While we were back home catching up with family (and learning Tai Chi) in Austin, FullCircle was out of the water and sitting in the BlueFix Boatworks shed. Prior to leaving we had identified a number of things to have done while we were away. The list included 1) removing and repairing the stbd motor damaged when seawater shorted out the motor controllers, 2) replacing the battery banks (both 12VDC house batteries and the 144VDC propulsion batteries), 3) replacing the standoffs for the sailing hardware, 4) applying new non-skid on the decks, 5) adding a stiffener in each hull, 6) repainting the outside ceiling of the coachroof (over the backporch, 7) fine tuning the aft hatch closure to reduce water coming in during heavy seas, 8) repairing the NN3D Black Box that failed on our return trip from Fiji, and 9) repairing a window seal that had failed from an earlier leak. Brad and Charlotte from BlueFix and Ben from Mckay saw to it that everything was taken care of.

Repairing the damaged stbd motor was our top priority. Ben took care of things on this side of the world while Matt (our original systems integrator for the propulsion system) worked closely with Homewood Industries (the motor manufacturer) to see that the motor got repaired in a timely manner in the US. I want to emphasize that the damaged motor was not any kind of design or manufacturing flaw. But everyone recognized that without their help we could not get the boat functioning again. They could not have been better to have supporting us.

We knew from our tests at the beginning of last years cruising season that we would likely want to replace our batteries for this season. The tests we ran confirmed that, so we had to make a decision as to the replacement batteries. While we considered the new lithium technology, ultimately we choose to stay with what we knew - our Discover AGM batteries. While the lifetime costs of the lithium batteries may be equal or less than the AGMs, the initial investment is substantially greater (2-3X) for the lithium technology once you consider the batteries, battery management system, and replacement chargers, etc. The Discover batteries had performed quite well for us, especially given the abuse they received.

At the end of our first cruising season it was apparent that the hardwood standoffs that had been used to mount the solar panels and sailing hardware to the decks were failing. We replaced the solar panel standoffs after the first season. We limped along trying to put band-aides on the others until finally last year we replaced the standoff for the self-tacking jib track. BlueFix did a very cost effective job of molding a new standoff, so this year we replaced the standoffs for all the other sailing hardware. Wow, what a difference - they look great, and are structurally very sound.

The original non-skid was failing (the grit was coming off) in some places and was badly stained in others. Since the boat was a) going to be inside the shed for all the other work and b) the standoffs for the deck hardware were being replaced, it seemed like it was a good time to have this done (see how that logic works?). The boat looks brand new with the new non-skid on the deck!

Last year when I had Brad assess the boat to make sure that the hull was sound after our Pacific crossing, he concluded that everything was in good shape, but recommended adding a stiffening piece in each hull along an otherwise long unsupported section of the hull. He felt that since the bulkheads at the front and back of the hull sections had been cut back significantly for the doorways, adding these stiffeners would be a good thing for the long term stiffness of the boat. They did a great job of adding these with minimal impact to the wall covering and flooring. It would be hard to tell that they had been added if you didn’t know otherwise.

The textured paint on the underside of our coachroof over the backporch had begun to fail (chipping areas growing larger and larger). This old textured paint was removed and a non-textured flat paint applied to reduce glare. It looks great.

Last year they made some improvements to our aft locker hatch covers to try and prevent water from leaking into the lockers in heavy seas. While the changes were certainly improvements, we still had significant amounts of water get into the lockers in the 4-5m seas we encountered going to Fiji. After looking at the situation from inside the lockers (yes, I made Cindy get in the locker while I threw buckets of water at the hatch cover), we discovered that we needed to add a “dam” across the rear of the locker to promote a tighter fit with the hatch cover. Hopefully this will solve our problem for the future.

Our NN3D BB (black box) chart plotter gave us a blue screen last year on the return trip from Fiji to NZ. Interestingly we had a number of other cruisers have to replace or repair their 5 year old chart plotters during the season as well. The culprit for us turned out to be a bad video card. These systems have much shorter life-times than I would like to see - built-in obsolescence is alive and well in the marine electronics industry!

During our first season we had some water leaks around our large fixed windows. Over time we were able to address these leaks. Unfortunately some damage was done by the water that only became evident last year. Brad was able to isolate the problem area, but we determined that to properly fix the issue required removing and re-bedding the window. Since the window was not leaking at that time we decided to put this repair off for some future time. With the boat out of the water and inside the shed, now was the time to get this issue out of the way. With all of the rain we have had since splashing the boat it is clear that the window is bedded well with no leaks!

This was obviously a big list of items to have addressed while we were gone. Brad, Charlotte and Ben spent time with us prior to our going back to Austin to define exactly what we wanted to do, what was important to us, etc. Estimates were provided for the work and a schedule established to have the work done prior to our return. Along the way Charlotte provided me weekly updates, we talked by phone as necessary and they provided pictures as the work progressed. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel being able to work with these guys. Not only are they technically competent, skilled craftsmen, but they truly care about customer service.

A bonus from our decision to haul the boat was the fact that 1) the dollars we would have spent on having the boat in the marina berth was used instead to pay for work performed on the boat, and 2) we avoided having to haul the boat to have the bottom re done. Other cruisers and locals as well have been amazed at how bad the marine growth has been the last several years. They do not allow you to dive on your boat to clean the bottom in the Bay of Islands, so your only real option is to haul the boat to have the bottom cleaned. The growth has been so bad that most people have to repaint. That was one thing I was happy to avoid doing this season!