Getting things ready
Top Secret
Feel The Magic Yacht Vacations
Wed 9 Jun 2010 17:31
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18:23.00N 64:48.00W
First things first... The boat is almost ready for
the trip. We fixed almost all the items on the list that needed fixing. We are
planning to go shopping for food and drinks today and then do a test sail to
make sure all the important sailing equipment is functioning under load. We
intend to start our crossing to Lanzarote tomorrow.
We took the bog standard charter boat and did the
following:
Fitted a 6.5 Kw genset to provide power for all the
new gadgets running 110 volts. We then fitted an automatic generator start
device to start the genset when the batteries run low and charge them. We
tested this with 2 of the air conditioners running and the device worked
well.
Fitted 4 x 6000 Btu air conditioners (one per
cabin) and ducted two of them into the saloon to cool the entire boat. We wired
the air-con units to the 3000 watt inverter which converts 12 volts to 110 volts
and is able to run 3 of the air-con units off the battery (800 A/hrs) at a push,
and 2 air-con units comfortably.
Fitted a 3000 Litre per day water maker to provide
fresh water to the new 380 litre water tanks we had installed under the mast, as
the standard ones are located in the bows and make the boat very heavy up front.
Those water tanks have been emptied, but have been left in place and
operational. They carry an additional 320 litres each. We will only use those
tanks when we are cruising and not on a crossing.
We ran through he sails and tested the oversized
gennaker, which works great. I then tested the Screacher, which was put on an
extended bow sprit, and hoisted the main to check that all was in order. We
found excessive wear on some of the fittings and replaced these and beefed them
up.
We replaced the flooring in the saloon and galley
and it looks wonderful. Matt and Mari did all the cleaning and preparation work
and I cut the templates.
We hauled the boat out to fit folding propellers
and then tested them on a short run. They performed well.
We fitted electric heads to the boat and this is
the best thing we have done so far. How did we cope without them? They are
better than flushing toilets on land!!!
We checked all the bilge pumps and float switches
to make sure that they are working properly. We changed a few breakers and some
corroded contacts. We also fitted speakers in the saloon and connected them up
to the DVD player and new television that we had installed and I fitted some new
LED lights in the Galley and under the stairs.
We also had to replace the oven plates as they
were rusted to bits and didn't work anymore. So, all in all it has been a busy
week and hard work in the heat and humidity of a Caribbean summer.
The crew have also come to realise that Rean is a
tyrant and, amongst other things, needs to learn that fitting the last of
the flooring at 9pm with the aid of a torch to see into the nooks and crannies
is just not right on many levels. Is marooning still practised these days?
However if I don't shut up, I might face a keel-hauling... and that is serious
on a catamaran.
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