Motive power

 Tis New Years Eve, and in Cape Coral they celebrate with fireworks. The motor is working and solar is connected. What better than to take the boat out and watch from the bay!

We got underway about 11am as the tide was rising. We had been sitting on the mud. Kristen backed down the canal finger into the main canal, where she had enough room to turn around. Motoring into a headwind and against a very slight current, we were able to make 3 knots at 1000 watts. Not bad! 



As we approached the open bay the headwind increased to 15-18 knots and our progress slowed. We gave her more power, but that also generated more heat, and the motor controller started to limit the draw. 

Not good! The channel is narrow, there are other boats around, and the wind is blowing towards shore. So we tried hoisting sails, but we really needed to go directly upwind. But we were soon overwhelmed. 

So we turned tail and returned to the canal system. Not far away is an open body of water called Bimini Basin, where we can anchor. With a tailwind motoring was easy. 

Once settled on the hook, we could relax and asses. Heat is what stopped us. So we'll install a heatsink and fans on the SevCon and the motor. But in the meantime we'll chill out and enjoy the festivities. 


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