Were in the shit


Most radar sites showed us dodging an incoming rain system, with the storm staying just north of us. Weather.com, however, predicted a direct hit. The sky looked dark and menacing. After morning coffee, we checked PredictWind, looked outside, and made the call to bail. A few miles out, it was obvious the rain had already hammered last night’s anchorage. The…

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It’s burger time!


More boat projects. See a trend here? I am actively questioning my life choices given all the work, stress, and money I’ve poured into Strikhedonia since buying her back. Around 10:00 AM, we headed toward Bahía LA for a few provisions and most importantly hamburgers at Guillermo’s – Jack’s favorite and a required stop for him. Arriving to find them…

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Let’s beat the wind


I was up before sunrise, eager to watch the morning light from the top of the boat. I climbed up, and less than a minute later, retreated right back inside. Jejenes (biting midges) and gnats were out in massive abundance. Fuck. Oh well—they usually bugger off by mid-morning. Once Jack was up, he suggested getting underway for Bahía de Los…

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A mellow passage to start the season


More to come on the boat work… For now, I’m picking up with our departure from Penasco. We caught a good weather window for mellow conditions on the passage down to Refugio. After an early dinner at Pedro’s, it was straight to bed ahead of our midnight departure. I heard Jack rumbling around before my alarm went off. It was…

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Version 3.3 LATEST – RV-10 Lycoming Engine Dehumidifier and Remote Engine Heat Assembly Tutorial


System Description: I decided to build a system that could be remotely controlled via cellular connected monitoring system that would allow me to pre-heat my engine from home and for a self contained engine dehydration system that can also be monitored from my phone. Basically there are three parts to the system: Cellular/Wifi backbone, Remote outlet to control the engine…

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Installing turbo nozzle bodies on an RV-10 with a Lycoming IO-540


Based mostly on testing that Dan Horton (DanH on VAF) completed while working with Don at Airflow Performance, I decided to switch my stock Lycoming Fuel Injection Nozzle bodies for Turbo Nozzle Fuel Injection bodies. Most of my flights are 12k-16k and my objective was to improve LOP operations at altitude. Prior to this modification I have switched to 0.025″…

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2026 Condition Inspection – N241VP Van’s RV-10


This year’s condition inspection took quite a bit longer than past years, it was a mixture of working in a friend’s hanger (and needing to borrow tools/parts from the local maintenance shop), installing turbo nozzle bodies on the fuel injection system (link), and a repair to the nose wheel bracket. Being less organized and running around to get parts/tools really…

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The season’s end


With the sun up, the four other boats in the anchorage weighed anchor and headed for Penasco. I wasn’t in a rush since the overnight winds had kicked up the seas, and an early departure would have made for a rougher passage. So I stayed another day, cleaned the bottom of the boat, and started the decommissioning process. The next…

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