SSB Battle Continues - Wounds Are Surfacing

We are still trouble shooting the SSB trying to get better reception.  Some days I hear about half of the boats checking in and net control.  Other days I don't hear anything.  Lots of cruisers have been trying to help with suggestions.  Checking the connections and grounding was suggested by several people.  Of course, but that is easier said than done.  Checking the connection at the backstay antenna was easy as it's in the cockpit.  "Yes, looks good."  Checking the connection at the AT130 tuner is a totally different story.  It's located in the far stern of our boat on the starboard side.  The only access is through a very small hatch in the back of the aft cabin - the spare cabin.  For fellow cruisers, you know what this means.  For those that are not liveaboards, it's the storage area of the boat.  We call it the garage on s/v Honey Ryder.  Imagine you main breaker box being located in the very far corner of your garage or basement behind all the stuff you store in there.  Now imagine it isn't just on a wall but in a secret compartment through a small opening.  I honestly don't know how they got it in there originally.  I suspect it was added as the boat was being built.  Seriously, because the copper grounding strips are attached to the hull and partially painted along with the fiberglass.

Tom on a previous project - access hatch in the background

Anyway, in the battle to master the SSB, we needed to check that connection so last night after a fortifying dinner, we started the process.  First we moved all the stuff out of our garage into the salon.  Then Tom removed the panel.  He could sort of feel the connection but he couldn't reach it to work.  The hatch opening was too small.  I was able to partially climb in through the hatch by putting one shoulder in at a time.  It really would have been better to have a 10 year old at this point in the project.  Where is the "Rent a Kid for Small Places" number when you need it!  I keep misplacing that number. 

This hatch was our only way to access the AT 130 SSB tuner

Once in there I had to crank around sideways and wedge myself up against the hull, resting on the exhaust thru hull at a slight down angle (with the hose clamps sticking straight out and into me of course) while resting my left hip bone on the sharp fiberglass hatch opening and the rest of my legs out in the aft cabin.  In the mean time, Tom dug around in the port cockpit locker - deep down and found the cooper grounding over there.  It was all attached, painted into the fiberglass in as well and looking good.   Once we opened the hatch to see what was what we just dove in.  There was no planning.  We just grabbed tools and dug in - I will expand on this later. 

It's the 3 tiered circle thing - it's actually cone shaped

The connection was a little corroded.  Honestly, I was hoping it would be really corroded, or loose or dangling, because then we would have had a big "Ah-Ha, that is why we are getting so much static." but there wasn't.  However, I was in there so I went ahead and cleaned the connection just in case the SSB is that sensitive.  This connection comes up directly under our stern cockpit coming.  I couldn't get my hand directly up to disconnect it from the angle I was at so I had to reach up and around the exhaust hose.  There was only room to turn the crescent wrench 1/4 turn each time.  Oh Joy!  Just as I was starting to worry about the nut dropping down into......Awe CRAP!  Yes, it dropped down into the bilge.  Argh!  Tom climbed back down into the port cockpit locker, across the battery bank and stretched to the far side toward me and blindly started feeling for it as I guided him...."more this way, more that way - oh...I mean port 1/4 inch, forward, starboard 1/2, aft.  Got it!"  Bonus, he found two washers as well. 

Cooper ground connection

By now I was feeling like an assistant in a magic show...."Now I will cut my assistant Sabrina in half" - my left hip was killing me and it felt like my spleen was about to burst from the pressure of laying across the hatch opening.  *I don't actually know if my spleen is on my left side.  I just know I am NOT a Chinese contortionist and I really can't be doing things like this.

Connection at the top of the tuner

With the connection clean and greased up with silicone grease (the kind for electric connections) I tried putting it all back together.  Oh but first, I put down a towel so that if I dropped anything, it wouldn't roll into the bilge.  See -I'm learning.  I carefully put it all back together but the nut wouldn't go on.  I tried and tried.  By now my legs outside the compartment were shaking, I was bleeding from a couple of good snags on various hose clamps and right hand had a open wound from rubbing across the top of the exhaust hose while working the crescent wrench.  It wouldn't screw on.  It was the wrong size nut.  I assumed the nut I saw in the bilge was the right one.  Turns out it was another nut.   Who knows where the SSB nut bounced off to.  Tom got another nut and I eased back into place and tried again.  It went on.  Woo Hoo!  Now the tightening, slowly 1/4 of a turn at a time reaching over the exhaust hose.  I could only get it so tight.  I backed out and somehow Tom cranked himself around on his back and wedge 1/3 of the way in the hatch to check it.  He declared it was on good enough.  I stood checking my wounds when I started to itch.  Oh, no.  Remember when I said once we got the hatch open we just dove in?  Well, I should have changed into a long sleeved shirt or even a turtleneck.  I had microscopic, invisible pieces of fiberglass all over my arms, neck and face.  Fiberglass rash.  I spend the rest of the evening and up to shower time this morning scratching because of fiberglass rash.  Today the full extend of the wounds surfaced.  They are numerous on this particular SSB fight but at least now we can eliminate the thought/worry of a loose and or corroded wire at the tuner.  And please don't comment or email me "have you read the instruction manual."  Tomorrow we battle on.   

