| How to spend three months
and $12,000 |
| Task/Item |
Days to install |
$$$ |
|
Max 20 anchor
Our new primary anchor.
Oversized and ugly, but apparently very good. |
Five days
Set it on the bow roller, rigged a
hold-down system |
$450 |
Anchor rode
Added a secondary rode for the
secondary (CQR 45) anchor. One hundred feet of 3/8 BBB with 250 feet
of 5/8 nylon rode. |
Two days
Cleaned out the chain locker. Minor
redesign for two rodes. Marked chain with wire ties. |
$420 |
Water maker
A PUR 35 plumbed in to add a
second water maker. Not sure we'll need it. |
One day
A nice, easy install. Kit came with lots
of extra adapters and fittings. |
$1,650 |
Inverter/Charger
25-amp inverter, 130-amp
charger. The common battery ground is shunted. All ground wires have
to come after the shunt. Major rewiring. |
Four days
Custom battery cable cut and crimped.
Major rewiring. |
$1,450 |
Power monitor
Tracks use of DC system. |
One day
A little cabinet work and lots of
wiring. |
$425 |
Additional house battery
The addition of
this battery now gives us four Surrette T12-140 wet-cell
batteries |
Half-day |
$239 |
Battery box for house batteries
Home-made
storage. Will hold batteries even if boat is upside-down. |
One and a half days
|
$35 |
Washer-dryer
Built into a locker. Hardest
part was getting it into the boat. Weighs 175 pounds. |
Four days
Took three days to build cabinets and
one day to install and plumb. |
$799 |
| Rewire A/C fuse box |
Half-day
Mostly taking out odds and ends that were
added after construction. |
$28 |
Satellite system
Installed Westinghouse
1000 mobile satellite telephone system. |
One day
Paid for this some time ago, so it didn't
hit the budget now. |
0 |
Wind generator
Four Winds II using a mizzen
mount. |
Three and a half days |
$1,650 |
| New fuel and oil filters |
Half-day |
$16 |
Filter diesel fuel
Hired the "magic" filter
machine that blows spurts of air into the tanks through one hose and
sucks the diesel, water, dirt, and bacteria out through another
hose. |
Half-day
No surprises. Using a high-quality filter
and Biobor treatment, I don't expect surprises. |
$350 |
Waste systems
Added manual waste pump so we
can pump out our holding tanks while underway. Series 101 no-odor
head hose is $7.15 per foot! The manual pump was $136. |
Two days
Pretty straightforward installation. |
$380 |
Barbecue
Installed in boat propane system.
Leak-tested propane lines at the same time. |
Half-day
More valves than might be needed, but the
system is very flexible. |
185 |
Propane tanks
Repainted propane tanks. |
One day |
$5 |
Awnings
Large sun awning to go over dodger.
Complete mosquito panels around dodger. Life raft cover. Hatch
covers. |
Two weeks |
$700 |
Charts
Bahamas charts kit, DMA charts for
Turks and Caicos, Hispaniola. IMRAY charts for the rest of the
Caribbean. |
|
$980 |
Shelves
Converted a hanging locker into a
series of shelves. |
One day |
$22 |
Computer monitor
The NEC MultiSync went up
in smoke. Trying a Samsung Syncmaster. |
|
$310 |
Davits
Added some reinforcing rigging. |
|
$20 |
Gelcoat repair
Repairing gouges from our
experience at "Danger Dock" in North Carolina. |
|
$14 |
Cabin fans
Four 12-volt fans to keep things
cool. Effective but noisy. |
Half-day |
$88 |
Courtesy flags of the Caribbean
Obtained
flags from Bahamas, Mexico, British red duster, Venezuela, Dominican
Republic, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Netherland Antilles,
Antigua, St. Kitts. St. Lucia, France, St. Vincent. |
|
$227 |
Cabin lights
Reading lamps installed above
all bunks. |
Half-day |
$95 |
Insulate fridge/freezer
Added one inch of
insulation between the fridge and the engine room. |
One day
Lots of monkeying around. |
$12 |
Fridge repair
Fridge compressor (A/C) had a
small leak. |
Two hours
Called a refrigeration specialist in for
this job. |
$90 |
Microwave oven
I blew up the last one in
Norfolk, VA. |
One hour |
$115 |
Lightning rod
We're trying the "wire brush"
model on the forespar. Not sure if it will work, but the marketing
story sounds good. |
|
$69 |
Topping lift repair
Replaced a block. |
|
$14 |
Oil and filter stockpile
Stocked with 34
quarts of 15-40 CDII oil, a dozen 30-micron primary fuel filters,
eight oil filters for the engine, six filters for generator oil, and
a dozen fuel filters for the generator. |
One hour
This should keep us as far as
Venezuela. |
$80 |
Fishing gear
A big trolling rod, big fish
hooks, and big lures. Hopefully for a big fish. |
|
$220 |
Saltwater pump at sink
To save on
freshwater doing dishes. |
|
$40 |
Mast steps on mizzen
Installed Pace Edwards
aluminum mast steps. Did not use the folding type, so this will
allow us to use the mast for a lookout and maintenance. |
Two days |
$230 |
Water-tank repairs
Removed a few pounds of
sand and repaired cracks. |
Three days |
$25 |
Charging system for generator
Installed a
charging system for battery to generator's starter. |
Half-day
Used a diode and a thermal cutout switch
instead of a battery isolator and regulator. |
$35 |
Stern anchor
Mounted a 20-pound Danforth on
the pushpit using quick-release clips. The 20-foot chain leader and
150 feet of 5/8-inch rode are in an anchor bag secured to the
pushpit. |
Half-day |
$70 |
Remove old battery charger
Pulled out the
Lemarch 60-amp consta-volt and Ray Jefferson 5-amp trickle
chargers. |
Two days
Cabinets had to be taken apart and a maze
of wires required work. |
0 |
Full inspection of standing rigging
Checked
the shrouds, chain plates, spreaders, forestays, and backstays. |
One day |
0 |
