January 29, 2001 -- Problem Fixing Day

Today we focused on fixing the problems we discovered underway yesterday. I focused on installing the shunts for monitoring the alternators and the new battery bank joiner, while Michael focused on the problems with our starboard winch, our port tack and why our port alternator wasn't charging. While I steadily plugged away with wires and connections, Mike practically tore through his list. As it turns out, the starboard winch fuse had worked loose, so it only required tightening. Next he crawled into the engine room and inspected our alternator. A wire had been knocked loose while the fuel tanks were being cleaned and he reconnected it. After I finished hooking up the alternator monitors, we test fired the engines. Both alternators were charging and both tacks were working! We celebrated by relaxing the rest of the day.