A boat a motor and a trailer

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by Dave T, Nov 9, 2011.

  1. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    All that crappy ethanol they add to ruin our gasoline has to come from somewhere, hasn't it? Iowa is known for its corn, so the soil must be right for it.

    I feel sorry for the drought plagued Southwest. I wish they could have a fraction of the rain we got here in Florida today.
     
  2. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    They have to have desert somewhere. I'm just glad it's not here. We're pretty used to water here, including being inundated with several inches per hour occasionally.
     
  3. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    I have heard this place defined as a desert that gets 50 inches of rainfall per year, simply because the sandy soil soaks it all up and leaves the ground dry within a day. Prickly pear is very common in the pastureland between the swamps and hammocks. New Mexico usually gets 12 inches of rain per year, but last year they only got 4 inches of rain, and in 2011 they only got 8.
     
  4. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    12" per year isn't much rain Hoyt. Florida isn't the wettest place on earth, but in the summer, any place in Florida can expect a 50-50 shot of seeing some rain on any given day. On average we get about 60" annually. We got 3% of this figure today alone. We might pick up another 1% or 2% tomorrow and the local lakes will fill, the big lunkers will come out of their holes and fishing will be good next week.
     
  5. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    My swimming pool overflowed yesterday, so we got over 5 inches of rain, not meaning to hijack the thread.
     
  6. Dave T
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    Location: Anamosa Iowa and North Buena Vista on the Mississi

    Dave T Senior Member

    Too much rain

    How is this weather effecting your boat building or boating activities. Have you had any damage from the Tornadoes down there in Florida? We've been real lucky here other than the flooding keeping most of the boats on their trailers. The gas stop is really hurting with out much business. I tried to hook up a power inverter on the boat last night to run my stereo. It had a cigarette lighter plug on it so I cut it off to wire it to the battery. I checked it with an ohm meter and assumed the pin on the end would be positive and the side spring clips would be negative when I hooked it to the battery it made one big spark. I took it apart and there was a blown non replaceable fuse so I soldered a wire across it put it back together and hooked it to the battery. It worked for about 10 seconds and then started smoking real bad. I cut off the cord and threw it in the wood stove it was still making evil smelling smoke. At least I learned something. The side clips on a cigarette lighter plug are positive and the end pin is negative. Education costs money I guess.

    Dave T :eek:
     
  7. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    The weather has slowed me a little but not too bad with 2 days lost to rainy weather. A bunch of tornadoes did some damage but not as bad as in the Oklahoma region. I feel bad for those who are suffering there. Sorry you had trouble with the wiring.
     
  8. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    My land is heavily tree covered, so wind usually isn't a problem, except for clearing Spanish moss and dead limbs. I'm well above sea level so flooding isn't a problem and my land is at the top of a small rise, so everything sheds away.
     
  9. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    so what the hell has all this got to do with A boat a motor and a trailer:confused:
     
  10. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    As you would understand, threads do "meander" about a bit and the OP participated in this wandering, so get over it.
     
  11. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Things get dicey when your boat, motor and trailer are caught up in the branches of a tree.
     
  12. Dave T
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    Dave T Senior Member

    12 V DC to 120V AC inverters

    The stereo system I got for the boat requires 9V AC and is powered from a transformer that steps down the 120V AC power to the 9V AC required. I tried to find an inverter that would directly convert the 12V DC from the battery to 9V AC but from everything I've looked at there doesn't appear to be such a thing available. I can use a 12V DC to 120V AC inverter and then use the step down transformer to power the stereo. I checked the cigarette lighter plug this time by plugging it into the receptical in my Tahoe with a volt meter and as I had originally assumed the center pin of the plug is the positive. So I'm not sure why it blew the fuse when I connected it to the battery but I can see why it burned up when I eliminated the fuse and reversed the polarity. I'll pick up a new inverter from Harbor Freight there cheap a 400 watt is about 15 bucks. I guess they are about 80% efficient. So according to OHM's law if you pull 1 amp at 120V from the inverter it would pull about 12 amps from the battery but with the transformer reducing the voltage to 9V it should only pull about 2 amps. The transformer for the stereo is rated 1000 MA which is 1 Amp maximum output at 9V AC so the stereo must draw much less than that. I'm sure there must be other people using 12V DC to 120V AC inverters on boats so if you've had experience with these let me Know.

    Dave T :)
     
  13. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    If you have a 9 volt radio, it's likely not AC, but in fact DC. Look at the output section on the label, which is on the power pack that plugs into the wall. I'll bet it says 9 VDC, not 9 VAC, as the output.

    The label may use the DC symbol, which is a solid line over a dashed line

    [​IMG]

    which is a clear indication of the output.

    This is the AC voltage symbol

    [​IMG]

    which I'll also bet isn't shown.

    In fact, the little black box, that plugs into the wall and has the cord with special 12 volt end on it, is called an AC/DC converter. Just use a dropping resistor and call it a day, with a direct feed from your 12 VDC fuse box.
     
  14. Dave T
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    Dave T Senior Member

    Thanks for the response Par. It definitely is 9V AC it clearly says on the transformer output 9V AC max 1000MA. It's just a transformer that reduces the 120V AC line current to 9V AC not a converter. I'm not sure what would happen if I hooked it up to 9V DC I'm guessing it wouldn't work or it might damage it. Since the stereo system was a Christmas present from my wife I have to do everything I can to make it work. Otherwise I would just put in a 12V system so I will have to try the 12V DC to 120V AC inverter and the transformer. I'll let you know how it works. It looks like it's going to be a couple more weeks till I can get the boat in the river. The river level at Guttenberg is at 12.6 ft. and has to get down to about 11ft. before we can use the boat ramp and there predicting heavy rain through this weekend.

    Dave T :)
     

  15. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Put a multi meter on it. Can you post a picture of the transformer label and the 12 volt plug?
     
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