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Midnite Oil

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Good morning everyone. Here at the global headquarters we have discovered a new fuel supply that we are tapping into with wild abandon. It is an energy source that is renewable on a daily basis and seems to have no limits when put under pressure. Midnight oil is what I am speaking of course and we are burning it in great quantities. As the saying goes... we will have plenty of time to sleep when we're dead.

The crew is really stepping up to the plate getting everything ready. We have Coast Guard deck inspection on Monday and many details to take care of before then. The passenger cabins and companionways are all getting a makeover with new paint and varnish. Just when the crew thought they were done sanding we are once again tackling a major painting project.

During this past weekend we began a new electrical installation that will allow us to supply 110 power to all of the cabins. The new inverter/charger will supply a very limited (read No Hair Dryers!) amount of electricity to the passenger cabins for folks with sleep apneia who need a positive pressure ventilator called a CPAP machine to keep ticking through the night. These are appearing more and more frequently and the portable inverter we have does not fit the bill any longer. The battery bank that supplies power to the navigation electronics is being replaced as well. Each battery weighs in at 165 lbs. and let me tell you that getting them up out of the bilges is not fun.

Training is also big on the menu these last few weeks. As you can see the crew learned to prime the pump and we ran through some fire drills reviewing appropriate tactics for large wooden vessels. I am fairly confident that they don’t have time to read this but don’t be surprised if I spring a drill on them today. Prevention is the key of course and by the time the crew is done there will not be one area of the boat that they have not seen intimately. Next week we bend on sails and by Friday we will be ready to go... I think.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
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Unknown said…
Speaking for all of us older, fat guys with sleep apnea who love to sail on the Mary Day (that's at least two of us from Alabama) many thanks for the electrical upgrade. It sounds like you have completed one of the "top-secret" projects. I look forward to a great night's rest and I'll be raring to go each and every morning(maybe with a little help from some Captain's Crank).
May 14, 2008 at 3:17 PM
AL from Alabama said…
Charles Westinghouse would be proud of you. Transform to higher voltage at the source and transmit the power at a high voltage which results in a lower current. Reduces voltage drop and resistive losses in the circuit. However, beware of folks bearing their laptop computers. Typically they use about 100 watts or more, much more than the 3 or 4 watts our breathing apparatus uses. They tend to show up when power is available. Properly prepared they can be used for ballast or recycled. I would like to see your battery sets. We deal in high capacity batteries here and are doing some research on units that can power a small town for a few hours.
May 20, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Unknown said…
I hate to be picky, especially with my best friend, but wasn't Mr. Westinghouse's given name George? I have no quarrel with Al's physics or history.
May 20, 2008 at 4:58 PM
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