Expectations and realizations
Where oh where to begin? I guess that applies to the trip, as well as to the preparations.
First things first. As we realized that we were indeed going to make the trip, we needed to look at charts, books and all kinds of information. I called the folks at Furuno and found out that my chartplotter, which had worked great all these years, was so far out of date that the only charts I could buy were on 20 different chips and were 7 years old anyway. So, first decision. Buy old charts or new Chartplotter with two chips covering the whole loop (half the cost of new chips). No brainer. Once installed, we were ready to move on.
Next step was mechanicals. Oil change, transmission oil change, generator oil change, all new filters, all new racor fuel filters, complete set of spare filters for stores. Inspect all hoses and belts, and put spares in stores. OK, all done. The wonderful guy who did all that was Aaron Vickers of Oil in a Days Work. This guy is so interested in his customers that he calls us once a week to see how everything is working and to see how the trip is going.
Now to think about safety. Some of the places we are going to are pretty far out in the wilds. Probably won't have cell and internet. So, time to think about a Sat Phone. Turned out to be surprisingly affordable. What about EPIRB? Pulled it out of the ditch bag and realized the batteries were 2 years out of date and needed replacing. That, of course had to be done at an authorized service center so they could do a water pressurization test and a full functional test. OK, done with that too.
How about seaworthyness? Found some leaks in scupper hoses and windows. Hoses not too bad, but the poor guy who repaired the window leaks really earned his money. First it was the port side windshield. No problem. Took it out, rebedded it and back in the same day. Whoops! While repairing that one, found a leak in the center windshield. The guys came back and pulled it out and rebedded it. Unfortunately, it was a couple of guys who worked for the fellow doing the work, and they did not do a great job. So, Mallory Schoolfield (the fellow we hired, who, by the way, does a great job, and also stands by his work) came for a look and said he would have to pull the window and redo it (at no additional charge). No problem, right? Well, the window cracked while it was being removed. Order new window. Two days later the window company calls and says the new window broke while being tempered. No problem. Send another. Two days later the new window arrives. Whoops, window company cut it too big. Well the bottom line was that the windows were final fixed and retinted. It was a little frustrating at the time, but Mallory did a wonderful job, saw it through to the finish, and stood by his pricing. It is so refreshing to find someone like that in the marine industry. Hats off to ya, guy. Great job.
Right, moving on.
Now that we will be living on the boat for the next year or so, the Admiral insisted on some upgrades. So, we spent the next few weeks on new carpeting in the salon, new recliners (old, and I do mean old, sofa to the dump), new fly bridge cushions and new Isenglass for the sun deck to replace all of the ones so cloudy you could not see through them anymore. Just as well on the Isenglass, as the old ones had all of the stitching coming loose. Another kudo to some great folks, Jim and Jeri Perillo of Charleston Custom Canvas. They knew our schedule and promised to have the new cushions and Isenglass done in plenty of time. Not only did they make the schedule, but they did their usual great job on it all. Oh, and lastly, new deck chairs and tables for the sun deck.
Final steps. Needed more storage space, so we got two deck boxes to put on the fore deck. Got a set of docking radios so the Admiral and I could talk while docking, departing and anchoring (real stress reducer). FCC Radio Station License so we could use the VHF in Canada. Boaters course, again to satisfy Canadian entry. Diver to clean the bottom and replace all the zincs, and a complete set of spare zincs for stores. Groceries, and:
READY TO GO!!!
Thanks also to our instrument tech, Jeff Seacrest of Tidal Marine Electronics; our marine electrician Sarkis Keuleyan of SeaTec Systems; Zed White and his folks at Whiteline Diving; and all the folks at Charleston Harbor Marina.
And, a final heartfelt thanks to son Sean, who spent the last few days in port with us making final preparations. He took on the job I dreaded, cleaning and prepping the dinghy. Thank you Sue Ann for letting him come.
First things first. As we realized that we were indeed going to make the trip, we needed to look at charts, books and all kinds of information. I called the folks at Furuno and found out that my chartplotter, which had worked great all these years, was so far out of date that the only charts I could buy were on 20 different chips and were 7 years old anyway. So, first decision. Buy old charts or new Chartplotter with two chips covering the whole loop (half the cost of new chips). No brainer. Once installed, we were ready to move on.
Next step was mechanicals. Oil change, transmission oil change, generator oil change, all new filters, all new racor fuel filters, complete set of spare filters for stores. Inspect all hoses and belts, and put spares in stores. OK, all done. The wonderful guy who did all that was Aaron Vickers of Oil in a Days Work. This guy is so interested in his customers that he calls us once a week to see how everything is working and to see how the trip is going.
Now to think about safety. Some of the places we are going to are pretty far out in the wilds. Probably won't have cell and internet. So, time to think about a Sat Phone. Turned out to be surprisingly affordable. What about EPIRB? Pulled it out of the ditch bag and realized the batteries were 2 years out of date and needed replacing. That, of course had to be done at an authorized service center so they could do a water pressurization test and a full functional test. OK, done with that too.
How about seaworthyness? Found some leaks in scupper hoses and windows. Hoses not too bad, but the poor guy who repaired the window leaks really earned his money. First it was the port side windshield. No problem. Took it out, rebedded it and back in the same day. Whoops! While repairing that one, found a leak in the center windshield. The guys came back and pulled it out and rebedded it. Unfortunately, it was a couple of guys who worked for the fellow doing the work, and they did not do a great job. So, Mallory Schoolfield (the fellow we hired, who, by the way, does a great job, and also stands by his work) came for a look and said he would have to pull the window and redo it (at no additional charge). No problem, right? Well, the window cracked while it was being removed. Order new window. Two days later the window company calls and says the new window broke while being tempered. No problem. Send another. Two days later the new window arrives. Whoops, window company cut it too big. Well the bottom line was that the windows were final fixed and retinted. It was a little frustrating at the time, but Mallory did a wonderful job, saw it through to the finish, and stood by his pricing. It is so refreshing to find someone like that in the marine industry. Hats off to ya, guy. Great job.
Right, moving on.
Now that we will be living on the boat for the next year or so, the Admiral insisted on some upgrades. So, we spent the next few weeks on new carpeting in the salon, new recliners (old, and I do mean old, sofa to the dump), new fly bridge cushions and new Isenglass for the sun deck to replace all of the ones so cloudy you could not see through them anymore. Just as well on the Isenglass, as the old ones had all of the stitching coming loose. Another kudo to some great folks, Jim and Jeri Perillo of Charleston Custom Canvas. They knew our schedule and promised to have the new cushions and Isenglass done in plenty of time. Not only did they make the schedule, but they did their usual great job on it all. Oh, and lastly, new deck chairs and tables for the sun deck.
Final steps. Needed more storage space, so we got two deck boxes to put on the fore deck. Got a set of docking radios so the Admiral and I could talk while docking, departing and anchoring (real stress reducer). FCC Radio Station License so we could use the VHF in Canada. Boaters course, again to satisfy Canadian entry. Diver to clean the bottom and replace all the zincs, and a complete set of spare zincs for stores. Groceries, and:
READY TO GO!!!
Thanks also to our instrument tech, Jeff Seacrest of Tidal Marine Electronics; our marine electrician Sarkis Keuleyan of SeaTec Systems; Zed White and his folks at Whiteline Diving; and all the folks at Charleston Harbor Marina.
And, a final heartfelt thanks to son Sean, who spent the last few days in port with us making final preparations. He took on the job I dreaded, cleaning and prepping the dinghy. Thank you Sue Ann for letting him come.