Because it was fugly. The original finish was a mistake. I let System Three talk me in to using their linear Poly over their clear epoxy. Their clear epoxy is great but the linear poly didn't hold up, not enough UV protection for the epoxy and then it started coming off in large flakes at sea. So I am stripping it and refinishing using the best quality Marine Spar I can buy. Hell of a job but it is look much better, closer to art work again.
Damn, you built that yourself? That's incredible. I knew you were working on a boat, but I didn't realize it was that big.
I see you are a User Interface Designer. The Computer Navigation system onboard might be of interest to you. Integrated Navigation and Communications, computer control ham radio with world wide email capability, weather satellite tracking, real time AIS overlay on current navigation charts, current tide data anywhere world wide. I kind a like the click the place on the chart where you want to go, hit the accept and the auto pilot and that's where you are going. All for about 5 amps 12v power.
What an amazing feeling it must have been the first time you set sail on that boat after spending so much time and attention building it. It really is a thing of beauty.
Ha! Actually that was bad friggin day. Sailed for about 1.5 hours and the wind just stopped. Fired up the iron sail and off again, err for about 7 or 8 hours, then the engine died. I had pumped all the fuel out of the tank into the bilge storage tank. Just a little over-site in the plumbing. Then I found out that the fuel pump would not pump out of the bilge tank, too low, would not lift that far. But it took me a few hours to figure that out laying in my bunk out at sea in the middle of the night flopping around with no power, sail or engine. It took a while to think of anything other than WTF! I figured it out though, and limped into New Port to set things straight.
Ha, isn't that life. Well, glad you got it worked out, or at least glad you continue to work out the kinks. I know it's a much smaller example, but the first engine I ever took apart was on a crappy old dodge when I was around 20. Spent a every day for a week working on it, taking everything apart that I could, added a few new parts. Put it all back together and went to close the hood to start it up, the hood wouldn't close. The engine purred, but I couldn't drive it. So I had to take it all apart again, take off some of my additions and when I put it all back together that time, it wouldn't start. I never actually got to drive that car again. Spent too much money on rebuilding everything that to do it a third time made no sense.
I did, I calculated that several times, but I still need a diesel genset for charging batteries. There is just not enough room to get enough panels on the boat and still sail it. I do have an idea though, to keep it short, just call it a water generator to use at sea, then a couple panels to supplement the power generator may work as a team to keep the batteries up when sailing. And a little longer when anchored as a convenience. My small Kubota diesel genset produces up to 230 amps of 12v power and will bang the battery bank up in a bit more than an hour on the cycles I laid out for the deep cycle battery bank. Geez, I would need Solar Sails to get that much solar power and the cost would be, ouch!
I thought of the small 3' x 5'panel size of that we have attached on our utility poles. Supplemental needs was in my thoughts. Mar Azul can sail!!
As of today, MarAzul will be in the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend WA this coming September. http://nwmaritime.org/events/wooden-boat-festival/ Geez, this mean the skipper needs to hustle.
