Operating on a 12Volt system means that you need to minimise power wherever possible. It is something that we should all do anyway, even if not on a boat.
Providing adequate lighting within the boat to perform normal daily functions is a necessity. Using a less than ideal lighting solution is ok for short term, however longer term requires proper solution.
Different areas within the boat have different lighting requirements, and hence the solution in one area may differ from another. As an example the type of lighting used in the galley would be bright and general "flood" style of lighting, while in the sleeping cabin areas, directional reading lights might be needed.
The lights used in the past have been based on incandescent lamps, and typically around 10-20W in power consumption, and just flooded the light everywhere. Today we have more power efficient lamps based around LED technology. The smaller physical size of the LED lamps has also resulted in smaller lights. The reduced size means that lamps can now be located in places, that previously, weren’t feasible.
The main advantage to 12Volt dwellers is the reduced power consumed by the LED lamps to deliver similar of better light coverage. Moor or Less came fitted with house hold halogen lamps to light the interior areas. These are not very suitable for boats for two reasons. Firstly they consume too much power, and they are inefficient at using the power they consume. Halogen lamps operate at very high temperatures, that temperature is created by using power, it is a bi-product of creating the light, and there is a power consumption penalty for its generation. The second reason that they are not suitable for boats is the narrow beam. They are designed to be mounted in a ceiling several metres above the area to be lit. On a boat, that ceiling height isn't available. If the lights are mounted in the cabin liner, then they have a small area of light below, if mounted on the walls, like they were in Moor or Less, they were blinding if you glanced at or even near the lamp.
You may have guessed that I am not a fan of the halogen lamp on boats.
Efficiency is what it is all about, so selecting the correct LED based lamp for the boat comes down to the area it is to be used, and any features needed (eg: being able to turn or direct the beam).
Main Saloon
In the main saloon of Moor or Less, I didn't wish to change too much of the wood paneling, so decided to simply change the halogen lamps with softer flooding 3W LED lamps. The layout of the lamps in the main saloon had a Halogen lamp mounted at 45 degrees in three of the corners. With the Halogen lamps, the area would be lit with just one lamp on, however it created many shadow areas. The LED solution means that having 2 or 3 lamps on, the room has a bright feeling, and all the shadowed areas aren't present. Having all 3 LED lamps on, still draws less than half the power of a single halogen lamp.
V-Berth
The forward area of the saloon is the V-berth area, where there previously was no lighting installed. For most part, the lighting from the saloon would illuminate the V-berth, however, when the privacy curtain is closed, additional lighting is needed. The area is not large, and as it will be primarily for sleeping, reading lights would be needed for those evenings while relaxing in bed with a good book. Small directional 1W LED lamps are used. The lamps are mounted on the forward facing side of the bulkheads on either side of the boat. These can then be directed to allow reading a book while lying down, or with both lamps on, light the entire V-berth area.
Galley
Above the galley area, facing aft, there was previously a halogen lamp which was replaced with a 3W soft glow LED lamp. The lamp is mounted at an angle, and is in such a position to enable seeing what is being cooked, and light the passageway to the aft cabin.
Passageway
While the passageway itself was well lit from the galley when it was on, it didn't provide adequate lighting to see into the two large ice boxes which were in the passageway. To help locate items in the ice boxes easily, I have installed two small 1W LED lamps directly above each of the icebox openings. These not only lit the internals of the icebox, but also were an alternate lighting source for the passageway.
Aft Cabin
The aft cabin needed two different types of lighting, one for lighting the cabin itself, while other lighting was required for reading. Above the double berth, on the aft facing bulkhead, small 1W LED lamps are installed. They are similar to those used in the V-berth. These lamps can be directed to the best position for reading, and provide ample light. On the aft bulkhead, a 3W LED flooding lamp is mounted.
Head
In the head, there was again no lighting installed. As the head area is mostly white fiberglass, which reflects light well, a small 3W LED lamp was mounted on the wall near the wash basin.
Engine Compartment
Engine compartment is often overlooked when lighting is installed, however having in the past tried to work on a problem with the engine, while at the same time juggle a torch, I determined that engine areas must be lit with good lighting systems. To do this, I installed two 3W LED flooding style lamps, one on either side. They light up the compartment brilliantly, and are even an advantage when working on the engine during the day.
Night Vision
Having sailed many nighttime passages, the appreciation of red lighting in the cabin cannot be explained. It is amazing how effective just one the red light down below is when doing a night passage, it seems like daytime after coming down off watch. The challenge is to locate the light so that you don’t accidently look into too often, otherwise it will impair your night vision. I enjoy night sailing, and intend to do many night passages when cruising, so effective red lighting was needed.
