We threw all the instruments in the trash

We threw all the instruments in the trash – Without electricity on a boat, instruments don’t work. If you throw instruments in the trash, like we did, you almost don’t need electricity anymore. In this video, we tell you about how and why we removed all the instruments from Ariki and minimized the electrical installation.

A series of six articles & videos

We threw all the instruments in the trash

Ariki is still on land at Izola Shipyard. The work is coming to an end. Many cracks in the paint have been repaired, some parts of damaged or weathered wood have been replaced with new ones. Ariki is just shining, he is so beautiful.

Tiki 21 anchored in the bay in front of the shipyard. Joe arrived. Remember him from previous videos? We often wandered the northern Adriatic together. Now he has come to the rescue.

The electricity

The electricity on Ariki was carefully planned. Everything was provided, from the lighting and sockets in the cabins, to the navigation lights. Even the compass was illuminated. Well … we turned off that light first. It only shone for about an hour, then never again. The light was so strong that you couldn’t see anything because of it. That’s not exactly the best thing for night navigation, is it?

The control electrical panel had as many as thirteen fuses. Smaller and thicker cables are installed on the hulls, crossbeams and cockpit. The right hull has 5 inlets, the left only two.

The instruments

Garmin GPS monitor

The instruments that we installed on Ariki from the beginning were of no use. The monitor for the old Garmin GPS, which shows only coordinates, first stopped working. For the second year since we installed it, it was flooded. There was no damage because it was used on only one trip on the Adriatic. Remember the video “1000 miles of the Adriatic“? If you haven’t watched it yet, the link to it is here.

NASA depth gauge

The second instrument is a depth gauge. This is a very special story. The manufacturer states that the depth gauge probe may be in the hull. To measure depth through a boat hull. Oh really? I did not know … In our case, the index was too little or too much. But it never showed exactly.

So on some overhaul like this one now, we drilled the wall of the boat and mounted the probe outside. But there was no change. He is still lying and misleading than today’s politicians.

The depth gauge still works today. But we will throw him out anyway.

NASA Anemometer

The third instrument is the anemometer. This works too. But we tangled that rotating probe on the mast so many times in the branches or broke it after an overhaul that we no longer intend to buy new ones. This instrument also goes in the trash! This is the producer of fear.

If the wind whistles in the mast and the ropes are not tightened, I am not afraid at all. It is just the wind blowing.Nothing special.

The opposite is true if the anemometer is on. Looking at the monitor and the numbers lined up there really drives fear into your bones. Uff.. a 100 an hour? Come on, turn this thing off so it’ll just blow and whistle again. If you don’t know how much per hour it blows, you sleep more peacefully.

All instruments go in the trash. All the cables and all the wires go in the trash. And with them all 13 fuses. We just don’t need this rubbish.

New control panel and new installation

Now Ariki will get a new control panel. The old voltage meter will remain as the only instrument on board. The new control panel, however, has four fuses. That’s enough. Maybe even too much because we will only use two. One for the anchor light on the mast and the other for the navigation lights.

The right fuselage will also be plugged in with a voltage of 220 V. This is important for charging the batteries.

We have been lighting with LED lights on Ariki for a long time. With small transmission lights. Such a light can be attached or hung where you need it most. A practical thing for such small spaces as the cabins on Ariki.

Electricity will now only be in the right hull. Left doesn’t need her.

There is no more confusion under the control panel. Now there are only two cables. The first leads into the cab to the control panel and the second from the control panel to the mast. Oh yeah, and another cable is for a 220 V socket. That’s all. Simply, it couldn’t be more. That’s enough for us. If anyone wants more, let them complicate and waste money the way we once did. They say every school costs something.

We threw all the instruments in the trash​

Yeah, Ariki just shines when you look at him from a distance. The work is finished. We just have to put it together and we will be able to sail again. As always, this time too, the most power is required to tie crossbeams to the hulls. The most time-consuming is knitting – tying three trampolines. This is how it goes through one hole from below and through another from the side. Over and over again. You get tired three times before you get to the end.

Today is our last night at the shipyard. It will be a happy evening. For us and for all the friends who came to this happy event. Cheers and thank you for watching the video.

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