With the boat back in the water the most pressing issue was to get the propeller pitch right. Farron Peffer at Beta Marine was adamant that we should strive to get the max RPM at wide open throttle (WOT) within 50 RPMs of the designed 3,600 RPM. He explained that even though we might never operate at max RPM having the pitch and diameter of the propeller correct would insure the engine was operating in its sweet spot at any RPM and would not be working in an overloaded capacity which could shorten it’s life. The other thing Farron mentioned was you want to make sure you can achieve the full 25 HP if necessary and you can’t do that if you can’t attain max specified RPM when under load. Last, he said it is better to be slightly over max designed RPM than under.

Building and Installing the 12v panel and Supporting Systems.

With the engine beds installed it was time to start work on the new larger electrical panel to replace the small one I used for the last five years. I decided to reuse the 8 breaker Blue Seas 12v panel. I only used four of the breakers before: 12v accessory plugs, LED lights (which I added for the second voyage to the West Indies), AIS, and compass light. I also decided to move the panel from its previously hidden location near the inboard side of the quarter berth to under the bridge-deck, where it would be more accessible, and combine it with the Beta Marine engine instrument cluster, battery monitor, and battery switch. The new panel will be hidden by sliding doors.