Solar Panels

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For Alex-who asked how our solar panels are working, I realized we never really showed how we installed them.  So here’s some detailed pics.  The specs are:  Two 130 watt Kyocera panels, wired in parallel to double the power, combined with a Blue Sky “Duo” controller which controls the panels and hydro-electric unit.  The 130 Watt panels are the largest we’ve seen and just fit above the rail in the closed position.  The advantage with this system is that we can angle the panels to the sun.  The advantage to the davit or dodger mount is you don’t have to think about it since it’s fixed, but you don’t always get the optimum angle to the sun and thus a lower charge.  You can see the pole that extends the panels and will extend to 45 degrees and 90 degrees.  I also created a “stub” pole that is about 4 inches long to hold the panels “closed” in a storm.  It worked in 50 knots of wind and 20+ foot seas on our leg from Tonga to NZ although there is always the chance that a rough wave would sneak up inside the panel and break it loose.  Everything’s a compromise   😉

View from "afar" with port panel at 45 degree detent

Here's the starboard panel in the "up" position

Detail of the hinge. I had this custom welded to fit over our lifelines. It's a compromise. If I had the time, I would have exchanged the lifelines around the cockpit for welded steel bars, but I ran out of time and did this instead and attached it to the stern pushpit and first stanchion with dodger mounts.

Varnishing

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Well, actually Cetol, but it’s like varnish.

So, we’re working on “brushing up” the wood.

Contortions to get it right.

Very detailed and tedious work

It just goes on and on.  You can’t rush it.  Varnishing.  Looks beautiful if you do it right, but takes endless amounts of time.  I spent four hours on the port and starboard rails yesterday and another four hours today just sanding them smooth.  Now the “coats” begin.  Three to four more coats at four hours each, follow by 24 hours to dry-all the while “dodging” the rain.  Sigh.

We Count!

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The New Zealand Census has counted us!

We are now officially counted as part of the New Zealand Census project.  As “yachties” we answer that; “we live in a movable home from the US and then ‘go to question #48′”.

There you are.  And it’s in Mauri as well as english.

Counting down the days

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We’re about a week and counting.  Trying to leave next Thursday, 10/6 (or so) pending weather, and whether we have all our gear packed, stowed and ready to go.
Been working very hard this week. Ann’s been cleaning and organizing down below in the cabin and I’ve been pulling cables and wire to get the two new solar panels and the 1000 watt voltage inverter running. Long story short, the panels are working (two Kyocera, 130 watt panels wired in parallel to double their amperage), a Blue Sky “duo” regulator (to run the panels and a water generator that we’re waiting for from Hamilton Ferris). Spent waaayyy to long in the Lazarette wiring stuff, but the result is pretty cool. I took us “off the grid” four days ago. The refrigerator runs all night and pulls the batteries down, but the panels, one of which faces the morning sun, power the boat back up and by 9AM, the batteries are completely full again. Really fun to watch how self sufficient we are becoming.
Here’s a couple pics of some of our work including the watermaker and THE LISTS! Everything at this point with only a week left is about lists.
THE LISTS! Watermaker

Work, Work, Work…

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We’re in the water, but the boatwork hasn’t stopped.

We’re now at the “finishing” stage though.  Not as in finished, but things like varnishing, oiling the teak, and other more cosmetic items.  Two days ago we sanded the rest of the rails.  Yesterday we bleached all the wood that has been sanded in prep for oil in the case of the cockpit where varnish is too slippery and varnish (cetol) in the case of the rails.   Today we taped the rails in prep for varnishing (hopefully-weather permitting) tomorrow and Ann put the first of three coats of oil on the cockpit.

Taping the wood in preparation for varnishing

Taped and ready for varnishing tomorrow.

Getting ready to oil the cockpit wood.

Oil really brings out the color of the teak and helps protect it from sun and saltwater

Before the oil...

...and after the oil. We'll put on two more coats over the next couple days.

All this work has made for one messy cabin. Can't wait to be done and able to put stuff back away.

