Desired Ama Mama Upgrades

I had been wanting to do a little bit more to Ama Mama to not only cosmetically clean her up, but to make her a more versatile sail boat. Planning a trip to the Bahamas gave me the motivation I needed to get some upgrade plans in place. Here are some of the key items I wanted to upgrade for the trip and for other sailing adventures in general:

1. Electrical System - Although it appears she may have had some electronics in the past, when I purchased her, Ama Mama had no battery or electronics. The electrical systems upgrades that I wanted to do, fell into several categories:
1. Battery - I went with one Batteries Plus Marine Deep Cycle, Group 27, 92 amp hour battery. We'll see how it does and report back later. For fellow Tramp owners out there, I decided to mount the battery in the storage area at the forward end of the cockpit because the aft storage compartment always seemed too moist.
2. Charging Sources - I want to have multiple sources of charging including:
1. Outboard Alternator - I had Austin Action Marine add an alternator to my 5 HP Nisson Outboard. It only outputs 6 AH when running, but every little bit helps. 
2. Solar Panel(s) - I purchased a 100W AFP panel that I will stern mount while underway, and a 15W panel that I can deploy at anchor.
3. Shore Power Charger
3. Navigation and Communication Electronics
1. VHF with AIS Receiver - Standard Horizon Matrix AIS / GX2150 - I wish I had know about the GX2200 before I purchased the GX2150
2. Chart Plotter / Depth Sounder - Lowrance Elite 5 - I'll use this to drive GPS into into the GX2150 for AIS and to control the autopilot.
3. Auto Pilot - I have and old (purchased in 2004) Autohelm 1000+ (now Raymarine)
4. Navigation and Steaming Lights
5. Stereo With Speakers - I'm repurposing a Pioneer App Radio original from my old car along with some outdoor speakers I had left over as well.
6. Circuit Breakers - I went with the Blue Sea WeatherDeck panels due to the open nature of the Tramp cockpit.
2. Storage Compartments - the Tramp does come standard with a few storage compartments, but I wanted a lot more to keep things organized. Here's what I added:
1. Forward cockpit storage area was cut out and a Tempress access hatch added. This is where the battery, and a few other items are located.
2. In the cockpit combings, I added the following:
1. Three, open / netted storage bins from SSI
2. One lockable storage bin from SSI
3. Oceanair TP Holder - I use this for quick access to dry tissues
3. In the cockpit floor, I added the following storage using Bomar hatches:
1. Increased the cooler cutout to a large access hatch size
2. Added two bilge access hatches on either side of the floor.
4. Replace Aft Storage Compartment Hatch with a Bomar hatch
3. Misc. Upgrades
1. Strip and Paint the Mast - see "Oxidized Mast" photos on the site pages.
2. Add Windex to Top of Mast combined with Shakespeare VHF Antenna
3. Aft mounted telescoping boarding ladder
4. New Halyards
5. Center Board Control Lines
6. Radar Reflector
7. Sea Anchor
8. Boom / Bimini Tent with Mosquito Screens
9. Inflatable Tender - I went with an Aquaglide Multisport which may end up being too heavy to take along. I may just need to anchor in really shallow water.

Here's some pictures of various before and after shots. Not all items listed above are shown.

This is the front of the cockpit prior to any modifications.

This is the front of the cockpit after adding the following:

- Grey hatch is for Pioneer App Radio

- Blue Sea Weather Deck Panel is shown with 4 red light along side 12V receptacles

The large, white Tempress hatch is the battery compartment along with other misc storage

This image shows the Pioneer App Radio with one of the speakers mounted to the right. 

Needless to say, Ama Mama ROCKS!

Here's the old aft compartment hatch with a solor vent in the middle.

This old dog was falling apart and leaking.

This is the aft compartment Bomar hatch replacement. For the Tramp owners out there, I had to modify the opening slightly to get this hatch to fit. 

 I added a stern mounted boarding ladder to make it MUCH easier to get back on-board after a swim. Note - the white, round thru-hull on the right is the exit for the manual bilge pump that is mounted in the aft locker.

 Here's a view of the boarding ladder fully extended with Ama Mama on the trailer. As you'll certainly notice, the boarding ladder is also handy for boarding from the aft end while on the trailer.

 On the aft end of the cockpit seats, I mounted some fishing pole holders. These will hold the rods perpendicular to the boat and get the lines outboard a bit. NOTE - the block on the right is for the port screacher sheet. A similar block is on starboard.

On the left is a solar vent that I installed to clear out the fumes from the gas tank that is stored in the aft locker. Also note that I cut an arch in the transom so that the shaft of the Nissan outboard could raise up high enough for the outboard to lock in place.

In this image you can just see the cockpit floor hatches, the coming pocket storage, and the TP holder at the front, starboard coaming. Also, note the stainless bar that runs across the stern. This serves multiple purposes including stern light mount, flag mount, and fishing rod holders (not shown) mount. Other early 2000's mods shown here include aft compartment solar powered vent (see to right of outboard), new nets, lazy jacks, and bow sprit with roller furling screacher.