JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Out of Gas?

There I was motoring along in the channel into Marco Island, FL and pop, bang, shudder… stop.  No more noise!!  Hmm, says I. This is probably not an ideal place for a breakdown.  I walked to the bow, tossed the anchor over and started scratching my head.  I could not believe I was out of… [Read More]

Samsung Galaxy S 4G Android Phone

I upgraded my old T-Mobile Dash phone a few weeks ago. So far, I really like the Galaxy S 4G. The specifications of the Galaxy are like all new computer products – better than what was available yesterday, no surprise there.  The screen is very bright and vibrant (colors are awesome) and the functionality of… [Read More]

LED Lights #2

I tried the led lights that I wrote about here.  The results were mixed. LEDs are particular about postive/negative poles. It seems that automotive “1156″ bulb style fixtures on my boat are wired incorrectly for the LED bulbs. Bummer – strike 1.  The good news is that this is fairly easily fixed, just requries a bit… [Read More]

Sailing Lessons

I went on a little sail a few weeks ago.  My plan was to sail from Fort Myers, FL to the Florida Keys and back over the course of a two week period. In summary, it ended up being a five day sail and I did not make it to the Keys.  However; it was… [Read More]

Charge!!!

I am so excited!  I recieved my MorningStar SunSaver MPPT solar charge controller today.  I currently have an 80 watt solar panel with an old regulator.  I have read alot about these MPPT controllers and they certainly seem to be the cat’s meow!  I am going to get it installed as quickly as possible and… [Read More]

Smells

I recently saw a discussion regarding removal of bad odor/smells on a boat. My sailboat smells so I was paying attention. I think my boats problem is diesel fuel smell but I don’t have any background on which to base this assumption. The product being recommended was PureAyre. It is not a cheap option but… [Read More]

LED Lights

It is time to upgrade the lighting on my boat to LED lights. The single biggest reason for this is to save energy. I have a reasonably sized battery bank and an 80-watt solar panel. This is far from “too much power” so conservation is a good thing.  I found some very inexpensive replacement LED lights… [Read More]