Up the Stick - Continued

Another view from yesterdays trip to the top of the mast on s/v Honey Rdyer

"Ouch, ohhh, ouch, eeeee, ooh, ouch."  These are the involuntary sounds/things I have been uttering as I move around today.  Little bruises started showing up overnight all over my body and my muscles are letting me know  -
1.) They did not appreciate the Up the Stick workout yesterday. 
2.)  They think I am crazy for thinking I could do that when routine exercise on a daily basis has been missing for....er...months. 
3.)  They are laughing at me or would be if they didn't hurt too much to laugh.
4.)  They are basically yelling at me today, letting me know "you are NOT as young as you used to be and even back in the day you could never get more than 1 1/2 ft up when you had to climb the rope in gym class.  What were you thinking - Moron!"

On the plus side, we had the chance to spend the afternoon with another cruising couple.  They picked us up at the marine in their rental car and we ran errands and then gorged ourselves silly at a lunch buffet.  Super nice peeps so it was a lovely afternoon.  That helped quiet my screaming muscles to some extent. 

Up the Stick AGAIN

This time it was on our boat s/v Honey Ryder.  And this time I cranked myself up so to speak.  There was no sit back and enjoy the ride this go around.   I used our Mast Climber.  If you don't know what that is, click here for a video demo.  HOWEVER, it is not as easy as little Ms first time to try it makes it look.  No way!  Plus she only had to go to the top of the mast on an O'Day 26...not that that is not impressive but I am just saying there is a difference between the height of an O'Day 26 mast and our Caliber 40 LRC 58 ft mast. 

Anywho....it's basically a climbing rig where you can step/stand yourself up the mast.

First you raise the feet portion of the rig, bending your knees and bringing them up as high as you can to your waist - while sitting in a climbing harness that is around your butt and waist with a tiny seat built in. 

Then you stand up and move the rigging thing/carabiner (or whatever it's called) up the line above your head and then you repeat the previous step, raising your feet again and so on and so forth. 

I think the video calls it leapfrogging up the mast.  Yeah right!  It is not easy.

 

First you are hanging on for dear life, gripping just as tight as you can.  Second you really need to be somewhat flexible - I am SO not flexible - to raise your ankles up to your butt and your knees up toward your chest.  It also helps to have good leg muscles.  Ugh!  Of course I was getting all twisted around in the various sides stays as I first went up.  Then I had to maneuver around the radar dome - a.)  not bang my head on it as I inched up.  b.) not knock into it as I was next to it.  c.)  not kick it as I passed it.  My ascent was very, very, very slow - 6" max at a time.  A dock neighbor came over to see if we needed help and then to observe but he got bored at my snails pace and left.  When I finally reached the top I discovered that we have two mast steps near the top of our mast - one on each side.  Kewl!  The starboard opened after a little wiggling and a tap.  The port side wouldn't, even with a fair amount of banging.  Crap!  I had the Mast Climber rig/carabiner as high as it would go.  I took my feet out of the foot rig and moved it up really high- basically right under my butt.  Then I maneuvered my left foot over to the mast step and put my right foot back into the foot strap on the rig.  My knees were basically up close to my ears - at least it seems like they were.  For me that is near impossible but being 58ft above the deck of our boat attached only by a rope and webbing put a good dose of unknown flexibility into my system.  No doubt fueled by a fair amount of adrenaline.    I hoisted myself up in one big hurmph!  I wrapped my arms around and over the top of the mast like I was hugging a long lost friend.  Luckily I didn't knock anything loose in the process. 

Whew - made it!  I went up the mast to 1.) check our rigging and take pics.  2.)  see what type of bulbs we have so we can get replacement LED bulbs.  3.)  replace the windvane.  Rigging looks great.  Bulb would not come out but I got a pic so I know what we need.  Old windvane base would NOT come off.  I tried and tried.  Twice I had to sit back down - which was very scary as I was sitting WAY back down and it felt like there was nothing there - like I was just sitting back into nothing.  Three times I hoisted myself up to work at the top of the mast.  Finally I was worn out.

But now I had to get back down. The process is supposed to reverse you down easy peasy.  HA - bullshit!  First I lowered the foot strap (remember it was really high up under my butt) but then I couldn't get my feet back in.  I struggle and struggled.  Finally I got them in the straps.  Then I lowered the top rig down.  Zoom - way down.  Too far down.  I was now squatting in mid air feeling like I was going to flip upside down.  I didn't but it felt that way.  Then I couldn't take enough pressure of the foot straps to release the lower foot rig.  I was stuck.  Like a cat up a tree...actually like a frog up a mast except a very weird looking, blond, frazzled frog.  I finally raised myself back up enough to where I could take the pressure off the foot straps and lower that rig.  I inched my way up the crazy mast, I don't know why I thought I could repel down in two and three foot chunks.  I could not.  That didn't stop me from getting stuck in the frog position a few more times.  It was harder coming down that going up.

Despite having gloves on I manage two blisters on the my left hand and some deep gouges on my ankles from the foot straps. 

I have no doubt a whole rash of bruises will start showing up tomorrow.  But I did it.  I went up and back all on my own.  For the record I volunteered - Tom has done this once before ( much faster, much more gracefully).  I think next time, we will let the neighbor help and I will just ride.