Friday, December 21, 2012

MOG Navy attire

Visit www.mogcanalboat.com for more details about the MOG Canal Boat.
 
MOG Navy apparel. Join the Navy!!!
The preparations for the MOG's Great Loop adventure is our main focus, 
but we also have a signature MOG Navy apparel Collection that is second-to-none.
Take a look at our first-rate MOG Navy hats, shirts, and accessories. 
Please "Join the Navy" by visiting http://mognavystore.qbstores.com 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

LARGEST RC SOLAR ELECTRIC BOAT

We are refining our image/brand. No more moving slowly until we are ready for "Prime Time". We are there! See the video of the MOG being put through it's paces on the ajoining post..
LARGEST RC SOLAR ELECTRIC BOAT !!!! An RC (remote control) steered and throttled, 40 foot, solar electric, twin electric motor yacht that can sleep two or four people. A 60 hp outboard auxiliary is used only for emergency. The twin electric motors can be inboards or outboards (as in this video). A standard remote control box is used onboard and may be used off the boat, nearly 1/4 mile away. The captain is not so brave yet. A new video of remote control of the boat, being steered and throttled while off the boat is being made, as courage and liability insurance permits. Join us on the web at....... http://www.mognavy.blogspot.com http://www.mogcanalboat.com (whatever else you like... proud sponsor? co-conspirator?, laughing bystander?)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

MOGBLOG- Up to the minute

Visit www.mogcanalboat.com for more details about the MOG Canal Boat.

 November was sort of a watershed (pun intended) event for the MOG solar electric yacht. Hillary and I finally got it out of the slip and into mid river again. Originally we had scheduled about a four day run down the Cape Fear river into the intracoastal waterway and to a gunk hole (really inaccurate description) that had a narrow 250 foot strip of white sugar sand between the clear watered estuary and the blue Atlantic ocean. If you have been to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, you have an idea what gorgeous is.

The boat was prepped with food and fuel, batteries and water topped and some wine to boot. The auxiliary 60 hp engine would not start. Huh?! It was a 5 year old engine with only two hours on the meter!! And THAT was the problem. The govenment mandated 10% alcohol fuel had left its mark on the injectors and the fuel pump. Not to mention the (non adjustable) timing/cam belt had expanded over five years to the point where there was too much slack for accurate valve/electronics management. parts and labor was over nearly $1,400.00. So if you use it you pay and if you do not use it, you still pay. This is not the fault of the engine manufacturer. It is the fault of the adjustable nut at the helm. So chastened, I reset the schedule, summoned what was left of my maritime dignity and relaunched the plan.

As life dictates that all things be different than imagined, the leisurely sojourn was compressed into 1 day trip with about 22 miles of river travel. A down and back with a microwaved (precooked and prepackaged 90 second meals) lunch that did not make us sick but did prove that there is no restaruant in a box, from a supermarket. A few of the 90 second prepackaged foods are actually fine for a meal or two on the go. They store easily, need no refrigeration and consume only a trace amount of electricity to microwave them. Not a constant diet though. The meal was actually part of the plan, to see what meals are acceptable.......2 down and ? to go.

The two electric motors (as outboards currently) were used to navigate the marina slip and fairway out and back. The electric motores are accurate to a fault and have so quick a response as to be discomforting at first use. The river a has a very unforgiving rate of flow and the winds are usually nose on or stern on, which can catch a boat and turn her with the tide flow in an instant. Both electrics can be steered by tiller AND differentially throttled with immediate forward and reverse. No waiting for the transmission to synchronize (or refuse to engage) with the rest of the drive line. I will have to create an optional auditory enunciator (engine sound). The electric motors are so quiet that you cannot tell if they are at work, under load or just off. Since this is the golden age of electronics, the idea of having a 12 cylinder Ferrari, P-51 Mustang Rolls Royce Merlin or Norton Manx engine's song emanate from a nonexistent engine room is just irresistable.

Once each of us had some "electric steering" time, we switched to the 60 hp internal combustion engine to try the newly repaired engine and its response to the helm's tiller. The Ezy-Glide system worked just fine after I found an area of the cable that was being crimped near the auxiliay enfgine. However, the tiller had been set up to steer horizontaly rather than the intended use, vertically on the side of a boat's cockpit. In doing so the port to starboard traverse was counterintuitive. After the short trip, the gear head has been reversed so that the pilot now feels sure that the steering is correct.