To minimise the chance of looking straight at the light, using the reflective qualities of the interior funiture seemed like a good trick. Bouncing the light off the white fiberglass inside the saloon, provides enough light to se easily at night without destroying your night vision. A single 1W red LED lamp was installed on the side of the settee, just under the saloon table. The light reflected off the other side of the settee, and lit the saloon with that eerie red glow.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Bed Coverings
As bunks in boats never seem to be a "normal shape" the sheets and covers for the bunks typically need to be tailor made to suite.
This is especially true for a V-berth, as there is nowhere for the massive amount of excess sheet, blanket, or comforter to sit. Having it all piled up on your feet is uncomfortable. Solution: custom make the sheets and comforter.
As the V-berth was going to be my daughter's bunk, she had a vested interest in making sure that it was comfortable. Sarah was also keen to use her sewing skills with a sewing machine, so we set about making the custom comforter for the forward V-berth.
Sarah had already picked out the colour scheme for the interior of the boat. It was to be bright and happy. Her colour picks were for the settee cushions to be a mid blue, while scatter cushions, and bedding to be a bright gold colour.
Using a paper pattern of the V-berth, it was possible to mark out, and cut down to shape what would be the middle of the comforter. We started with a medium weight synthetic comforter for a double bed from IKEA, and decided to make the comforter 250mm wider on each side than the mattress. The V-berth on Moor or Less is actually not a normal V shape, at the head end, it has two parallel sides before beginning to tapper. The shape of the comforter will also have to follow this shape.
The cut or raw edges of the comforter were then sewn and a hem put on it. It was now time to make the cover using the gold material which Sarah had picked out.
The material wasn't wide enough to cover the cut down comforter. Pieces of material had to be added to both sides to obtain the width.
Once the cover had been sewn together and the comforter placed inside, job successfully completed. Sarah was then eager to try out the comforter, but that will have to wait. Need to make the fitted, and flat sheets for the V-berth next.
Since we now have the shape of the aft cabin bunk, the comforter and sheets for that bunk can be made.
This is especially true for a V-berth, as there is nowhere for the massive amount of excess sheet, blanket, or comforter to sit. Having it all piled up on your feet is uncomfortable. Solution: custom make the sheets and comforter.
As the V-berth was going to be my daughter's bunk, she had a vested interest in making sure that it was comfortable. Sarah was also keen to use her sewing skills with a sewing machine, so we set about making the custom comforter for the forward V-berth.
Sarah had already picked out the colour scheme for the interior of the boat. It was to be bright and happy. Her colour picks were for the settee cushions to be a mid blue, while scatter cushions, and bedding to be a bright gold colour.
Using a paper pattern of the V-berth, it was possible to mark out, and cut down to shape what would be the middle of the comforter. We started with a medium weight synthetic comforter for a double bed from IKEA, and decided to make the comforter 250mm wider on each side than the mattress. The V-berth on Moor or Less is actually not a normal V shape, at the head end, it has two parallel sides before beginning to tapper. The shape of the comforter will also have to follow this shape.
The cut or raw edges of the comforter were then sewn and a hem put on it. It was now time to make the cover using the gold material which Sarah had picked out.
The material wasn't wide enough to cover the cut down comforter. Pieces of material had to be added to both sides to obtain the width.
Once the cover had been sewn together and the comforter placed inside, job successfully completed. Sarah was then eager to try out the comforter, but that will have to wait. Need to make the fitted, and flat sheets for the V-berth next.
 |
| The finished V-berth comforter |
Changing the Aft Cabin Layout
The aft cabin of Moor or Less is not large and could best be described as "cossie". The original setup for the aft cabin had a rather unusual layout. Basically there was a "U" shaped bunk which allowed you to have two single bunks, one on either side, or a very narrow double bunk across the aft of the cabin.
Neither of these two bunk configurations appealed to me, so an alternate configuration was sort.
I decided that a double bunk running fore/aft was more suitable, however in order to have room to sit up in bead, the head of the bed would have to be forward, and the foot aft. This is less than desirable setup when sailing (head must always be aft), but upon thinking about it, the aft cabin would not be used during over night passage making anyway. The port saloon berth was the most suitable sea berth.
To make the double berth, much of the fiddle which had been put in place would need to be removed (and re-used later), and a platform built over what was previously standing area below the aft cabin hatch. Under the platform would be turned into the new storage area.
First step was to determine the actual bunk size. The bunk was not going to be a rectangle shape due to the curvature of the hull. The foot of one side would need to be cut away following the side of the hull. The head of the bunk is the standard width for a double bed, 1400mm, but was slightly shorter than a normal double bed at only 1770mm (normally 1830mm)
Making the Mattress
As the berth would hopefully be used for many nights, I wanted a firm mattress. It was off to Clarke Rubber who had a double mattress of medium density foam, which I tested on the shop floor, it felt perfect. Though the medium density foam is more expensive than the regular low density, the extra comfort will be worth the dollars.
