Boat Maintenance Woes: Technical Difficulties with the Watermaker & Auto Helm
May 02, 2025 by Acorn To Arabella | Language: EN Play Time: 00:22:08 | SAILING YOUTUBERS
You know what they say: “BOAT” stands for “Break Out Another Thousand.”
While we were anchored in the Dry Tortugas, I got our Spectra watermaker back online. This week, back in Key West, we’re troubleshooting an issue with the feed pump pressure switch, which cuts the watermaker pump in and out depending on the pressure. Unfortunately, the replacement piece is expensive—and it won’t get here anytime soon. In the meantime, I can bypass the switch, as long as I keep a tight eye on the pressure. Boats, man—it’s always something!
In between troubleshooting the watermaker and getting ready to sail north for the summer, Robin and I found time to enjoy a sunset cruise aboard the Schooner Hindu. Schooner Hindu is a lovingly restored and historically significant 1925 gaff-rigged schooner with a rich maritime history. It sails out of Provincetown, MA in the summer, and Key West in the winter. Captain Josh sailed us right past Arabella, giving us a unique perspective on our own gaff-rigged wooden sailboat!
But, back to boat maintenance…
Installing the rudder feedback sensor presented a new challenge. It’s incredible how much I needed to deconstruct just to get that installed properly.
Now, mounting the bracket for the auto helm. The bracket is made of anodized aluminum, which gets mounted to a stainless bracket with stainless steel boats. That means I need to isolate and protect the bracket from corrosion. I chose to use Tef-Gel, which is a corrosion eliminator. The other important consideration is that, if we were to lose the bolts, there’s a good chance we would also lose the auto helm. As a backup, I drilled small holes into each bolt, where I can thread a ring through to prevent the bolts from working their way out.
Now that the above-deck electronics for the auto helm are hooked up, it’s time to go down below and get the system wired and set up down there. The Garmin Reactor 40 needs to be mounted near the center of the boat. This device gives us information about how the boat is moving in space and time.
Now, the auto helm came with a 40 amp breaker—but that didn’t fit into our breaker panel. After speaking with a marine electrician, I feel confident that a 20 amp breaker will do the trick just fine. With this final piece in place, we’re ready to test the auto helm under sail!
Unfortunately…more technical difficulties.
Somehow, installing the auto helm threw off the header sensor and wind reader. Fortunately, our marine electrician friend, Bob, might be able to help…
In the meantime, I took the chance to work on a small project: building a screen drop board to use when it’s hot and buggy. Our acrylic drop board is great, but it doesn’t help much with ventilation—and it’s getting HOT down here in the Keys. I drafted up a shopping list and hit the bricks for a walk to the hardware store, and fun, low-stress, no-surprises project for a change!
————————–
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38′ wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
————————–
If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help
Acorn to Arabella’s wishlist:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority
TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They’ll kick 10% our way!
To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions!
https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com
FOLLOW US:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella
Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com
You know what they say: “BOAT” stands for “Break Out Another Thousand.”
While we were anchored in the Dry Tortugas, I got our Spectra watermaker back online. This week, back in Key West, we’re troubleshooting an issue with the feed pump pressure switch, which cuts the watermaker pump in and out depending on the pressure. Unfortunately, the replacement piece is expensive—and it won’t get here anytime soon. In the meantime, I can bypass the switch, as long as I keep a tight eye on the pressure. Boats, man—it’s always something!
In between troubleshooting the watermaker and getting ready to sail north for the summer, Robin and I found time to enjoy a sunset cruise aboard the Schooner Hindu. Schooner Hindu is a lovingly restored and historically significant 1925 gaff-rigged schooner with a rich maritime history. It sails out of Provincetown, MA in the summer, and Key West in the winter. Captain Josh sailed us right past Arabella, giving us a unique perspective on our own gaff-rigged wooden sailboat!
But, back to boat maintenance…
Installing the rudder feedback sensor presented a new challenge. It’s incredible how much I needed to deconstruct just to get that installed properly.
Now, mounting the bracket for the auto helm. The bracket is made of anodized aluminum, which gets mounted to a stainless bracket with stainless steel boats. That means I need to isolate and protect the bracket from corrosion. I chose to use Tef-Gel, which is a corrosion eliminator. The other important consideration is that, if we were to lose the bolts, there’s a good chance we would also lose the auto helm. As a backup, I drilled small holes into each bolt, where I can thread a ring through to prevent the bolts from working their way out.
Now that the above-deck electronics for the auto helm are hooked up, it’s time to go down below and get the system wired and set up down there. The Garmin Reactor 40 needs to be mounted near the center of the boat. This device gives us information about how the boat is moving in space and time.
Now, the auto helm came with a 40 amp breaker—but that didn’t fit into our breaker panel. After speaking with a marine electrician, I feel confident that a 20 amp breaker will do the trick just fine. With this final piece in place, we’re ready to test the auto helm under sail!
Unfortunately…more technical difficulties.
Somehow, installing the auto helm threw off the header sensor and wind reader. Fortunately, our marine electrician friend, Bob, might be able to help…
In the meantime, I took the chance to work on a small project: building a screen drop board to use when it’s hot and buggy. Our acrylic drop board is great, but it doesn’t help much with ventilation—and it’s getting HOT down here in the Keys. I drafted up a shopping list and hit the bricks for a walk to the hardware store, and fun, low-stress, no-surprises project for a change!
--------------------------
Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv
Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
--------------------------
If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help
Acorn to Arabella's wishlist:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority
TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way!
To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions!
https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com
FOLLOW US:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella
Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com
Boat Maintenance Woes: Technical Difficulties with the Watermaker & Auto Helm Locations
Acorn To Arabella
We are building a 38’ sailboat from stump to ship, once complete she will take us around the world. We hope to inspire and educate as many people as possible along the way. Join us on our journey and let us show you that with a bit of dedication, good company and some old school smarts even the wildest of dreams can be made to come true! For inquiries about collaborating or integrations, please email acorntoarabella@lighthouseagents.com.
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