Almost finished installation of the new auto-pilot, the new Raymarine "Evolution 100" wheel steering unit. First, I had to remove the trusty old ST-4000 unit to make room for the new one. The "Evolution" has 4 major parts to it, 1: a control panel instrument that lets you operate the unit, 2: a combination compass and gyro sensor that not only knows the magnetic heading, but also senses all the movement and gyrations caused by sea-state as the boat moves through the water. This feature is probably the biggest difference from the old style ST-4000 auto pilot that was on the boat before. 3: A small computer  (ACU-100) that's mounted separately from the controller, and the gyro / compass. The computer takes all the information from the control panel and the gyro compass and sends a 12 volt electrical current  to the  4: drive unit, attached to the steering wheel which steers the boat. The control panel fits neatly into the hole the old ST-4000 instrument occupied, and the new wheel drive pretty much fit on the steering wheel as before. I had to find new locations for the computer and the gyro/compass.  The wiring was pretty straight forward using the Raymarine "sea talk" cables, I call it plug and play. A quick test was positive, though I will have to calibrate things when the boat goes in the water. I'm including a few pictures above.

Next project, the heating system.

After a particularly long and colder than normal winter, I took the winter tarp off Moxie on Monday. There are so many projects to do do before we leave in early September. I have a busy building schedule (I'm a house builder) and there is a lot to do to the boat to make her ready for our trip. The list of projects includes:

-Installing an Espar forced air diesel cabin heater.
-A new Raymarine "Evolution" auto pilot.
-Garhauer dingy davits.
-225 watt solar panel
-A sailpack / lazy jack main sail cover
-A "Sterling" alternator regulator.
-A new wind instrument
-A seatalk network to get the instruments working together in harmony
-A new chain anchor rode
-Misc comfort and storage solutions inside the cabin.

These and all the regular spring commissioning chores we have to accomplish before we launch in June.  We have been updating things like sails and batteries over the last 2 years and we aquired a 10' Walker Bay Genesis RIB cw a Tohatsu 9.9  4 stroke outboard  so we will be leaving Nova Scotia  with a relatively well equipped yacht. Debbie and I both realize our boat, a Mirage 32, is a bit on the small size, but 20 years ago she would have been considered a normal size to make this trip.

We have never tried a blog before so this is the start. This Blogging will require a bit of a learning curve.  Will be updating you on our progress as I'm about to start working on the boat  projects.