I also forgot to mention the other day that once we drove around to our spot here in the marina, I had the engine shop come and pull the injectors for cleaning.  You’re supposed to have them cleaned around 1000 hours and Charisma’s engine has 2900 hours and to my knowledge they have never been cleaned.  Crossing fingers they are good since it can get expensive to repair them.

Since it’s Sunday, we quit a bit early and Ann’s gone for a hike with her girlfriends Ann and Lisa.  They have a five to six mile loop that goes up the river, into the hills and tops out above town with expansive views of Whangarei.  Also since it’s Sunday, Ann made a delicious breakfast with farmer’s market fresh eggs, bacon and artisan bread.  Yum, yum and yum!

The eggs are so fresh the yolks are almost orange.

 

SPLASH!!

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That’s the sound of happiness!  It’s also what we say when our boat goes back into the water-as in; “We splashed today” after 21 days.  I can’t remember the last time I worked 21 days straight without a break.  Neither can Ann.

Yippeee!

It feels so good to be back in the water.  Charisma’s happy and we’re happy.  Nice to not have to climb the ladder-up and down 10, 15 times per day, wipe our dirty feet on a mat at the base of the ladder and several other not to be mentioned indignities of being “on the hard”.

So-did I say we launched this morning?  Here’s a few of the latest pics.

Here's our view from the last night. The crane was positioned Thursday night so we would be ready to go in first thing Friday morning.

All ready and the sun's coming up...

It's been fun (OK, not exactly) but this is a great yard and they have taken exceptional care of us. In case you can't read the crane; "Riverside Drive Marina" is the place to go. Just ask for; "Ray Roberts' place" and they will take care of you like family.

Like a dog when you pull out the leash to go for a walk. I swear she was ready to leap in the water herself.

All that's left of our spot is some red paint on the ground...

Yup, that's a happy (and highly polished) boat. She's floating much better on her lines with the new paint job at the boot top.

So, what now?  I spent the rest of the day almost finishing up the sanding.  Tomorrow I hope to bleach the raw wood (oxolic acid) so it’s all the same color then we start varnishing (cetol).  Taping and at least three coats on each side plus midships trim-probably seven days give or take depending on weather.

Then we’ll spend at least a week or two touring New Zealand by car before we start thinking about next steps on the cruising agenda.

Oh and did you hear we decided to elope to New Zealand?  Ann’s researching some spots where we might get married (we’ll have a reception back in the US in December some time).

So that’s today’s news from Kiwi-land.

A Feast Of Friends

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Oops, around the South Pacific that could have the wrong meaning.  Oh well, I think you’ll get my drift.

The other night we enjoyed meeting up with an old friend, catching up with newer friends and getting better acquainted with some even newer ones.  All in the space of a couple hours (after another long day of boatwork).

Richard, a friend from our time in Baja (we call him an “old friend” ’cause that now seems so long ago) sent an email that he was visiting New Zealand and would we be around.  “You bet!” was the obvious answer as we had so much fun with Richard and Cynthia from Tranquility while we were in La Paz.

The same day Richard was due, our newer friends Craig and Bruce from Gato Go who like Ann and me, sailed across the Pacific this last year and with whom we have happily crossed paths frequently were coming up from Aukland for the day and would we have time for a beer!  “Absolutely!”  We’ve had some great times with them on many islands between here and Mexico and haven’t seen them since early December.

Yet again at the same time we had already agreed to have a BBQ with some new friends, Charmagne and Michael who are formerly from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and have moved to New Zealand to start their adventure.  They are still working and saving for the big trip and for now are living on their boat and working toward the day when they “cut the docklines”.

What this all has in common is a great evening in which all of the above came together at the same time, serendipidously, on Charisma (and then down at the BBQ behind the boatyard).  We all shared some stories, a couple beers, some good food and a great (but a bit windy) BBQ.  Charmagne summed up the evening best when she said; “What a great time.  I needed that”.

So great to get to catch up with everyone.  That’s another one of the pleasures and joys of cruising. People you’ve met, people you meet and those who you are going to meet.  Many stories, a lot of “characters” and so much fun.

And Ann said my Chicken Teriaki was cooked perfectly.

