The past 30 days haven’t been too exciting from a sailing
point of view. This is the month where
we take care of all the things that we have let slide over the past year. We are in a lovely marina/boatyard,
Herrington Harbor North, which is truly state of the art.
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| View of one of the launch wells. We were hauled and relaunched with a 50 ton lift. |
If you had time to enjoy the amenities you
could lounge at the pool and hot tub that has a bar on weekends and overlooks
the docks and distant vistas to the Chesapeake Bay.
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| Swimming pool and hot tub on an overcast weekday. |
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| Entrance to pool area - showers and laundry are in nearby buildings. |
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| Outdoor bar and grill building by the pool |
You could stroll along the landscaped and
winding walking trails that connect the docks and wander through bird infested
wetlands.
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| Nature trails with interpretative signage throughout the facility. |
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| Wet lands along the trails where the birds get pretty raucous in the mornings. |
You could visit the restored
historic village on the grounds. You could sit on a patio and enjoy morning
coffee. You could sip sundowners on
another shaded and landscaped patio overlooking the Bay.
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| One of several patios overlooking the harbor |
You could participate in Saturday night
outdoor movies, Sunday morning water aerobics, and various talks by outside
resources on the ecology of the Chesapeake.
We, on the other hand, are doing none of the above. Instead, we are availing ourselves of the
large on site West Marine store, canvas, electrical, and mechanical contractors
(all on site), and a nearby hardware store. Annapolis is a half hour drive and source of
extensive supplies and provisioning. Herrington Harbor North calls itself an
Eco-lifestyle Resort Marina, but we call it a great stop for a month of
maintenance.
So our month has been spent cleaning everything imaginable,
polishing stainless and fiberglass, refinishing exterior wood, varnishing interior
wood, doing routine maintenance on the engine and generator, emptying,
cleaning, and inventorying all interior storage areas, installing a backup
starting system (our key start has failed several times – not a comfortable
feeling), steam cleaning upholstery and rugs, removing all the exterior canvas
to clean for mildew and re-water proof, and washing everything that could
possibly go into a washing machine.
Additionally, we are having new cushions made for the cockpit, shower
grates in both heads professionally refinished, and the starter rebuilt. Yes,
the cruising lifestyle is not a twelve month vacation. We are tired and sore, but only a few small
jobs remain before we can cast off. And, Exuberant is sparkly again.
During our stop at Herrington Harbor North, we also took two
weeks to head back to Ohio and Wisconsin. This is our annual maintenance stop for the
bodies where we cram a year’s worth of doctor and dentist visits into a few
frantic days. We spend time with family
and friends in Ohio, and then head to Wisconsin for a long
weekend to visit our son and daughter-in-law and our two grandsons who keep us
entertained the entire time. Enterprise
will be surprised when they read the odometer on our rental car.
A while back, one of the readers of this blog requested that
I write on what works and what does not. You non-techies or non-boaters may
want to skip this section. When we purchased Exuberant, it was basically,
systems-wise, an empty shell. With the
exception of the engine and generator, almost everything has been changed
out. And, speaking of generators, many
cruisers opt not to have a diesel generator, but instead use portable Honda
generators which they swear by. As with so many options, it is a matter of
taste and preference. For the most part, we are happy with the choices we have
made.
Electrical Systems
Much of this has been updated to meet ABYC standards. The
Vectron multistage battery charger does not meet our expectations and once had
to be replaced under warranty with great hassle. We installed a separate
Xantrex inverter this past year and have been very happy with the results
although we don’t have large AC loads.
Our 2009 600 amp house battery bank of Lifeline AGM batteries is
functionally about 400 amps as we lost capacity due to improper charging in the
beginning. We have gotten smarter now and are getting along very well with our
batteries. The starter battery was
replaced about a year ago and the separate battery that powers the windless and
furling system is still going strong. Our primary charging comes from 280 watts
of solar panels and a D400 wind generator.
Rarely do we have to rely on the generator for charging. We did discover that the wind generator alone
was not sufficient for our needs; the addition of the solar panels has made all
the difference. We use a Blue Sky solar regulator for fine tuning the charging
of our batteries. We have a Blue Sea Battery monitor for the house bank and
starter battery, which does a pretty good job, but it has some quirks. We have
replaced virtually all lights with LED bulbs or fixtures; Imtra and Sensi-bulb
bulbs in most interior lights and Orca Green fixtures for all running lights
and mast head light.
Electronics
We have put in mostly Garmin products with mixed
results. We have had failures with both
the 4212 Chart plotter and the radar dome. Garmin did replace the units but we
have had some expense and frustration.
We chose Garmin as their pre-loaded maps were based on the Explorer
Charts in the Bahamas,
known to be the most reliable charts of the area. A splurge was the installation of the Garmin
XM Satellite weather radio. It gives me
confidence to be able to receive real time weather and weather radar while at
sea, but it only works along the coastal United
States; in the Bahamas it is useless. Our only Raymarine product is the auto-pilot.
