Less than 90 days to go

We are now within 90 days of our planned departure in late June.  With Seattle experiencing one of the wettest winters and early springs on record (nearly 17 inches of rain so far in 2012), we are both anxious to head out and put the dreary weather behind us.  Activity on the boat has been moving along, with many of our planned projects already completed and with only a few yet to complete.  I thought I'd provide an update to the status of the various boat projects we are working on.

The new solar panels are now installed and operational.  I was able to get some help from my brother Mike while he was here on a visit to Seattle, making the job a bit easier.  We were quite pleased with how the installation turned out.  It looks good and is extremely sturdy.  They are producing power, even with the overcast skies.  It will be interesting to see what they really do when we finally get some sun.

The windvane installation is also completed.  The folks at Monitor did a good job of providing easy to follow instructions, but most important was the help and guidance from Terry Cady from Yachtfitters.  His assistance ensured that the job was done right.  It's always a bit disconcerting to drill holes in the side of your boat, so doing it right is critical.

I've also replaced all of the hose for the head with non-permeable hose to eliminate any odors.  This may sound like a simple task, but for those uninitiated, trust me, it is a messy, smelly and challenging job.  It took two full days of back breaking work to get it done.  In the end, no pun intended, it all turned out and what odors there were are no more.

The re-rig and replacement of the safety lines is scheduled for next week.  We've been waiting for a weather window and the long range forecast looks promising.  We will replace all of the standing rigging, add two new halyards (an extra main and asymmetrical halyard) as well as run all of the halyards inside the mast.  The plan is to motor over to Canal Boat Yard, where a crane will lift the mast off the boat and lay it on stands.  This should make working on the mast much easier.  While the mast is down, we'll do any and all maintenance that may need to be done.

The re-rig is the last major project to be completed.  I'm sure there will be numerous small projects to do, but it will feel like we are nearly ready to go once the mast is back up with the new rig.

The new solar panels are installed and providing power,
even with the cloudy Seattle skies.

The new windvane is ready to go.