We have spent several weeks at our old home, Matthews Point Marina, getting ready to continue the adventure. Several things needed attention and there were some upgrades to be made.
Our solar panels were not putting out as much energy as we are using so we updated them. We went from two 75 watt panels to two 140 watt panels. Being new they are also more efficient since solar panels lose efficiency over time. The originals were over 10 years old. I have been testing them by turning off the charger and monitoring state of the batteries, So far on sunny days we are staying fully charged and replacing what we use overnight. I also took the opportunity to service and equalize the batteries. Of course we still have the Honda generator if we get too many cloudy days.
We added an Engel refrigerator/freezer to be able to carry more frozen provisions. It runs off of 110 or 12 volts. It takes up a bit of floor space but it will be worth it. Our current freezer is much too small.
We installed a new VHF radio and antenna and will be replacing the cable in the next couple of days.
Cori went to work with her sewing machine and added shade panels to the bimini (cockpit cover) and a panel to connect the bimini to the dodger for more sun and rain protection.
The steaming or masthead light was burnt out so it the bulb was replaced while I was up the mast. Cori touched up the nonskid paint and resealed the teak on deck. The seat covers in the salon were cleaned and the V-berth has had a major rearranging and sorting with a lot of stuff going into storage that we found we did not need. I even sorted out my books and took off any that I want to keep but had already read.
There are some projects that I am forgetting but lets just say we have been busy.
Our plan is to spend this weekend in New Bern with friends then head out to Ocracoke Island for my birthday and the music festival. From there we will be continuing north - just not sure how far we will get before it will be time to turn around and head back to the Islands.
No comments:
Post a Comment