#3

Hey Fawns,

Yes, it's been quite awhile since we last updated our blog. Sorry.. Life sometimes gets in the way, and that's what happened the past little while. Most of our projects are running concurrently, and most of them are weather dependent. It's quite chilly here right now, so a lot of our projects are on hold until it's warm enough for our fingers to work.

We left off with the washing machine. It is a tight fit, but it will fit into the drawer. The next step in the washing machine saga is to make a mount for it. We need it to be stable not only on the lateral axis, but the vertical axis as well. We are putting it under our bed in the forward cabin. The forward cabin isn't at the very front of the boat like most sailboats ( the V berth). It is located just forward of the centre of the boat. This means that the up and down movements will be smaller than if it was a the very front, or very back of the boat. But, we still need to make sure it is very securely mounted, and that's proving to be interesting.

Everything on a boat is custom. There are no universal fittings for washing machines. Essentially what we are going to do is make a platform that attaches to the structure of the boat. That will prevent it from moving laterally. To prevent the vertical motion, we are going to have 4 stainless steel posts that run from the top of the washing machine, to the underside of the bed. The posts will prevent the washing machine from lifting up.

We were finally able to replace the water pump for our fresh water system. The old one gave us so many issues. It wouldn't pressurize properly, and wouldn't hold pressure in the system. It would constantly run at a very very low speed. We thought maybe it was a leak in the system somewhere. We decided to buy a new water pump so we would have a spare. We tested it out, and it worked perfectly. Something is wrong with our old pump, and we did some research. We found out they tend to only last a couple years, so that makes sense. It was a bit of a fiasco. There are 4 bolts that hold the pump onto a stainless steel plate. I had assumed the holes would be in the same spot as the old pump, but nope, different footprint. Normally it wouldn't be an issue, but on boats everything is hard to get to. Ben came to the rescue, wiggled in, and drilled new half inch holes so we could mount the pump. Next we just have to reconnect the electricity supply, and reconnect the pex. Easy smeasy.

We spoke with the company that is going to do our solar arch. We are really excited. Our arch is going to be incorporated into the stern rails. That is going to make it look really sleek, and it will look like it belongs on the boat. We will have some attachment points for propane bottles, an out-board motor mount, and some davits so we can raise our dingy out of the water at night. The company fabricating the arch for us is starting in late March. They need access to the boat uncovered, so they can take measurements and come up with a footprint.

We are also upgrading our electrical system. We are adding in a 240amp alternator and derating it down to 160amps. We will also add in 4 lithium batteries for a total of 508 amp hrs, and connecting them via battery battery charges to our engine batteries and bow thruster/windlass batteries. Our alternator, inverter/charger, and solar system will charge our house batteries, and via the battery to battery charger will charge the other 2 banks.

A water maker will be going in. It's a great little modular system. It pumps out 10 gallons per hour, draws 10amp DC, and had an auto shut off. We have 3 water tanks on board, so it will feed all 3 tanks.

Our rigging is in line to be replaced. While the mast in down, we are having a second main halyard run, and a second genoa halyard run. Both our main and genoa halyards are not useable if we need them for something unrelated to the sails. We have a furling main, and a furling genoa, so, both halyards are occupied if the sails are installed. So now we will have a fore and aft halyard for going up the mast, lifting our dingy, tarzan swing into the water, all sorts of things.

That is sort of where we are at right now. Like I said, it's really difficult to do boat work when it's so cold. On top of that, our canvas cover makes the boat feel like a dungeon. It's is dark, and cold. A few skeletons down there too.

We've added two more fawns to the club in the past few days. Their names are Sophie, and Kaylee. Sophie has been a pal of ours for a few years. She's one of the co-stars on Ryan and Sophie Sailing. They've got a great channel on youtube. Kaylee I've known for a bit over 10 years I think. When I was a hot shot 23 year old I bought a house. Kaylee rented a room from me, and since then we've kept in contact. So, welcome to the fawn-club you two!

As soon as the weather warms up, you fawns will be getting some pretty cool content. We are actually going for a tour of the rigging company, and getting some video of our actual mast getting worked on. So stay tuned for that and stay cool.

-The Boys.