[C38] One project down

[Charles Finn]

Steve,
Nice job!  I am currently redesigning my nav station and want to finish 
it before the Mighty Quinn "splashes" in early May.  One issue I am 
concerned about with my enclosure is the ambient heat generated by the 
radio, chart plotter, etc.  While this may not be a problem in northern 
climates, I was wondering whether you had allowed for a 12 volt box 
fan?  Heat on electronics can be good as it can reduce humidity, but it 
also can hurt as well.

Some additional items I have added are a 2000 watt inverter (located 
under the galley sink to reduce 12v. cable length from the batteries 
(190 amp hours), with connection to the panel so I can isolate it from 
shore power. 195 watts of solar panel as well as a 400 watt wind 
generator integrated into my charging system.   I also have a microwave 
mounted under the chart table (a real waste of space on my boat). And a 
separate VHF radio isolated with separate antenna in case the main unit 
in the cockpit is compromised.

Have you converted your nav and cabin lights to LED?  With only 33 amp 
hours to draw upon, perhaps this would be a good idea?  I went to a 
tri-color/anchor light three years ago and converted the cabin last 
summer with excellent results.  In particular, I would recommend the 
1142-pcb-wwhp9 unit from Superbrightleds.com for cabin lighting as it is 
a simple replacement for our incandescent lights and actually gives 
better illumination.

As our venerable ex-technical editor, Tom T. observed, our boats are 
aging and probably the area most easily to overlook is the electronics 
lurking behind the teak.  Tom's departure is a shock and loss to the 
Catalina 38 Association (say it ain't so Tom!), and we probably should 
take some time to gather all the articles, messages, etc. he has shared 
with us over the years because he won't be around in the future to steer 
us right with those observations.   Thank you, Tom for all you have done 
for us!

Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn, #114
Great Lakes

Steve Smolinske wrote:
> Like all of us Winter is the time for projects, and Im glad to say I 
> just completed one of them! I updated my blog with pictures of the Nav 
> station which got a new laminate top and the electronics flush mounted 
> for anyone interested  the link is on the association homepage under 
> blogs.  
>  
> Steve
> Peregrine #312
> Seattle
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