February 2022

55 Fleming

My latest project to get a 55 Fleming up to standards to handle a new lithium battery bank is complete.  All that is left is to add some solar to complete the DC storage and charging system. For this coming season the boat will run with maintenance free 8D batteries that will help us nail down the amp hour needs under real cruising conditions.  I also upped the voltage on the main battery bank to 24 volts to help increase the efficiency of the DC new Victron MultiPlus Inverter, and dedicated house alternator with a new WakeSpeed controller.

I still have openings for jobs in Bellingham for late spring and summer, but call soon as my schedule will fill up fast.

In March I will be working at the Seaview Fairhaven yard on a San Juan 48 that is in the shed for painting. I am converting that system to all Lithium batteries and Victron equipment.

The new Mercedes Metris van is in service and working great!  It’s a joy to have all my tools and parts with me if I want.  And with it’s new ROVANG MARINE decals will help show potential new customers that I am now available for service in Bellingham. 

Metris Van at Squalicum Harbor

Happy Fall

More exciting projects are in the works for this Fall and winter.  Last winter I worked on a Lithium Bank Conversion on a Selene and this year it is going to be a Fleming that gets a new Lithium house bank.

 
The Selene just got back from spending the whole summer in SE Alaska, and this week I will meet with the owner and find out just how it all went.  The preliminary report is that it worked great, particularly useful was having a Panda DC generator in the system that was able to refill the bank quickly with an output of 200 Amps of DC current.


Also at least three of the boats I work on are already planning to add solar to their charging systems.  It is getting to be more common on larger motor yachts now that the panels are more powerful, and provide more consistent output throughout the day.


And it’s time for a new work van!  As you know since I moved to Sudden Valley I am interested in getting more work in Bellingham.  I have an official license, and key to the docks, for the Port of Bellingham Marinas.  But I need to have a vehicle that will give me a higher profile than working out of my Rav4.  The Rav4 has been fine in Anacortes where I am so well known, but attracting new customers that don’t know me requires a more professional appearance. So I have a Metris Cargo Van on order that should be here sometime in the next couple of weeks.  It’s much smaller than my old NPR Van so it can fit in my garage at home, and not use too much gas when I do have to go to Anacortes. Pictures coming soon! In the meantime here is a picture of the old truck, advertising while I was down in a boat working.

The original NPR work van
The new van finally arrived!