0101-12vdc-cables
A while back I purchased a 12V air compressor which is useful for tires and other things. I also have a compressed air tank it is useful for filling that. The cables where short and light gauge wire, plus you had to lift the hood to put the clamps on the battery. I put a 175A rated quick connect on a 150A fuse reachable under the front bumper. I made a short 175A to 50A connector and then an AWG 6 gauge cable with 50A connectors. I had some odd 35A rated connectors from older UPS batteries so added one to the air compressor and made a 50A to 35A short step down cable. No excuses for underinflated tires.

0103-crispy-bean
This was green beans fried in olive oil, sesame oil, and hot sesame oil. It is similar to Thai crispy bean in flavor.

0104-samosa
This is a not entirely successful attempt at a samosa recipe that used philo dough. The recipe called for butter but I used water to glue the philo dough. I don't have the patience to work with philo dough so I won't bother with this recipe again.

0109-force10-6gal
This is the label on Ibis water heater. It is a Force10 406011 which is a 6 gallon 115V 1500W heater with front heat exchanger connections. The prior owner used it only with engine heating, running the diesel in the morning to heat water for a shower, charge batteries and freeze the refrigerator cold plate.
This water heater has been removed and will be replaced with two 3 gallon 12V 300W water heaters, one for galley and the other for vanity and shower. Both will be mounted in the cabin.

0110-ibis-refrig-out
This is a first step in removing the diesel. The engine driven refrigeration system had to go.
Clive at Sea Frost told me the age, with the system already a conversion from original Freon to R134A meant that it was best not to try to salvage any of the parts and instead start over with new components. It all went into metal recycling.

0112-ibis-work
This is a set of photos at an early point in removing the diesel engine. The batteries had been removed and the wood frames where the batteries were held were in pieces in the cockpit. Most of that wood was rotting. The batteries had to be removed to remove the water heater. The very aft parts of the exhaust were another challenge as well as the manifold, raw water heat exchanger, and severely rusted shaft coupling.

0115-ibis-work
This photo shows that the shaft coupling bolts are now out and the shaft was disconnected from the engine.

0122-ibis-cabin-protect
This set of photos show the frame made from scrap wood that was made to protect the cabinetry and cabin sole when the engine was removed. The last two photos show the view from the companionway before and after putting an old moving blanket in place.

0124-ibis-engine-out
Finally the day came to remove the diesel engine from Ibis. This was done by Lukas Smith of Diesel Smith with assistance from yard worker Matt and Charles operating the fork lift. The diesel was later sold to Trans Atlantic Diesel (TAD) in Virginia and offset about half the cost of the removal. According to Lukas the alternator and regulator were worth at least as much as the diesel so TAD might have got a good deal. I was happy to have someone pay to take the engine off my hands.

0126-ibis-tanks
Back at home a warm day (above freezing - this was January) provided an opportunity to power wash the inside of the fresh water tanks. Each tank had two inspection ports and a baffle to divide the tank and reduce slosh of the 400 pounds of water in each tank when full.
A few photos were taken of the thick mat of black dead algea on the inside walls of the tanks. It took a few hours to get all the algea off. Part of the problem was lack of visibility when the power washer created a fog in the tanks. It eventually came off. The tanks were filled with water and bleach twice and flushed.

0128-ibis-guts
This is an assortment of photos after the diesel was removed. The first is the aft exhaust piece which was inaccessible and still hadn't been removed. The next two are the greasy engine compartment with tangle of wires. The last two are close ups of the old fresh water pump and the through hull used for the salt water foot pump for the sink. The pump might be left in place as an emergency fresh water pump should the electric pump fail while at sea.

0129-ibis-plumbing
One final photo of the fresh water tanks and a photo of some of the stainless steel parts that will be connected to the tanks in the updated fresh water system.

0217-tired-erin-pups
In mid February I dog sat for Erin and Mike and did a little rototilling in their yard and garden. The is the pups after a two hour hike. Lily managed to lift her head for a moment but Pepper was too exhausted to bother. Tired dogs are always well behaved and that was part of the plan. We all liked the exercise.

0218-erin-garden
In mid February I dog sat for Erin and Mike and did a little rototilling. These photos are of the two gardens and area outside the larger garden after rototilling. I think the two piles were spread out on the large forground patch before I left. The soil is in great shape compared to when they started these gardens.

0222-ibis-rats-nest
As an semi-retired electrical engineer and former networking guy these photos of the back of Ibis breaker panel were comical but fairly disturbing. The rats nest of wire could only be dealt with by cutting most of it. Wires were soldered to the back of the breaker panel. Nearly all positive wires were red so not worth trying to figure out which is what. This is when I decided on a complete rewire.

0223-ibis-ice-cavern
The ice box was way too big. It turned out to be nearly twice a big as I thought divided by a pair of one inch foam sheets cut to fit. The aft half was only barely accessible from a hatch in the cockpit. The last photo is from inside the cabin looking into the ice cavern with the teak gratings and insulating foam divider removed.
Reducing the size of the ice box is now a job for the reciprocating saw (aka sawzall) and some fiberglass work. This will make room to the side of the engine compartment that can house the refrigeration system, any water maker added later, the charge controllers and the AC charger.

0223-ibis-rats-gone
The rats have been chased out of the breaker panel rats nest. The wires are mostly cut in this photo. Most of the wires have been removed as they were traced from the load.

0303-battery-box
This was a first step in building a battery box prototype. The two boards are slightly bigger than the battery with a divider in the middle.

0308-battery-box
The prototype battery box finally was finished. Six of these will be needed. The top part has a lot of small parts. Having made a prototype I now know to build the top part first, then the divider and bottom, then back and sides and front. The top part of the final battery boxes will look a bit different.

0312-binacle-guard-foot
I took this photo to try to see what type of set screw was used in the binacle guard feet. It was an allen head. Later these feet will have to be removed since the spacing and distance from the binnacle are different and the new guard is 1.5 inch tube and these are 1 inch.

0319-special-wine
This was a bottle of really good wine that we've had for a while. We think Chris gave this to us as a thanks for letting him use our mooring for a week when his boat was disabled.