Well, the list is almost completed and we still have a couple of weeks to go. David and I are excited as my parents, twin brother and his family and my grandmother are coming into town to see us off. David’s family is only a few hours away and they’ll be coming too, so we decided to have a bon voyage party to visit with the family and friends before we go and to this crazy thing. We’re excited, but it’ll be sad to say goodbye to so many friends and our home for the past two and a half years.
Survey - We had Drake Ipple do an out of the water survey on Bruadair this week for insurance purposes. It’s been two and a half years since her last survey and we know that when we go to get insurance to cover our cruising grounds in the Caribbean they’ll want a more recent survey. We decided to have it done here where we know peoples reputation instead of having it done in Florida. We were very impressed with Drake’s service and professionalism, and the survey was excellent. The only issues that came up on the survey was that a hose clamp needed to be added to the bilge pump hose, and we had to free up one of the cockpit drain seacocks. Both are now completed.
Galley Seacock - The two seacocks in the galley (sink drain and intake for manual saltwater pump) were pretty stiff so I did some maintenance on them. I wanted them easy to use and worked on them before the survey so it wouldn’t show up on the report. They work great now, and the rest of the seacocks below the waterline were replaced with new ones back in February.
Equalized Batteries - The process of equalizing batteries is to bring the batteries back to life by applying a higher than normal charging voltage for a short period of time. This process helps to dissipate any sulfur buildups and allows the batteries to hold more of a charge. Typically AGM batteries do not need to be equalized, however if the batteries are not holding a charge as they once used to, Lifeline (makers of our AGM batteries) recommends that they be equalized at 15.5 vdc for three hours. Though our batteries still hold a good charge, it wasn’t as good as when they were new so I decided that while I have shore power I would equalize them for a short period of time before setting out on our cruise. We followed Lifeline’s recommendations, however we only equalized them for two hours.
Nav Table - Cleaned out and organized the navigation table. We have always used it as our catch all or junk drawer but now it’s more neatly organized and even full of navigating and chart tools.
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Boat Wash & Waxed - I washed the boat and we had Alfredo come over and wax it. We’ve been using him twice a year for the past two years and he is definitely the best. This time he compounded and waxed the hull, but because the gel coat on the deck/cabin top is thin we only had him wax it.
Washed Dingy - We couldn’t have a nice shiny boat with a dirty dingy hanging off the back so I washed it as well. Actually we’re trying to sell our RIB inflatable because we would like to have a more durable Hypolon inflatable to cruise with, I hear that the PVC inflatables are great for around here but won’t hold up in the tropics. If someone buys it we’ll get the new one, but if not we’ll just take the current one until it falls apart.
Motor Lift - We have a Garhauer motor lift mounted to our radar pole and one of the things that we had on our list from the shakedown cruise was to readjust it. Now the line used to lift the outboard motor is much more user friendly.
New Binoculars - During our shakedown cruise our 7X50 binoculars worked good, but it was difficult to read marker numbers or boat names when there was a lot of boat movement. We purchased a pair of Fujinon Techni-Stabi Jr. stabilizing binoculars and are very happy with them.
Flag Halyard - Replaced the flag halyard with a more robust line. I was concerned that the thin line previously being used would not last long, especially if there was any chafing going on. The flag halyard is used to hoist flags including our Hans Christian Owners Association (HCOA) burgee, the quarantine flag when we enter a foreign country and courtesy flags when in foreign waters.
First Aid Kit - We double checked our first aid kit this week to make sure it was current (yeah, we might have used a band aid here and there). With the help of our good friend Bill, we were able to stock our first aid kit with a variety of prescriptions including antibiotics and such in the event of a true medical emergency.
Copied Paperwork - Made copies of our passports and ship’s papers and hid in the boat in the event our originals become lost or stolen.
VHF Holder - During our shakedown cruise we occasionally used the handheld VHF radio in the cockpit, but had no place to put it except on the cockpit seat. Since we didn’t want to chance having it washed overboard or the like in rough weather we added a VHF holder in the cockpit. I actually got one size to big so it will also accommodate our handheld GPS as well.
Sail Repair Kit - Put together a small sail repair kit including sail tape, whipping twine, thread, needles and a few other items.
Flea Market - Took some items to the flea market and sold everything. I probably could have taken a lot more, but I didn’t want to spend the whole day there and besides, it’s okay to be a little bit of a pack rat.
Clean Strainer - Cleaned the strainer for the raw water intake on the engine.
Secure Door - Secured the door under the stove. We’ve always had problems with it opening while underway, and decided that we should secure the door to keep the pans from jumping out at us.
Secured Deck Equipment - Locked up the stern anchor and also put a lock on the BBQ and outboard motor. This was done to prevent theft in some of the areas we plan on going. We started to lock them up now so as to be in the habit by the time we get to theft prone areas.