No! Not the band, dummie, neither Alvin Lee. We’re talking about Zoot Allures!
Yes indeed, March 13th of 2012, Zoot Allures was acquired/purchased/ baptized/….take your pick. And that’s when this blog started. Big plans, great dreams, large statements…..yeah well, sometimes things don’t go the way you’d want them. “Life happens while you’re making plans” as the saying goes. I wanted to move in in 5 years and cut the lines in 10, but that obviously was not the case. Which means I should edit the scope of this blog, hmmm. So yeah, Happy Birthday Zoot Allures. Will I be drinking Champaign on board? No. I’m stuck at work and it’s snowing!
But here is what’s been going on.
The batteries….
Lithium Iron Phosphate prismatic cells…aka lifepo4, LFP. Their nominal voltage is 3.2 volt. So we string 16 in series to get 48volts for our electric propulsion. It’s very important that they are all at the same state of charge, SOG, so that during charging and discharging they all move together. Otherwise the higher or lower cell will trigger stopping the charge/discharge cycle which will limit our capacity. So I’ve been doing this at home, discharging via an inverter and a space heater and all went well. We also have the BMS (battery management system) which monitors the cells and protects them from over charging/discharging. It’s also bluetooth= smart= ..sweet|!
Bytheway… formatting a page on wordpress has gone from difficult to impossible.
Other than that…. more destruction! Removing the old engine instruments and charger
And now for some funk. Since we’re going for a new motor installation, it a good opportunity to take care and replace stuff…..like a stuffing box.
And what is this stuffing box do you speak of, sir? A stuffing box (ours is a volvo penta dripless type) is like a gland that seals where the shaft goes thru the boat via the stern tube. And when the shaft goes thru the stern tube, there is the cutlass bearing which keeps it nice and snug. Cutlass bearings are known to make sailors cry. Mine is housed in some metal fixture out ol’ Zoots butt. It is a screw on with 2 bolts holding it which I had to cut out.
Then unscrew the thing
…And the entire stern tube came out!!!!
Son of a bitch!!!! One step forward….ten steps back
Happy 10th Birthday Zoot Allures!
Stay tuned…. mind your butt
Capt Pete
ps……After 10 years I don’t know whos bunghole is bigger. Ol’ Zoot’s or mine!!!!
pss…. And speaking of bungholes….how big of one is Putin anyway?!?!?!!!!!!
Sailing Zoot Allures 
Hi Pete – be grateful that the entire tube came out! Mine didn’t, as you may recall: https://fjordms33.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/sohvi-stern-tube-failure/ At least you can get to inspect it and check integrity. Good luck with the project – I am watching with interest 🙂
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Holy cow!! I need to go back to your renovation more often! So yeah, the 2 screws where imbedded in the hull. So we cut them and banged them in. And then the whole thing unscrewed from the bulkhead where the stuffing box goes. And further destruction to get the bolts out. A nice mess. There were no leaks but I’m feeling better we are doing this. I need to have the dry-est bilge in the world having an electric motor. Figures crossed. Thanks!
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There is a rule in court proceedings … never ask a question to which you do not know the answer… working on boats is pretty much the same… never remove anything unless you have a good idea what lies ahead… happy sailing … ohhh by the way water and electricity omg… and Putin’s ass will be getting bigger by the day
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Hello Constie. Now that’s a funny comment.!
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Cutlass bearings! Thanks for reminding me. What a freaking ordeal that was on Siempre Sabado! Good luck and happy to see you and Zoots are still at it.
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Yo Steve!
Was it your blog I read about crying sailors lol?!
Still at it till I ain’t.
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