Dyneema rigging
This week we have been working on the forecabin (well we also finished the starboard knees for the main mast cap shroud and have been waterproofing the mizzen dyneema chainplate loops). Lots of posts with pictures on Mastodon. This is what we have been doing today (no login required, just
Dyneema rigging
Knees This last weekend we have finished the knees on the starboard side for the main mast cap shroud. We are not going to win any prizes for beauty ;-) But this is so much stronger (remember the original single knee on the starboard side only came down to the
Progress
Today we are refitting the original companionway steps. We have been through a few iterations on how to do this as we need them to be removable to give us access to the batteries. In the end we have removed the plywood lining and are fitting two horizontals. A third
Plans
Recent events have led us to a significant acceleration this week. Also we now have more than 3.5x more followers of SustainableSailing on Mastodon (https://mas.to/@SustainableSailing) than on Facebook. So we have decided for ethical and health reasons to move faster to get away from the platforms
Plans
[Update] The conclusion that we have come to is that we should not compromise. Instead we are going to be doubling down on leaving all the Billionaire controlled social media sites that profit from our personal data, track us everywhere and exploit their workers. So the affiliate links and all
Electric
We will have four main Raspberry Pi 5 computers in use on Vida. Chosen for low power consumption, low cost and adaptability. Two are assembled and the main software installed (Home Assistant and Navigation). One is mostly assembled and waiting for an mvme card before installation (Firewall). The last is
Plans
Starting the Pi build. The case is going to need a small extra cutout for the 52Pi 2.5gb extra ethernet (plus m.2 nvme board). Some in progress building photos On the boat one ethernet port (the one I designate as WAN) will connect to our Digital Yacht WL510
Appliances
It's play with Pi time (2 x Raspberry Pi 5 single board computers). One will be running Home Assistant (automation to create a "smart boat" eg sounds an alarm to wake you up & sends you a WhatsApp message [in case you are not on the
Appliances
We've found the Smart Boat Innovations YouTube channel really helpful and encouraging. The technique of bringing boat data into Home Assistant is absolutely brilliant. It gets us away from expensive Marine technology into the world of free/open source software and standards. So I'm taking our
Uncategorized
Now that we are fully into the "official" Christmas Season and have caught up with some sleep we feel better able to wish you all a Happy Christmas! It's been a milestone Christmas for us. I turned 60 just before Christmas and we had a great
Progress
I've been working all weekend so we haven't been to the boat. However, Nick has been in touch to let us know our Mizzen mast is still standing after Storm Bert. Good news, that was a bad one.
Environmental
If you are joining us from "A Word in Time" then Welcome :-) These two video's might be interesting in terms of our plans, goals and beliefs. "It is the big reveal of the announcement we have been hinting at. Plus more progress on the