All things considered the month of November, 2012 caught a bunch of niggling items that, if not for the trip, would have wreaked almighty havoc somewhere in the future Great Loop, at the most inopportune time and hostile environment. I am glad that the aforementioned and other problems were identified.

The weather and winter here in Wilmington, North Carolina is usually mild and can afford some great day and overnight trips. More trips will be made and countless ideas will be tested before our relaunce of the Great Loop in March of 2013. I will try to keep you posted as we progress to the day.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Medical Fitness Report

Visit www.mogcanalboat.com for more details about the MOG Canal Boat.

Followers of the MOG,

Thank you for the emails and kind thoughts during my physical therapy. I had x-rays made for numbness in my right leg which led to a diagnosis that required 8 weeks of spinal decompression therapy. The therapy was gentle and relaxing. The therapy also worked very well and I can now balance on my right leg as well as I had a year ago. There had been a slow decrease of balance until it became unavoidably obvious.

I now have methods and exercises to keep my regained ability.   It is now too late to make it to Duluth MN before September of 2012 from Wilmington, NC. Duluth was a timing point for continuing the Great Loop or having to put the boat under cover for the winter (not preferable). We are now going to use this period of time to make shorter local excursions and further sea trials to test the boat. I will endeavor to keep things up to date as progress is made toward a rescheduled departure for the Great Loop in March of 2013.

One problem that I am glad I found during this 'down time' was that the clean water tanks and water pump had to be completely sanitized, not a simple operation. The process was made even more difficult with temperatures in the high 90's and low 100 degree mark. The AC was running on board the boat by solar electricity. However, because of the doors being open for hoses and equipment....... it was hot and humid work. After two weeks of steam cleaning, bromine, chlorine and fresh water flushes galore, the tanks passed stringent municipal water tests. The water tests were my personal option after each and every treatment and flush out. Water was placed in the tanks for at least three days before a draw down was made for testing at a certified laboratory.
A total of five tests at $60 each was made until a total zero was obtained. The tanks were visually inspected each time and are to say the least 'immaculate'. They are 22 years old and test out as new.

Among other things the head (Sunmar composting commode) was brought on line (after the water tanks were finished and covered). The preparation of the commode is not offensive but has a unique method to be activated properly. Follow the excellent instructions and it works very well indeed. A full survey for the Solar Yacht was commissioned for a new insurance certificate and was passed 'in very good condition' for the marine insurance underwrite. Additional LED lights have been installed for the upgrade and tests of 24 volt DC outboard motors and the steering gear were completed.

A new inflatable 9 foot dingy of just 35 pounds has now replaced the most serviceable PortaBote. The 10'  PortaBote was great but was 30 pounds more than the dink and is now for sale. If you are under 67 years of age, you should have no trouble handling it. I will probably put it on eBay for $800......  a steal that someone can really use.

Once again thanks to all the well wishers and those that attended the 'Open Boat Party' May 19th.  George McNeir

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Spring has arrived and the epic MOG voyage is only weeks away. Tweaking and provisioning are underway. With a prototype solar powered 40 ft motor yacht and a voyage of thousands of miles ahead, getting the details just right are essential.
Stay tuned for an anticipated April launch. As the MOG gets underway, there will be updates and adventures that will interest both the hard core blue-water sailor and the novice that is fascinated by the unique system of solar propulsion on such a vessel.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MOG- Afloat and looking very ship-shape. Please review the video of the MOG on a shakedown cruise on the Cape Fear River. Please note the maneuverability with the twin solar powered electric motors controlled via joy stick (more on this later).
Join us at http://youtu.be/raDYlWV1eBc for a first look.

Monday, January 23, 2012

MOG- Moving deliberately- Truer words were never spoken

Visit www.mogcanalboat.com for more details about the MOG Canal Boat.

 The maiden voyage of The MOG has been re-scheduled. The here-to-fore unimagined nooks and crannies all have to be looked into and tweaked before any prototype leaves the shore (as it were). A solar powered prototype marine vessel provides lots of unanticipated adventures all of which have to be addressed.
Now to the character-building component- "Rushing" is the opposite of what the MOG lifestyle is about. "Deliberate" and "thorough" define the MOG vessel and lifestyle. When the MOG is ready to sail, it will be aptly named.
There is no victory sweeter than one that is hard-earned. It is going to be one sweet victory when MOG is off and away.
Meanwhile we continue to develop the MOG Navy brand. The MOG LOG will be unique and consistent with the MOG lifestyle.
Stay tuned.