"It's too hot to live"

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

You are right about sunbrella not letting in light. We only put up our reflective white covered curtains on the sun side so we can leave the shaded windows open. I really like the idea of a sunbrella tarp stretched between the brow and the front pulpit to shade the front deck. We will set one up before we go back down to Baja this winter.

[First Draft]

[thataway]

I am including a photo of the cover for the foredeck which came with the boat--it is a white sunbrella. We made a second one out of Shelter Rite, which is a PVC with Scrim, very similar to what the tubes of inflatables are made of. It is larger and totally water resistant. This photo shows the cover on the boat before we bought it, and is in the upper position. The lower position goes to the eye bolts by the base of the bow pulpit and bow cleat. Our cover goes slightly further forward, out to the sides and down on the sides to give better protection if there is driving rain.



Here is a plastic crate I put on the Swim Step of the 25 just for illustration: The Honda EU 1000 would go on top of this, with a bungee cored thru the handle, over the generator, and into the sides of the crate. The crate would be lashed to the swim step, so it could not slip off. This gets the exhaust up and away from the boat.



Here is the Honda EU 2200 I (under cover):



And another from a lower angle--I see that the heat during our absence warped the Starboard. I'll bolt a stongback of 3/4" Starboard or PVC lumber to straighter this out. No functional negative however. The uprights are notched on the mating surface with a Fein Saw under cuts, same on the top material, held together with G Flex epoxy and 2" flat head SS screws into the black Starboard.
The cable leading off the generator is one of the "kryptonite" locks, just as a security back up...



We are currently under our first tropical storm of the season--with some heavy thundershowers, so I didn't take the slant back off, nor the cover of the Honda. The exhaust points aft, Start and controls are on the Starboard side of the generator. I made a power cord, which is just the length from the generator to the 30 amp input of the boat's 110 V electrical system out of #12 gauge wire.

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Thanks Bob for the photo of the forward "tarp", I am going to add handles on top of the brow and can add loops to the through bolts underneath to tie it to.
We have 220 watts of flexible solar on the cabin top and I have another 150 to extend back from the arch as needed, hopefully that will work to maintain the charge on the 31s to run the boat without having to use our Honda 2000. We removed the mermaid ac that came with the boat as we usually leave Mexico by late April. We mostly are running our new more efficient fridge and a small Engel freezer. We are almost always anchored out. We decided to install a small Spectra Ventura watermaker as we no longer want to lug water or have the increased weight of another storage tank, 1 hour a day running at anchor should fufill our old school needs.
Thanks again.

[Foggy]

In heat, the antidote to froth is calm. Getting worked up
simply adds heat.

Let me repeat: A couple ice cubes in a wash cloth
on your forehead will make you a Believer.

Boaters who cannot stand (temporary) heat reminds me
of campers who cannot stand bugs.

Sea water temps rarely exceed 80+ *F or so. W coast a bit
cooler than E coast, on average. Normal body temp is less
than 90*F. Do the math. Take a plunge and cool down.

Aye.

[JamesTXSD]

I guess location plays a part. Last I checked, the typical body temp of humans is still 98.6º. Here in the Tropical Tip, our current water temp is 85.1º (according to NOAA); our outside air temp is 88º and the relative humidity is 76%, making for a "feels like" temperature of "the Gates of Hell." A couple ice cubes in a wash cloth would last a moment or two and the wet wash cloth would just add to the humidity. On the bright side, the wind is out of the south at 15 to 20 mph, with a hot breeze.

Yes, it is cooler on the water... more like 3 or 4 feet just outside the Gates of Hell. I love this area, but we generally get out of here during the summer. I'm looking forward to a change of latitude and elevation. We'll be in the motorhome; some call that "camping"... I don't want bugs in my motorhome.

For now, I get outside to exercise early morning and around sunset. We typically have an 8º temperature swing from daytime high to nighttime low. It was 83º when I got up this morning at 6:30. In the words of the philosophers The Beatles: nothing to get worked up about. Air conditioning is your friend.

Stay cool.

[thataway]

We never considered air conditioning on our sail boats--always was a breeze--Several tall wind scoops--out of light weight Dacron, with SS hoops, pulled up the rig a few feet ensured a breeze...one exception was a few windlass nights in Panama, where we had temps of over 100* at night--an all night bar with some air conditioning--resolved that issue--and we got underway the next day...

Incidentally one of the "water makers" we saw at bar on an Island just off David--was a Sears Dehumidifier--seemed to make a few quarts of pure water an hour...

Back on the subject of air conditioning--I noted that our local WalMart has the "Arctic King" 5,000 BTU air conditioners for $136.99 (15 years ago they were $99)

The Shelter Rite fabric is a great alternative to Sunbrella when you want something purely water proof. It is very strong, and instead of sewing, just glue with HH66 Vinyl cement.
four 4.25" diameter D ring patches for $13.
I used some small snap shackles for hooking into the eye bolts:

Here is a photo of the patch and snap shackle --some of the Dacron cordage used to tie off the forward end of the fore deck rain fly. These snap shackles will tighten up as they are fastened, and will release under load, as a pelican hook will.

[Foggy]

[First Draft]

[Foggy]

A/C was invented early in 1900s and not available as residential window units
for about 1/4 century later.

How did people tolerate life w/o this recent energy hungry invention?
Many live and have lived in tropics for generations...

So, sure A/C can make one feel better. What happens without power?
It happens. Review "Murphy's Law".

Aye.
Grandma used to say, "No matter what, no sniveling."

[BillE]

About body temperature, while we are indeed 98.6 on the inside we are closer to 86 at the skin, and being immersed in any water cooler than that will have some cooling effect on the body.

[Foggy]

[thataway]

[Foggy]

When you're hot, you're hot. When you're not...

So how hot is too hot? *

Mild heat illness can begin with a temp of 101*F and is
usually auto compensated by sweating and vasodilation.
This with oral cold fluids and antipyretics can help prevent
heat cramps.

More severe heat illness might progress to heat exhaustion
then heat stroke; the latter an emergency and deadly.
Signs include dizziness, thirst, cold clammy pale skin
progressing to hot dry skin with changes in behavior.

When body temperature raises above 106*F and is accompanied
by decreased mental status, low blood pressure and rapid heart
rate, that's too hot (heat stroke).

Geriatrics (know any?) with medical conditions, young kids are
very susceptible to heat illness in very hot weather.

Take care out there. We're having a hot one now (94*F).
So stay cool.

* (EMT, retired and glad to be)

Aye.

[Snider]

Bob,
My Camframo maestro fan came today. I bought one to mount and check out before getting a couple more. What is the round white plastic cylinder with metal on the inside that the cord goes through? It doesn't mention what its for in the instructions.
Brandon