A week of head-scratching (Patreon)

This week has been mainly spent figuring things out. For example, I started out wanting to add a water tank to the bottom of the clothing locker. It turns out that's not a very efficient place to store water. The new plan is to build an integral tank under the v-berth. R-g in Germany offers an epoxy that (when fully cured) should be safe for potable water. Placing the tank that far forward is not considered ideal (weight distribution), but it's not going to be that big, and we do have the option of emptying it if we need to. Because I'm pressed for time, we might hold off on adding the water tank under the settee until next winter. Going from adding a tank to the bottom of the clothing locker to building an integral tank might not sound like a difficult decision, but it took four hours of measuring and considering the pros/cons. 

I think I've found the high output alternator (and external regulator) I want to strap on the D2-40 using a custom pully mount. If I can get the alternator mounted on D2-40, that takes the pressure off in regards to the mini Perkins generator. I'm not sure the flywheel housing is going to show up in time. Having the alternator means we can still recharge the batteries when at anchor / under way. Then we can figure out if we want to add a genset in Scotland or maybe hold off until we get to the US (cheaper). I'm estimating our daily energy needs to be in the 5-6 kWh range. On a good day, we'll bring in 2-3 kWh from solar, so we need an alternate way of generating "angry pixies". 

The only thing preventing me from ordering the LiFePO4 batteries (7 week lead time) is not getting a reply from the BMS manufacture. I've emailed them twice (beginning of December and January), and still no response. The BMS is a crucial piece of the puzzle and not being able to get questions answered / support does not fill me with confidence. 

I'll spend Sunday (today) clearing out the forward cabin and maybe picking up plywood at the workshop for the new locker. I hope to get the "box" build next week to figure out what size (and number) of drawer slides to order. I suggested long term storage towards the hull (challenging to get to), a hanging locker in the middle, and drawers closest to the boat's centerline. Ava seemed to like that idea.

I hope you've had a fantastic weekend :) Thank you so much for your support! Stay safe :)