During the extended COVID quarantine this year, we took the opportunity to do a number of upgrades to Airship. We discussed a lot of them in this article, but we have gotten enough questions on the power system in particular that it merits its own discussion. This article will be closed-captioned for nerds, with a few extra-detail sections for those who want to dive into the kilowatts, amps, and volts. … Read more
Kevin and I finally got to get aboard Airship again last week! Before we talk about our quick cruise, let’s do a little catch-up: With the Alaska and Vancouver Island flotillas cancelled this season, Airship has been having another major round of maintenance and upgrades. You can see the initial round of upgrades from 2018 (when we bought the boat) HERE. This year’s upgrades started back in October at the … Read more
January 25 – February 2, 2019 It’s that time of year again! The Slowboat team will be presenting six different free seminars at the 2019 Seattle Boat Show. We are excited to share our knowledge with the boat show crowd to help people have a richer, safer, more satisfying cruising experience. Hope to see you in Seattle! WiFi in the Wilderness – Connected Cruising Kevin Morris, Sam Landsman, Laura Domela Saturday, January 26, … Read more
Two years ago, we replaced Airship’s house batteries with new lithium iron phosphate batteries. And, for those who just want the punchlines, we have two: 1) The performance of our lithium batteries has been fantastic through two full seasons of cruising and over 400 nights living aboard (with a high percentage of those disconnected from shore power). 2) No, we are not worried about our lithium batteries exploding or catching … Read more
For the last several years, Kevin and Laura have had solar panels installed on Airship. As we cruised together, we compared notes about electrical systems. Despite their enthusiasm for solar, I remained a solar skeptic (maybe even a solar curmudgeon!). I figured I already had a fancy alternator and reasonably sized battery bank. I only used the generator occasionally, typically when I needed hot water and hadn’t run the engine … Read more
January 26 – February 3, 2018 The Slowboat team will be presenting ten different free seminars at the 2018 Seattle Boat Show. We are excited to once again share our experience and expertise with the boat show crowd to help you have a richer, safer, more satisfying cruising experience. In addition to leading flotillas up the Inside Passage to Alaska every summer, each member of our crew brings more specific … Read more
With the generator cooling system disassembled to troubleshoot an electrical problem, now was as good a time as any to tackle some basic cooling system maintenance. Northern Lights recommends the cooling system be serviced every two years, regardless of hours. Mine was last serviced three years ago, and it was giving a few indications that it was time to do it again. At high loads, the temperature crept up a … Read more
I’ve been tied to the dock—the same dock!—for three weeks now, the longest I’ve sat still for more than a year. I’m working through a long list of maintenance tasks, and as most boaters know, seemingly simple tasks have a way of quickly escalating into something much more involved. A good example: my recent generator problems. My first task was figuring out why the generator wouldn’t run. The symptoms were … Read more