We need to get OUT OF DODGE!!! It seems that we are going to be the last boat heading South for the winter. This past week has moved slowly by with long days of much last minute work. If you read the last post, I was giddy with excitement about our new refrigeration unit. I said was. On Thursday of last week it decided to stop working. Come on!! Give us a BREAK! Somehow the refrigerant leaked out of the unit and it was no longer able to cool. We called the manufacturer and they were extremely pleasant and referred us to Deltaville Boatyard for a fix. Luckily, since this machine is brand-spankin-new, this is a warranty issue and more of an inconvenience than a real problem. I have decided that real problems cost money. Free things that slow us down are just inconveniences. Yesterday the guy from the boatyard came back to check in on the re-charge he did on Saturday and there were no leaks! Yay! I have ice again!
My Dad has stuck with us over the past week helping to finish the last minute projects. He has completely redesigned our navigation panel above the chart table beautifully. We upgraded our VHF and also the stereo system. Check out this before shot.
It was made out of plywood and had been reconfigured a number of times. A roller coaster of rainbow wires were revealed once he removed the old panel. Now, everything is tie wrapped, labeled and secured in place. This satisfies my obsessive compulsive disease immensely. Here is the finished panel.
We have also been installing the new Garmin 3006C Chart Plotter in the cockpit, the new Nauticast B AIS system, mounting solar panels and the wind generator! I will hopefully update the SmugMug page soon with some photos of our progress.
Hopefully, Sunday is the day! The day that we can Get Outta Dodge! Stay tuned to see if we make it. Cross your fingers!