From Ann’s Perspective

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Okay, I know that Bob is exhausted and so is telling me that people want to hear from me, but he deserves a break from blogging too, so here I am to tell you what life on the hard is like.  The good and the bad!

So where do I start?  Right here, right now.  We just came back from the Sunday evening barbecue with the folks from Riverside Drive Marina and those of us on the hard.  The folks from the marina are those that walk by and offer encouragement  all day long.  Very necessary.  The folks on the hard are thrilled to be doing something other than working on our boats.  And the food, everyone brings something to share, is spectacular.  I love a good pot luck!

We have just returned to Charisma, climbed the 12 stairs, 12 feet up to the boat and are gifted with a spectacular sunset on Whangarei River.  Every night it has been this gorgeous.  And the view of the river from 12 feet high is really stunning.  This is the good.

The ladder, approximately 12-15 times a day, ascent, descent, crap I forgot something, going back up….has been a great work out.  We needed it after enjoying our family and friends at home.  Seriously, who could resist Bob’s Mom’s cookies?  No one in their right mind.  So the ladder can be a plus. Just not  in the middle of the night when I need to pee.  So I have learned to hold it.  Bob can use a bottle.  Men, count yourself lucky!

The good thing about boat work is most often you can see progress.  And I think Charisma is smiling with the progress.  Lots of elbow grease has gone into the polishing and it is almost done.   Bob, although he has tougher jobs, has jobs that end.  A plus.  I am hopefully a day from completing the cleaning and waxing and on to the stainless polishing.

As we head to the restroom one last time at night we have to take down our grey water – the water that we have used through the day to lightly rinse things and can not just spill out the bottom of the boat like normal.  This is a pain but not impossible.  Recently we have had issues holding onto our toothbrushes as we descend and so that can be a problem too.  (You can imagine how thrilled I was when I managed to carry an entire plate of warm brownies down to dinner tonight without spilling them! Simple pleasures.)

Being on the hard puts us 10 minutes walk further from town.  I like to walk and this is a plus.  Since we can’t really use the refrigerator on the hard we keep very little in the ice box so I get to walk daily.  Actually today, Sunday, we gave ourselves a late start day.  Bob spent his relaxing; I spent mine hiking to Look Out point, an hour long steep hike up the hill behind us, with Lisa from Orcinius and Anne from Blue Rodeo.  Well worth the effort.

And when I returned Bob was religiously working on stripping the cetol.  He is half way around the boat now. Exhausting work. Glad it’s on his list.  I returned from the hike to continue the cleaning and polishing and have half of the cockpit left!!!  Yay!

So there you have it…. life on the hard.  Can’t wait to back in the water where midnight bathroom runs are not an issue and moving things up and down a ladder aren’t an issue either.  And besides, when we are back in the water I move onto my next big task…(which as a few of you have hinted ) planning our New Zealand wedding.  Yep, the Skipper realized we were perfect for each other and I agreed!  Unfortunately destination weddings are too much to ask of anyone so we will get married among cruising friends here and celebrate with family and friends next time we are in the States.

Life on the hard makes you really appreciate being in the water.  Can’t wait to watch the mullet fish jumping at sunset right off our stern!

Progress…

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The great unveiling…

Oh Yeah! Looking good!

Charisma is definitely one happy girl with her new coat of paint. It's a little um, "brighter" than I had planned, but what the heck.

We also put on the new bobstay fitting (the pic didn’t turn out, I’ll post tomorrow) and I finished the laz hatch project and installed the hatches back in the cockpit.

Was also nice to see our friends Mark and Ann from Blue Rodeo who dropped by Charisma this morning.  They are back from the States and getting ready to do some boat projects of their own.  Great to see them back!

The inside with the new plywood backing. Compare this to the pic a week or so ago...

So there we are.  Now down the home stretch with the drudgery of stripping the rail with the heat gun yet to go.  But it’s kind of a zen-like experience.  You really get into a groove and before you know it you’ve been doing it for hours.  Then…hours and hours of varnishing.   Whoo Hooo (not).

We’re going for dinner to John and Lisa’s (Orcinius) tonight.  Yay!