Boat Projects in Tonga

The long awaited single sideband high frequency radio arrived via DHL
shipping with no hassles right on time. I was a little stressed about it
even though I insured it in Anacortes when it was shipped. It cost over
$400 to get it here, but no customs duty and no taxes upon arrival.

So I am now in the throes of installing it while on the mooring ball in the
harbor. I am over the hump now but it is not an plug and play install. The
unit I got (Icom M802) is a top of the line radio with a relatively small
remote control panel/head with a separte big and heavy box with most of the
circuits and that is where most of the numerous cables have to go. Just
figuring out where to put this box and the tuner was a mini-project in
itself as you need to plan wire/cable runs and I was limited on the length
of the power wires and the super heavy-duty coax from the main unit to the
tuner.

I also had to run a new piece of high voltage wire that I bought in the US
from the tuner in the aft clothes locker up through the deck to the backstay
which is our antenna. The tuner tunes the radio output for the fixed length
of the backstay up to the mast as each frequency band normally would require
a different length of antenna. I won't go into the physics of all the radio
jazz but the tuner makes it all better.

The new radio also puts out much more power (and takes much more power) than
my old radio so the size and length of the power cable is very important. I
could use the one provided with the radio if it would fit without extension.
If I needed a longer wire run I would have had to gone from a 10 gauge
wire that was provided to a 6 gauge pair of wires which I don't have and are
not available here. So, I cut new holes in bulkheads and the cable just
fit. The new $5/ft coax I got that goes from the main radio box to the
tuner did not make it with my first run so I had to rerun it and drill yet
more holes. Of course, our 12-volt vacuum cleaner decided to stop running
and it would have been impossible to get all the wood chips and sawdust out
by hand so I had to fix that before going on.

The boxes are all in, the wires and cables are run and I need to install
special coax connectors to two cables, plug it all in and then start tidying
things up. Not to forget - I saved the hardest for last - I need to run two
lengths of 3" wide flat copper strap from the tuner and main radio down to a
through hull valve to properly ground the units. This is critical to good
radio transmission and a royal pain in the a**. There are very few 3" wide
holes in the boat in the areas I have to run these puppies and I am already
swearing just thinking about it. It will get done though and I think we
will be very happy with the new setup. The new control panel will be in a
superior spot compared to the old one which was in a dark and hard to get to
corner above the nav desk.

Then I (and Cindy later) will have to learn how to use this very complicated
and under-documented piece of equipment. Everything is written for radio
experts and there don't seem to be any good books out there to find jargon
explanations and what it all means (e.g. AF Mod - you turn this knob to
adjust the AF Mod. What the heck is that and why do I need to care?). Just
tuning to a frequency means selecting a Channel Group and then programming
in the frequency. The old radio just had a knob you used to dial a
frequency just like a car radio (after selecting the band like AM or FM or
USB or LSB). It will be interesting. The manual does not make it easy but
I guess that is why I have not been bored on the boat yet.

Immigration screwed up Cindy's one-way ticket out of Dodge letter of course,
again. And the lady who does it has not been there the last three times I
have gone. They put the wrong passport number on it and it has to be
redone. It only took me 13 visits to get it to this point. Oh well -
cruising in Paradise, kicking back, reading books, drinking margaritas -
that's all we do out here - and we want everyone to know that.

Speaking of books, we have enough to start a college library on board and I
asked my First Mate to not bring any more books back this time than
necessary since it looks like we have enough for the next ten years of
passages. I must have hit a nerve as she told me it was not even a
discussable item. I am expecting a trunk of books with excess weight air
fees to arrive with her in two weeks. She does select quality books, many
of which even I like, but I am tired of all the books falling out on my toes
everytime I open a locker - ANY locker - on MD. However, she is the best
First Mate I could ever hope for so I guess it is a question of balance -
yin and yang so to speak.

I do promise more on Tonga later but my recent experience has been in the
bowels of the boat and in Immigration with some sorties to find food. Cindy
is here in two weeks and then we are off for NZ!