Time sure is flying by. Spring is coming to Vancouver, I’ve spotted flowers in bloom, and gardeners are starting to prune and trim and prep the garden beds. Being a Calgarian, I’m used to hard crusty snow sticking to the ground until March, and flowers blooming in May. I am thoroughly enjoying the spring feeling, though, and Tango has gotten many more walks than usual. I’d call that a win win 🙂
We have not had a chance to take Eudora out on any more cruises in the past few weeks. As happens, life has gotten in the way. We’ve both been busy with work and other obligations, one of which is a boating course offered by CPS (Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons). Every Tuesday, we have classroom lessons and homework to do throughout the week. The course teaches about navigation and safe boating. I’m very impressed with the content, and would recommend it for any curious boaters.
Of course, not a day goes by without at least a visit to Eudora. Matt has been working very hard on systems upgrades. The past weekend, he was able to mount and install a humidifier, and add in sensors for exhaust temperature, fuel pressure for the main engine, and furnace exhaust temperature. It may not sound like much, but each of these projects requires planning and is time consuming.
The dehumidifier has an air intake below deck, and circulates air from below deck to the outside. It removes moisture from the air, and creates airflow from our pilot house into the bedrooms below. It runs quietly, and has reduced the humidity levels in the boat form 70% humidity down to 30% humidity, on average. We can now say goodbye to the clunky floor standing plug in dehumidifier. The dehumidifier is a great addition for the longevity of the boat, and comfort as well. The additional airflow is great!
The sensors that were installed are also a nice upgrade. Eudora was built in 1999 and still has the original systems. In this day and age, it’s nice to have additional information while running the boat in order to monitor for any issues before they become bigger problems. We have a digital system from Across Ocean Systems (AOS) which provides at-a-glance information about the boat. The more sensors added to the system, the more information can be shown. Currently, we have weather information, power consumption and bilge pump monitoring. The new sensors also now show exhaust temperatures, oil pressure, and furnace exhaust temp. We’re also planning to add sensors for the fuel, freshwater and blackwater tanks.
The AOS system takes a bit to configure and get started, but the possibilities are endless. Once the sensors are in place, alarms can be set at certain ranges, and there’s a beta feature for remote messaging as well, where we can be notified by SMS if anything outside the norm is happening on the boat. The system is great when bridging traditional analog sensors and gauges with newer technologies, such as CanBus/NMEA2000, allowing for the best of both worlds. Link to the website here —> https://acrossoceansystems.com/
February was a whirlwind! We’re keeping an eye on the weather this weekend, hoping to take Eudora on a cruise to wrap up the month. Lots of fun things to come in March and April!