Progress! We’ve removed over 1/2 the external teak coating and are making progress towards a new protective… good looking coating. Two reasons: first is that after 15 years the fixes and many spots were failing, and second; the Honey Teak coating is no longer available. If it would be available, shipping to Australia would be expensive and time consuming. We are using a clear epoxy coating that is advertised to last 5 years. We are hoping for 3 years. While we are removing the old coating on the boat I removed the anchor roller nose piece. When I had it made in Annapolis I messed up and the rollers were not aligned right. Our Steel (SS) shop has already modified it and it is now ready to reinstall.
Beyond that we’ve sold one of the items we bought for comfort and our time here. So…. basically…. beginning to downsize… back to cruising mode. Just a little! 🙂
We’ve removed the SailoMat Wind vane and disassembled it. I really, really, REALLY, get annoyed when companies use Aluminium (Al) and SS together. The base of the unit could have been cast in Bronze and I doubt it would have cost significantly more. It would have lasted better, required no paint. Stainless Steel and bronze like each other better than Al and SS. The painting we did in Panama was peeling and corrosion was having a field day with the Al. I was able to disassemble all except one bolt. That needed a larger impact driver than I had. I hauled it to a local machine shop one morning and boom, $10 AUS later the bolt was out.
From there I drove 5 minutes to a local blaster for cleaning all the corrosion and paint off. Five pieces plus priming ended up being $100 AUS. Three doors away there was a powder coater. All 5 pieces cost me…… get this….. $50 AUS. Next step, re-assemble and install.
Inside the boat we are having some new foam for the main salon seat cushions. The foam we changed to in Panama was too firm and when offshore sleeping; for me, it was like sleeping on a rock. We’re adding 2” to the over all thickness and making one side firm and the other memory foam. Turn it over for sleep and keep the firm foam on top when in port. Hopefully, this is a good compromise for sleeping offshore and sitting / lounging in port.
We purchased a Vesper AIS XP-8000 setup. We need this for heading to SE Asia and this system will integrate well with how we navigate.
The cones for the rigging are in Australia. I was contacted by the importing agent (Vanguard) for the paper work. I don’t know if I told you, I screwed up… again! 🙂 If I would have had the order broken into two shipments I could have avoided the duty. Australia charges duty on anything over $1,000 AUS including shipping. They call that “High Dollar”. And further they do not recognize “Yacht in Transit” for the boat. Anyway, the order was something like $100 US dollars over a the $1,ooo AUS so we now pay an agent plus AUS duty and GST. Total: an extra $380 AUS. Live and learn. Tis a good thing I ordered these parts in June. It will be close to 6 months before we receive them and can begin any of the rigging project.
For the most part, things are looking up. The boat is getting cruise ready again. Everything we need to finish is now here in Australia. Both of us are getting itchy feet. Especially, as I go through our pictures of where we’ve been and the adventures we’ve had. The website has been eating up my time. I have new galleries of French Polynesia, the San Blas, Fiji, and Vanuatu up. A few hundred images so if you’re bored any time and want some far away place to dream of; have at it.
Go Slow
Sail Far
Stay Long