Winter work

Visited Ada to fit the new alternator ... 75amp replacing 55 amp. Went in almost without a hitch! One of the old terminations was a spade connection. I had made up a short link to convert it to a ring but fitted to the wrong terminal at home so when the engine was started the charging light did not go out and the rev counter was not working. A quick check established the error and once corrected all working well.
Whilst doing this upgrade discovered why the Sterling alternator regulator I fitted never worked. The instruction for this include fitting a wire to B- or the alternator case. I fitted it to the case. I now understand that marine alternators usually have insulated return ... the case is not negative! I may adapt the new alternator to use the regulator but, as it is difficult to get to the batteries use it only when planning to stop for more that 2 nights.
Cleaned the bilge with the wet and dry vacuum and topped up coolant and gear box oil (this last was necessary because the RCR engineer allowed oil to pump out with the engine running whilst replacing the selector arm oil seal).