So, today kicks off day 1 of prepping the boat for our trip to Florida. Our goal is to be done and ready to leave by the end of April - sooner is of course better ;-)
We dropped Michael off at the apartment on Saturday afternoon, spent the weekend with him, and then drove back yesterday. Today started with just reorganizing the boat to make project work easier. With Michael not here, I'll be taking his 'berth' (the saloon), and my cabin has been turned into a storage unit for all of our tools. This will allow us easier access to the tools, and also unrestricted access to the lazarette for the projects involving the fuel tank.
We have a couple big projects to do, and several small ones. The biggest is the electrical - I have new LiFeO4 batteries ordered, along with an inverter charger. Once that is installed, I need to move the shore power (it is currently residing in the hole for the manual bilge pump), replace the unprotected breaker with a proper main breaker for the AC, and then replace the DC panel with breakers instead of fuses (and get rid of all the broken ones). I also need to install a couple standard outlets, a couple usb 12v outlets, replace several lights, and install a couple fans. Then I have to add radar, chart plotter, and auto helm.
In between, there is some work to do on the fuel tanks - access panels, new float, replacing PVC valves with bronze ones. I need to move the start for the engine from inside the companionway (behind the stairs) to the binnacle, along with the fuel cut off. Plus various little things like cleaning existing latches, fixing or replacing the broken and missing ones, fixing the bottom of the companionway ladder - you know, the never ending list on a boat ;-)
Bean will be my assistant, as well as handling a few projects herself - she will be cleaning and oiling all the teak, finding and fixing any rust spots, and generally trying to make the boat a nicer placer to live.
After, or in between, all that, we have to take the boat over to Seabrook shipyard to have the mast pulled for some work noted in the survey. While there, we will have them rewire it and fix the jib.
So, now you know the plan - just the girls, learning to be chief engineers on the sailboat, while Michael continues to work so we can afford to do all this 'fun' stuff.
I had originally planned to start the fuel tank access panel replacement project today, but after doing a little research, it looks like that might have to wait until the tank is nearly empty. I do not believe there is a way to remove the existing access panel without having parts fall into the tank - which won't be fun if it is a full tank....
I thought about replacing some of the lights today - but I haven't stocked up on electrical parts yet (various connectors), so that will have to wait for another day.
Bean did kick off the day by starting the teak work though, she cleaned the first grab rail and boy did it make a difference! I am looking forward to seeing the rest of them cleaned, and then all of them oiled, it will definitely spruce it up around here.
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