u/Weird_Grapefruit2226

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Cruising, racing, fishing, travelling the world or whatever.

I try to go out at least every week for a day sail to keep my engine and soul from seizing up. Less than that seems to not be a good idea. If I get the chance I'll go out for a few days to a week.

Some of my neighbors seem to be constantly on the move, some I have never noticed to leave the dock. I cannot work out what the norm is.

I had such a nice session today. It was a perfect breeze, warm, flat water, no clouds to be seen. I didn't have to think once about my foot exchanges or sheeting angles. If I encountered a snag, somehow my feet and hands knew how to fix it without me realizing what was happening and my foil would respond instantly. I just chilled and enjoyed the bliss of smoothly floating along at high speed, nothing but me, the whistling of the foil, and the wind.

When I returned to shore, my wing was dry, my hair was dry.

It wasn't long ago that I was falling in on every gybe and considering some severe ways to deconstruct my snappy, unforgiving high aspect foil. I pushed through countless hours of failure to get here. I dreaded the inevitable partial drownings. I'm still nowhere near advanced or expert, but I'm still pretty chuffed with myself.

110% worth it.

Thought I'd tell this mini story as there seems to be so many lost, hopeless beginners out there who want to give up. Don't listen to yourself, just keep on going.

I'm trying to upgrade the solar panel on my yacht from 80w to a 200w.

I'm going to need slotted flat bars or wooden planks to adapt it to the current frame, but that's what I expected, no big deal.

Now for the tricky bit. I've checked over the wiring and controller to make sure it has capacity for the 200w panel. All good there. However, the old panel doesn't have any mc4 plugs, just the screw bits at the terminal. It's hardwired and taped to the controller wires. The new panel has both screw connectors at the terminal and mc4 plugs.

What's my best bet for connecting the new panel to the controller? I'm guessing something will have to be cut and hardwired - should I wire some mc4 plugs onto the old wire, or just cut the new panels wires? I don't care about resale value, I just want whatever is going to work with minimal skill and maximum reliability.

Note, both options feel like Mount Everest considering the best I've done is repaired snapped delicate fairy lights.

Im sleeping in the v berth, and have noticed that underneath the squabs is getting quite damp. It's winter so it's hard to get anything dry.

What would be a cheap and effective way to provide significant ventilation under the squabs? Bed slats or rubber mats with holes doesn't seem like it'll be enough.