07-MAY03
I got the new 1966 motor from the engine repair place. He say it is in good condition. I took the Squirt out of storage in the shed. The bottum of the hull need repairs around the chimes.
This damage is on the bottum of the hull near the rear of boat on the right side(with the boat upside down of course).
This damage is at the rear bottum of the boat on the left side under the transom.
13-May-03 I have applied epoxy to both damage areas sufficently to fill in the voids. I'm doing this rather then reapplying the six coats of paint that was applied to create the thickness of paint at these spot.
OH how I wish I had epoxied the chimes when I built this boat.
19-May-03 Got busy yesterday. Finished the trailor and set up the boat. Little Squirt now has her name one the transom. The gas and electric engines are both set up. The battery is installed, and the oars mounted. I had problems with the solar charger last year. There is a loose connection. I have not had a chance to check it out yet. I have attached a connector for plugging in 12 volt appliances but haven't mounted the plug or tested it. I purchased a 5 liter container for the gas motor. It fits perfectly in the rear compartment. The new engine will not tilt up in the engine mount.
20-MAY-2003 Finished installing the plug in for 12volt appliances. Checked the solar charger. So far it seems to be working fine.
I had purchased one of the little 12 volt kettles you can get. I tried to boil about 500 ml of water with it. After 30 minutes the water was steaming but still was not really boiling. However when I checked the voltage it was at 12.28 which is a little over 50%. That kettle was using twice as much power as the 36lb trolling motor at full blast. I plan on making sure this is true since I have trouble believing it, but first I have to recharge the battery.
21-JUN-03 I may have jumped the gun about the kettle. I tried it again with 400ml of water. I took all voltages under load.
10:15AM - 12.72 volts (Plugged in kettle)
10:25AM - 12.20 volts (Water Warm)
10:35AM - 12.18 volts (Water Hot to Touch. Very small bubbles)
10:45AM - 12.16 volts (Water Very Hot)
10:56AM - 12.14 volts (Stream of bubbles comming from element)
10:59AM Unplugged kettle
From here things get weird. Once I disconnected the kettle the voltage begain to climb. I did not have a charger plugged in. Neither the solar panel or ordinary charger. At 11:00AM the voltage was 12.40 volts. By 12:49PM the voltage had climbed back up to 12.59 volts. Perhaps the kettle dosn't use as much power as I had previously thought.
Here are some pictures of the current state of little squirt.
