHF radio to read GPS data). The multiplexer was further connected to a wireless router which allows to stream over WiFi all network data to different devices (smartphone, tablets, computers). The multifunction display (Raymarine i70s) was installed in the cockpit. A single instrument now substitutes all old VDO instruments. If needed the system easily can be expanded in the future e.g. with a compatible autopilot (the current one has no NMEA outputs).

the refilled and closed old hull-through hole of the old transducer and the new hole for the new transducer

At the same time, I finally decided to change all hull-through fittings and sea cocks. A major work which was done by professionals. In fact the old fittings still looked OK but as some sea cocks needed replacement, I decided to do all in one go in particular considering that the hull-through fittings are still the original ones and are some 30 years old.

new hull-through fittings

A very special Thanks goes to Rainer, a sailing friend which I met in Fertilia. Rainer worked several decades in different shipyards and basically knows everything about boats. He continuously helped me by providing expert opinions, borrowing professional tools and providing me a hand here and there when needed. He also installed the wind transducer and a new AIS antenna at the mast top. I really enjoyed his company and in particular our after-work-beers and some really nice evenings. Keep in touch, Rainer!