We've lost 3 good sailors here in CA recently, so I'm spending the weekend upgrading my safety profile. I was out - solo - the same day a couple died up here in SF when they encountered heavy weather.
Those were fierce winds that day (I was measuring 30-35kts - I'm sure the gusts were over 40). Luckily I was inside, not outside, the Bay and the worst I got was a bad jibsheet wrap.
I also had a failure in my fwd/rev switching that is hopefully just corrosion in the switch, but I want to give it a thorough check today (I lost FWD while doing dock maneuvers - luckily was able to wrestle the boat in - in spite of those winds). This was due to the lack of a marine-grade terminal - I had jury-rigged, then forgotten about it.
So this weekend I plan to go over everything - fusing, cooling, lines, chafe, grounding, corrosion, pumps etc.
I still can't sustain > 60amps without overheating, so that's a concern. And my drive belt will jump the pulley during sudden moves. Gotta take care of those.
When I nosed into the harbor entrance (I snuck in around the seawall to avoid the blast and drop sail) I took the wind full on - and had to run at 100amps just to avoid hitting the wall. I want that to be something I can rely on.
And I'll trigger my inflatable PFD just for good measure - it's been a couple of years since I re-armed it.
So just a reminder to everyone else - might be a good weekend to really cast a critical eye towards your boat and do some work.
-Keith
E-S/V 'Aja'
San Francisco
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