We changed out the old Raymarine auto-pilot for a more robust model last
year. Some components of the old system
are interchangeable with the new system, allowing us to carry spares at no
additional expense. We installed a Vespermarine transmit and receive AIS
system. It is a stand alone device which
we favor as we don’t want to clutter the chart plotter screen with additional
data. It is something we would highly recommend from both a safety and
social standpoint. Night passages in
congested areas are much less stressful, and often we have freighters and
cruise ships hail us to negotiate passings.
Other cruisers also make contact on passages, and as a result we will
chat during long nights and meet up in person once we reach our destination. We
have an ICOM 504 VHF with an additional cockpit microphone which we find very
helpful. And we have an ICOM 802 Single
Side band radio with Pactor modem for communication out of VHF range. We use it
for weather reports when offshore, minimal offshore emailing capacity, and
connections to Cruisers’ Nets. Some
people opt for satellite radios for offshore, but they do not give access to
nets.
Plumbing
We installed a Spectra Cape Horn DC watermaker. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of
more elaborate models, but we hear reports that failures tend to happen with
the bells and whistles parts. Our model
can make 10 gallons an hour (10 amps per hour) using one pump and 18 gallons an
hour (18 amps per hour) using an additional pump. We go with the lower flow rate, alternating
pumps to extend their life. We only use the watermaker when we have very clean
water, generally in the ocean, the Bahamas,
and New England. The rest of the time the unit is pickled and
we scrounge for water. The watermaker is
a luxury, not a necessity, but we do enjoy it. We have an elaborate water manifold that
allows us to fill and draw from any of our three water tanks which total 120
gallons.
Engine and Fuel
Systems
Our Yanmar 4JH2-TE diesel engine (62hp) is very
reliable. One factor in engine
reliability is insuring fuel is clean.
Burt installed a complicated fuel manifold and polishing system. Additionally, we are careful where we buy
fuel, especially in the Bahamas.
As an additional safeguard, the pick-up lines for the engine are offset from
the bottom of the fuel tanks by ¾ inch, while the pickups for the generator are
right on the bottom. If we do get bad fuel, it will stop the generator before
impacting the engine. And, an engine that starts and runs reliably is a very
good engine! We carry about 100 gallons of fuel giving us about a 600 mile
cruising range between purchases. We installed a Max Prop feathering prop when we purchased the boat.
Anchoring and dinghy
Our primary anchor is a 72 pound Rocna with 130 feet 3/8”
chain and 220 feet of ¾” nylon rode. We
sleep soundly and would highly recommend this set up. The secondary anchor is 66 pound claw with 80
feet of chain and 180 feet of rode. Both are carried on offset bow rollers.
Additionally we carry a large Danforth anchor and rode in our stern
lazarette. Our Maxwell 2200 windless
that was original with the boat still functions well. Our dinghy is a Walker
Bay 10’2” hard bottom that we carry on Atkins and Hoyle davits that incorporate
the pole for the wind generator and are altered to use one arm as a hoist for
the Tohatsu 9.8 outboard. Dinghies are
never big enough and outboards are never powerful enough – you are limited by
weight and carrying capacity. We seem to
survive with this set up.
Safety
We carry a 4 person life raft and a 406 MHz GPS Epirb, both
of which we hope never to deploy. We comply with virtually all Coast Guard
regulations although we do not carry flares on our inflatable dinghy – who in
the world ever thought of that regulation? It seems like a good way to burn a
hole through the dinghy and sink as you await rescue. Instead we carry a
handheld VHF with strobe light. We use inflatable life vests with aftermarket
crotch straps and attachment points for tethers. We always rig jack lines when going off
shore.
Refrigeration
We replaced our engine driven refrigeration system which was
failing with two SeaFrost 12v systems; one for the refrigerator and one for the
freezer. Before installing them the insulation in both boxes was inspected and
2” of insulation was added to the freezer and then re-glassed in place.
Other Items
We carry two Dahon bicycles on board that we couldn’t live
without. They are our transportation to
groceries, laundries, and sightseeing.
Without them, our explorations would be very limited. That said, they are useless in the Bahamas as the
roads, when they do exist, are too narrow and potholed for safe biking. Also,
the bikes, in their zip on covers, take up our entire forward stateroom making
it next to impossible to comfortably accommodate guests. We have a stereo
system with XM satellite radio and an iPod dock which we use constantly. Even far away, we can keep up with the news.
We carry two 17 pound fiberglass propane tanks for cooking. We can go up to six
months before we need to find a propane source. We have a gas barbeque on the
stern rail that is wonderful for cooking in hot weather. And, speaking of hot, we have two reverse
cycle air conditioning units that came with the boat. We only use them when at a dock or when we
need to load up the generator when charging batteries. Rarely are we uncomfortable at anchor as the
breezes keep us cool. Finally, Kindles or other e-readers are a great addition.
We don’t have a television or a microwave, items other cruisers consider
essential. We have learned to live
without them and appreciate that both can be energy hogs.
There is certainly more to report, but it does escape me at
this point. The bottom line is that many
equipment choices are just a matter of taste.
As we gain more experience with our boat, we have a better understanding
of what it takes to make our lives more comfortable. You can find reviews of different
products on cruising web sites, and the advice of experienced cruisers is
helpful but perhaps not always appropriate for your situation. We would be
happy to address any further questions at the email address associated with
this blog.
