By way of an update, here’s a roundup of 2024. It has been a horrible 18 months, during which virtually nothing constructive was achieved other than a couple of coats of paint on the boat’s undersides and the mast being reinstated.
Back in June 2023, I was emergency admitted to the hospital with a medical issue, which I still have (Jan 2025). The first year I was virtually incapacitated and in and out of A & E almost every 2 weeks, I was permanently tired and permanently in pain. I now live with a catheter until the operation I am due, actually happens. We all know what NHS waiting lists are like and I’ve only been on one for about a year now.
Anyway, over the past few months, when I have felt up to it, I have managed to tidy up the bottom of the boat in time to apply a couple of coats of epoxy paint to help protect the exposed GRP during these cold, wet, and, so far, very windy winter months.
The mast has been fully rewired and is now back where it should be, along with its new wind indicator and VHF Antenna. Although I have kept the old radar, it draws so much power I decided to remove it for the time being. I know it’s more useful than the AIS on board but I’m fortunate enough to have a reasonably good AIS transceiver that neatly ties in with the N2K system on board.
During my downtime, I’ve also been tinkering with a new open-source navigation system called Openplotter. This system runs on a Raspberry Pi and draws virtually no power. You can learn more about the software here.
It’s been quite an interesting learning curve but I think I’m now understanding it enough to play with it usefully.
I’m also fortunate enough to be able to power my baby CNC machine from the boat and as a result of using yet more open-source software, I have designed and cut 2 new switch panels, one of which is already installed alongside the chart table. At some point I’ll write full articles covering these projects, in their own right. Meanwhile, back to doing useful things.
While I’m here I’d like to thank the members of North Fambridge Yacht Club for the amazing support I’ve received over the past 18 months. In particular, the 2 Nigels, Tim and Brian. Along with my boat neighbour, Phil. Thank you all so much!
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