VHF/AIS/GPS mounted to mast and wired. Plus a special pop rivet test. Lifeboat Conversion Ep74 [4K]

[@jonathan5354]

The most unique build series on YT. I am not into cold climate areas other than snowboarding trips. Nor am I into boats. But this is interesting in every episode.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I wasn't into boats before either !

[@jonathan5354]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals thanks for the reply. Best of luck to you on all your journeys.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

And I still think you should put camera(s) at the top of that mast looking down, giving you a view of what's near the boat from inside.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Even if you don't think this would be useful while underway (I do), it'd give nice video footage of waves crashing, touching land, people jumping off, etc.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Would be cool!

[@DataRew]

As a longtime subscriber from Kansas, your notation of the high winds there seemed quite in line with my own of having no wind at my home just 2 days ago. I am not saying that you are unfamiliar with high sustained winds, just that I had noted the opposite a couple of days ago in quite the same manner. I really appreciate your dedication to showing all aspects of this project!

[@bambambundy6]

30 mph wind in Kansas is just a breeze. Oh the flatland harkens me home now and again.

[@canadianman000]

Ahh its about time you give Alan a voice. I would suggest a goose neck for the cables.

[@smokinlouie9885]

If you have some extra heat shrink. Cut some and make several pieces slide over the wires and slide them into the hole and then heat it and will fill the hole. Then there is short pieces of vacuum hose.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes that's my solution - I should have showed it.

[@-HighTide]

Makes me happy

[@martinhopkins4012]

I’ve a suggestion for a type of fixing that I don’t think you have heard of that being rivnuts. As the name suggests their rivet nuts they are ideal for use in places that have voids and allow you securely bolt things in place instead of using pop rivets. They would have been ideal for fixing your antennas in place and as they come in different sizes could have been used for the fixings for the mast support post instead of jb welding bolts to that piece of steel and the improper use of a measuring device 😂 I hope this helps

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Ah, you'll enjoy the railings episode. I've gone with riv nuts...

[@kirill42069]

I think that mast needs to be beefier. 1 or 2 bolts isn't redundant enough and the brackets a higher chance of coming loose over time.

[@bambambundy6]

I think sealing all the gromits in the square tube is prudent. Water always wins.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

The square tube has open ends that can drain, and there are no interfaces within it, so nothing for water to get into.

[@gatekeeper84]

Thank you for not adding background music.

[@Koolteer]

You might know by now that I am the somewhat critical, and sometimes sarcastic, follower of Alans adventures. Having said that, I am really looking forward to the comments I can place when Alan takes you on his maiden journey. Good luck.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@rawrnyclv]

If you add a service loop before the gland into the mast it should prevent too much water ingress and allow you some extra length outside the mast in case you need to move thing a bit.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Smart move.

[@georgeeconomou44]

Double nut the fixings of the plexy or carbon fibre tube that destorts when torqing it much❤may god be with you

[@georgeeconomou44]

Glassfibre**

[@-HighTide]

I'm anxious to see Alan put to sea

[@mattbatesteacher]

I cannot fathom that I have watched 70+ episodes of this lifeboat!

[@davecoz4227]

A love of Alan

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Excellent judgement on your part.

[@uncledodge9396]

Is the VHF aerial designed to work without a ground plane? Do you have a SWR metre available to check that the aerial is matched up ok?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Well that's sent me down a google search vortex of despair. Answer - still don't know. I'll switch it on and find out.

[@alan-sk7ky]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals It appear to be base loaded so maybe not Alex, that said, it wouldn't suffer if your metal (an ali strip would be fine just make sure you had a good electrical connection to the outer of the connector) mounting bracket was the whole length of the 'yard arm' to give a little ground plane effect ;-) edit: it's just occurred to me your twig may have been intended for masthead use, in which case yes it would ( aerial speakingly) be expecting to have a whole yacht mast attached to it acting as the ground plane, an asymmetric dipole even.

[@mumblbeebee6546]

Coming along well, despite the weather impediments! You may know this but coax cables should not be deformed e.g. in compression glands, especially if mixed with other cables. Thus best not to turn the thing at all, and just rely on the gooey goodness for keeping out the eleph…. elements!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@RobertWiggers]

If you gonna build an Alan v2 in the future, get yourself a nice 3d printer. You can print all the brackets you want however you want. There are several plastics these days that will survive any kinds of weather.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

A world I've not yet delved into.

[@stephensmith1118]

Oh you need either a periscope or video camera on hat mast...be useful to have vision all around Alan ...

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

One of your fellow commenters has already got me googling 360 degree CCTV cameras.....

[@0xKruzr]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals still think you may find yourself deeply wishing for both sonar and radar given the conditions Alan will likely be operating in, but the CCTV is another good idea I hadn't considered before.

[@The_Duck_Pond]

You may want to contact a HAM radio “Elmer” and measure the antennas performance (SWR) and placement. Also there are other frequencies antenna configurations you may want to be prepared to transmit on (HF/NVIS/directional). These days radio communications can also transmit e-mails/txt messages when other methods fail. I’m sure there aren’t many cell towers where Alan is heading but thankfully you have hair shears.

[@rhinoreselling414]

Hurry up bro. Summer is fast approaching

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Don't I know it!

