X Dimension QUESTIONS to Manual of Useful Info
From MITNA
This is a PRELIMINARY set of questions triggered by reading the Media:X Dimension Manual of Useful Information.pdf document prepared by X Factor's prior owner about operation and features of many onboard systems.
The mindset that came about while reading Capt. Collins's document is that (a) much of the info in it can be used by MIT Sailing's Bluewater people to generate the tech and operations docs needed by crews and maintenance workers by (a) stealing parts from the "Useful Info" manual, (b) use his info to enter our detailed studies of systems aboard, and (c) shamefully picking the good Captain's brains until he can't stand it any more.
The items below, which normally imply a question or hint at some insight in the original document reader's mind, are tied to the text of Dave's document.
We note that the style of Dave's "Useful Info" document intermixes what we picture as being very useful in MIT's WIKIfied (a) Checklists, (b) SOPs, (c) System Descriptions, (d) Ships System Status, and (e) How-Tos, and probably others.
When we've slurped up this list's info, and sucked up any clarifications and amplifications Dave may want to give us, THIS wiki page will should cease to exist.
ThomS 25Aug11 00:41 page 2 para 3: 301A: QUESTION: does "turn main switch ... to first battery bank" activate power to the starting circuitry described in page 3 para 1? 301B: OR are selecting "first battery bank" one of the 2 "house" batteries 301C: If we are NOT activating power to starting circuitry at "first battery bank", is the starting battery switch of page 3 para 1 always "hot"? 301D: Is there a switch (we know of the main switch above, and of the "fuel pump" switch of behind the sink per page 3 para 1) that keeps someone from starting the engine without having access to the cabin? page 3 para 1a: "List starboard cockpit hatch..." 301: tweak: "black battery switch that should be at 9 o-clock (OFF)." [added "(OFF)"] 301: tweak: "Turn... to 12 o'clock (ON). [added "(ON)"] 302 QUESTION: To start engine, we turn " 303: document: "The fuel pump should ALWAYS be left on." [DOC: list fuel switch] 304: QUESTION: "... low engine pressure" [DOC: fuel? oil? water? pressure] page 3 para 1b: "From behind the wheel..." 305: [TO DOCUMENT: when writing up step-by-step readying of boat etc name the 2 control handles: "throttle" and hummm... what do we call "transmission"?] page 3 para 1c: 306: "Press rubber covered button" ... "Adjust throttle to 900-1000 to warm up" [TO DOCUMENT: what is the recommended time for the engine to warm up? With Nevermore/Westerbeke it was desireable to equalize temp of engine parts, on both warm up and cool-down before turning engine off. (note that this requirement is completely different from the squeeky alternator belt.)] 307: QUESTION: is there a charging ammeter on the engine? i.e., can we get a feel for amount batteries are discharged etc ANSWER: no; this is asked and answered more in #337. not covered 308: [TO DOCUMENT: how to turn the engine off after making passage (i.e. cool down, how to starve its fuel, and what electric/fuel/?? subsystems to turn OFF (and to listen for the "low engine pressure" buzzer" referenced in para 1a)] page 3 para 1d: 309: tweak: "... high output asked when the battery..." ADD "asked" say "output asked for" page 3 para 1 in general: 310: CONFIRMED: verify there are indeed 3 batteries, 2 "house" and 1 starting? We see that the splitter charges the 2 paralleled house batteries by 1 leg, and simultaneously charges the starting battery on a 2nd leg. 311: QUESTIONs: 1 is the starting battery of different construction than the house batteries)? (such that the 2 house batteries could require a different base charging voltage than the starting battery?) PARTIAL ANSWER: both house batteries are same model; they are both "starting battery" construction rather than normal deep-discharge construction. page 4 para 2: BACKGROUND: Starting in 2nd sentence, "After sailing,..." we're putting the main away, mostly discussing the lazy jacks. 322: TO DOCUMENT: But we should remember to discuss the lazy jacks in our SOP for GETTING READY to sail. 323: TO DOCUMENT: Hummm... Nevermore SOP for getting ready to sail never talked about getting the sails ready, did it? And X-Dimension has more sail configuration options, as hinted at in the FIRST sentence of para 2: "Double handed sailing" or weather differences wherein we probably have a plethora of sail configuration possibilities... page 5 para 1: 325: QUESTION: is "bubble in the main" the kind of luffing which on racers is usually seen, and called "backwinding" (I think) caused by flow off the jib. It usually makes a narrow inversion right aft of the luff. page 5 para 2: 327: QUESTION-1: "Upwind... piston ... 2 inches below the white gauge..." is clear, but what is the distance for off-the-wind and/or running or whatever points-of-sail? 328: QUESTION-2: Is there a single backstay tensioner setting which lets us sail recreationally which (a) won't hurt the boat or do evil to the sails, and (b) won't make the sails visually embarrassing among the other boats who will of course be adoring our boat? 329: QUESTION-3: Are the "...careful not to adjust halyards under load" and "... power of winches can cause turning block stress" sentences related directly to the backstay tensioning, or does "under load" here refer to hardened sails no matter what the backstay tension is? page 5 para 3: 331: TO DOCUMENT: Write the reverse steps explicitely for stowing the stove when thru using it, including turning off the two switches defined in para 3. page 6 para 4: 332: QUESTION: Is the water level gauge located near the fuel tank gauge the gauge that SHOULD be used whereas "There is no gauge on the water tank"? page 6 para 4: 333: DOCUMENT: The other gauge near the fuel gauge is the water tank level, and we read (page 6 para 4) that "no gauge on the water tank". 334: QUESTION: Is there an inspection port for the fresh water tank? page 6 para 5: 336: QUESTION/DOCUMENT: Do the "buzzer and red light" sound and illuminate (from low oil pressure) when we kill the engine? So that we can instruct our crews that these alarms should be listened-for and looked-at as part of checklist? NOTE: this question is related to the actions of starting engine in question #304 page 3 para 1a, 337: QUESTION: Is there a battery charging ammeter? (Or is it one of the other (non-working) gauges on the cockpit engine gauges?) It would be easier to document how to estimate the state of battery discharge using the ammeter "decay" time than using the alternator belt squeaking. ANSWER: No. There is an ammeter, but it always reads about 60 amps charging, and it isn't connected correctly (2 wires on 1 terminal, 0 on other.)
(End of "Useful Info" comments/questions
