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Does anybody have any secrets regarding removing kelp off the rudder while racing or just sailing.  I don't seem to have a problem of it catching and staying on the keel or prop but it sure hangs up on the rudder. Other than heading up and back winding the main,(which sure puts a damper on your direction and speed), does anybody have any suggestions?  It seem that the rudder sits underneath to far to get anything to clean it. It's not if, but when, no matter how careful you are in our area you'll get kelped.

If interested, check out sailinganarchy.com, a San Diego based sailing website.  They put out a short video this morning of Oracle sailing on SF Bay.  Put it on full screen and watch, pretty impressive.

Scotty,

From somebody who has thoughts of possibly moving up in boat size, I was wondering since you did move from a 34 to a 400 if you could give a rundown on pros & cons or thoughts between these two boats.

Thanks for any information.

I have just replaced all my inside bulbs to LED's and now have questions or any ones thoughts regarding exterior bulbs.
With the cost of the exterior LED's I'm wondering if they are worth changing out for the running lights, steaming light & bow light, or just change out the anchor light bulb?  I guess it depends on the type of sailing you do.  My night sailing is limited and also due to local conditions probably 50-60% of that would be under power. Any thoughts?

Looking back in the 'Tech Wicki" & using the 'search' box regarding hatch board storage, I found only a couple of suggestions for storage locations, so I thought I would add a couple of pictures of where our holders are located. This was not done by me but by the original owner and it took me a while to figure out what these teak blocks were for (duh).  I don't know how common this setup is, but I find it a simple solution to get these cumberson boards out of the way.

Just did a couple of new upgrades on the boat, Thanks to Kevin Henderson in a post back in May, he mentioned using the Rustoleum spray paints for the dorade vents. I took both the dorade boxes & vents home & painted them & they look great now.  Also did the traveller upgrade as there was no way my wife could easily adjust the traveller, and being an ex-racer I'm constantly having her adjust it, which is a requirement when you still have the original main and it has stretched a bit over 18 years. The problem I had is that I have stainless guards over the dorades vents to protect them so I couldn't use the new standard Garhauer system as the guards got in the way of the forward angled blocks on the traveler.  Talking to Guido he mentioned they also had top mounted blocks for the new system. I also said I didn't want the cam cleats on the aft side of the traveler, that I wanted to add the cam cleats on the cabin top in the cockpit, and he said they have an option to add turning blocks on the aft side and have deck mounted turning blocks that mount right below and aft of the traveler to guide the lines to the cockpit.  I also had my canvas man add two large grommets in the dodger to run the lines through, added the cam cleats in the cockpit and everything works great, the Admiral is very very happy.  Attached are a couple of pictures showing this.

I still have some (no, lots of) confusion regarding attaching pictures to a message.  I have 4 pictures I would like to post, but I don't know how to resize them any smaller than I have.  The pictures I have were of my dorades & the new traveller setup.  On checking the size of the pictures I have in my files the sizes of each picture ran from 2.47mb to 2.52mb and 2592x1944mp.  Using my existing software (Windows 7) I downsized each of these pictures to the smallest size I could which they then became 640X480mp and ranged in size from 192mb to 215mb still to large for posting. Could someone please help me out.

Thanks

After getting tired of listening to my Xantrex Truecharge2 40A charger coming on every 10-15 minutes all night in port because of the refrigeration being on, I decided to add an separate AC to 12V system as described by John Nixon.  I added Part #137649 power supply from Jameco (Mean Well S-240-12 Pwr. supply unit 12V/18A with the output set at 13.2V), a VF4-45F11 Tyco relay and a on/off Sw. on the distribution panel. It seems to work for about an hour or two & then the Power supply unit shuts down & the relay drops off. I then turn the switch off and then on again & the PSU starts again, operates the relay & I get power to the refrigeration unit again for another hour or so.  The PSU is mounted in the locker below the chart table & has plenty of ventilation even though I hear it's internal fan every so often. I contacted a technical support person at Mean Well & went over the refrigeration specs with him & he says this unit should handle it with no problem. Before I disconnect it & send it back for a replacement I was wondering I was wondering if anybody else has used this exact PSU and, if so, how has it worked.

Thanks,

Is there an on/off switch for the hot water heater (hull #1235).  I can only find a push button on the panel that looks like a trip breaker for overload purposes.  When I push on it it does not pop out like an on/off switch would do.  I am concerned about the longevity of the heater and its coils if they are always on while the boat is in port and AC power is connected to the boat.     

RV