[@ThePaulv12]

Could you put a couple of stays on that antenna mount to triangulate to the mast a bit? Perhaps a combination of the 'legendary' silicone and the rivet might be doable for the antenna brackets too. Also for that bundle of coax, industrial hose supplies make industrial strength spiral binding for heavy duty abrasion resistance. It it great stuff for holding cables together too. It is very tight and holds cable snugly if you buy the right size. It isn't exactly cheap if you need long lengths but for your short length the price will be pretty cheap I'd say. Also, I bought a couple of junkie horns like this for my car recently. I hardly ever use the horn but had cause to the other day and guess what? The one time I needed to use it, one of the jolly things didn't work properly. An effeminate squeak was all that emanated. Had good earths, a relay, direct wiring to the battery and everything. What was the cause? Not using it enough. I eventually got them working again but I would strongly suggest putting a high quality Hella horn or something that costs quite a lot and test it every day. Then the problem arises if one uses a low quality horn when you really need it, can it hack it? Will it burn out? Will the diaphragm crack? There is just so much rubbish out there. Pay whatever it costs and get a really good perhaps plastic body type. I don't know how plastic might be at minus 56 deg C, but just saying. That horn looks remarkably similar to the type that I fitted to my car.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

The stays could go to the mast I suppose, and not Alan's shell. Will have a think. I have some good cable conduit - will see how it does. The horn was from a good marine supplier and has good reviews - but I'll keep an ear out for problems. I have handheld air horns too.

[@Garryck-1]

*"The manufacturers have designed it specifically so that the smallest maintenance task requires 20 prior steps to be completed to access any given component."* That's how you know you've encountered something designed by an ex-Mazda engineer.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

It is good to know that Alan is horney... Hornish? Blowing his horn.

[@greylocke100]

Will you be adding a radar reflector on the mast as well? I know many of the lifeboats came with one but I thought they needed to be rigged after launch. It would give you some peace of mind that any vessel or aircraft could see you easier on their radar.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Sure will

[@xnademolicious]

The flexibility of that fiberglass member dangling in the breeze on the top of that mast gives me a bit of concern about resonance issues - if you give a twang, what's the frequency?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Frequency unknown - but there will be wire tensioners.

[@outlawflyer7868]

Why didn't you go with a manual crank or electric crank telescoping mast? I would add shrink tube to those wire that are coming out of the top of your mast

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Not sure there'd be any point. More parts to fail, and I can reach to the top of the mast as it is.

[@jameseddison5356]

I watch most of these but I have one question that just nags at me . When yr inside Alan and by your self. Do you get cabin fever . I ask because I have a camper and when inside but not moving it's a stir crazy time for me. Cheers je.

[@ptonpc]

Just a comment for the rhythm of algo. I was wondering if you were going to use something to protect bundle and protect the cables where they come out of the beam and into the mast.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Conduit within the mast. The short lengths outside? Not at present.

[@ricdintino9502]

All these bits, bobs, and gadgets will inevitably be encased in ice from wind-blown spray? Will it bear the additional weight?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I'm trying to minimise outside gubbins - but I do gather that ice removal is a standard daily chore for boats in iced conditions.

[@barrenfluffit2637]

In theory the mast could get some form of internal heating but it's a tough job.

[@PinkLittleElephant]

Will you need an emergency beacon (EPIRB)? And will your lifeboat have a lifeboat?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes and yes!

[@Brandon-sc1fz]

Is there a date goal for first long functional trip?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Late May/early June we start moving.

[@Toochwerks]

Any concerns whatsoever about electrical interferences in the cables all running alongside each other potentially causing interferences with the different systems?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

There's only so many concerns that can occupy the front of one's mind at a given moment.

[@ZoulousProductions]

Be careful with LED and antennas, because LED might make interferences and disturb the radios signals especially the gps.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yep, we'll see what we get once switched on, and I have some ferrite rings. They aren't too proximate.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

A bigger VHF antenna might be nice, but, Eh, at least you're getting it slightly elevated. I am not sure if it'd benefit from a ground plane or not, though - might be something to look into. Finally, the wind generator is good when you're anchored (or, God forbid, adrift), but remember that when you're under motor, you're basically making your engine work harder with more wind resistance from the generator. I fully support you having it, just use it at the right times is all.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

True - although I feel we've minimised wind resistance without doing away with required components.

[@theafro]

There may be a snag to your generator setup. Have you run it for any length of time yet? They're unpleasantly noisy things to spend any time around. I'm not talking about normal diesel engine noise levels, those little petter a-series engines are really "knocky", it's a sharp, high-frequency noise that totally obliterates your hearing if you spend too much time with them. I'm not saying this in the traditional spirit of the usual comments-section naysayers, it's because i own 2 of the little beasties myself! I'm a diesel-mechanic, so I quite enjoy most engine noises, but even I'm not keen on them. There's not much that can be done to quiet them either, without smothering (and subsequently overheating) the poor thing, the noise is made much worse by the relatively thin aluminium engine-block, it doesn't dampen the noise like cast-iron would, it seems to amplify it! if you decide that you still like the thing, I'm happy to help if you need any advice or even a hand, I've re-built a few, and aside from the racket, quite like them!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Oh yes the noise is extraordinary! Luckily the power output and my charger is enough to only need to run it occasionally. Either you spend the time out back or on deck, or with proper ear protection on.

[@theafro]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals that's good, they're quite reliable little engines so make a good backup unit, just not something you'd want to spend hours listening to (I have, and I'll never hear those particular frequencies ever again!) I've got a tip for better cold-weather starting, keep a small bottle of 30:70 petrol:oil mix around (I use a lighter-fluid tin for convenience/robustness). a quick squirt into the priming port ( the knurled plunger thing on the intake manifold) before starting and she'll go even in the coldest conditions. the oil will temporarily help get a good compression seal and the petrol makes combustion easier. it's far kinder to the engine than ether (easy start) and safer to have around too.

[@lewisf1988]

first !

[@-HighTide]

Haha maybe first

[@bonafideadventures8425]

What?? No GoPro mount?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Don't fear!