Once back home, the job of cutting the mattress to size began. Having learnt the trick of cutting foam many years ago, this wasn't too much of a challenge. First step as the place the paper pattern on top of the foam, and tracing out the shape with a marking pen.
Next part is the "trick" cut along the pen line using an electric carving knife. The electric knife cuts the foam effortlessly, and gives a smooth straight finish.
The mattress came with a lightweight material cover, and while it is not high quality material, it will suffice as the initial cover. Using the paper pattern again, the shape was traced out, and material cut. A quick run along the cut edge with the sewing machine completed the cover.
Moving the Battery Switch
The platform which forms the top of the new storage enclosure needed to be built, however first, the original battery switch and power distribution point had to be moved. Part of the new compartment would be allocated for this purpose, with the new Battery switch mounted on the side of the compartment.
Moving the electrical panel to the side of the new storage switch involved the removing of the old setup, building the new storage compartment, then rebuilding the electrical panel. The original battery switch, while certainly capable of carrying large amount of current, required a spanner to operate, and couldn’t be done quickly. A more conventional setup was preferred using a rotary switch for two battery banks. As the new location of the electrical switch and junction was adjacent to the existing, the cabling just needed to be redirected slightly after removing the old electrical box.
Making the Bunk Base
The bulk of the bunk base is formed with the original "U" shaped structure.
The exiting timber fiddles required removal, and they were not going to come off easy. The fiddles had been glued and screwed into place, with the screws then covered over with bungs.
To remove with minimum effort and time, an electric coping saw was used. The piece of the fiddle which protruded above the height of the bunk base, I planned to re-use, so wanted them removed undamaged.
In order to support the top of the new storage compartment, some timber frames were fixed onto the exiting bunk base with screws and Epoxy, 12mm below the height of the bunk based so that the plywood lid would be flush.
Neither of these two bunk configurations appealed to me, so an alternate configuration was sort.
I decided that a double bunk running fore/aft was more suitable, however in order to have room to sit up in bead, the head of the bed would have to be forward, and the foot aft. This is less than desirable setup when sailing (head must always be aft), but upon thinking about it, the aft cabin would not be used during over night passage making anyway. The port saloon berth was the most suitable sea berth.
To make the double berth, much of the fiddle which had been put in place would need to be removed (and re-used later), and a platform built over what was previously standing area below the aft cabin hatch. Under the platform would be turned into the new storage area.
First step was to determine the actual bunk size. The bunk was not going to be a rectangle shape due to the curvature of the hull. The foot of one side would need to be cut away following the side of the hull. The head of the bunk is the standard width for a double bed, 1400mm, but was slightly shorter than a normal double bed at only 1770mm (normally 1830mm)
Making the Mattress
As the berth would hopefully be used for many nights, I wanted a firm mattress. It was off to Clarke Rubber who had a double mattress of medium density foam, which I tested on the shop floor, it felt perfect. Though the medium density foam is more expensive than the regular low density, the extra comfort will be worth the dollars.
Once back home, the job of cutting the mattress to size began. Having learnt the trick of cutting foam many years ago, this wasn't too much of a challenge. First step as the place the paper pattern on top of the foam, and tracing out the shape with a marking pen.
 |
| Marked out ready for cutting |
Next part is the "trick" cut along the pen line using an electric carving knife. The electric knife cuts the foam effortlessly, and gives a smooth straight finish.
The mattress came with a lightweight material cover, and while it is not high quality material, it will suffice as the initial cover. Using the paper pattern again, the shape was traced out, and material cut. A quick run along the cut edge with the sewing machine completed the cover.
Moving the Battery Switch
The platform which forms the top of the new storage enclosure needed to be built, however first, the original battery switch and power distribution point had to be moved. Part of the new compartment would be allocated for this purpose, with the new Battery switch mounted on the side of the compartment.
Moving the electrical panel to the side of the new storage switch involved the removing of the old setup, building the new storage compartment, then rebuilding the electrical panel. The original battery switch, while certainly capable of carrying large amount of current, required a spanner to operate, and couldn’t be done quickly. A more conventional setup was preferred using a rotary switch for two battery banks. As the new location of the electrical switch and junction was adjacent to the existing, the cabling just needed to be redirected slightly after removing the old electrical box.
Making the Bunk Base
The bulk of the bunk base is formed with the original "U" shaped structure.
The exiting timber fiddles required removal, and they were not going to come off easy. The fiddles had been glued and screwed into place, with the screws then covered over with bungs.
To remove with minimum effort and time, an electric coping saw was used. The piece of the fiddle which protruded above the height of the bunk base, I planned to re-use, so wanted them removed undamaged.
In order to support the top of the new storage compartment, some timber frames were fixed onto the exiting bunk base with screws and Epoxy, 12mm below the height of the bunk based so that the plywood lid would be flush.
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