... and thousands of dollars in technology and lead in between..

and a fridge..but all that will keep cold, enough produce, milk and perishables for 2 people and last anywhere up to a week. I think those cruisers who live seemingly happy lifestyles without refrigeration are likely much better off on longer, remote passages or if you extend beyond your resources.

It's been a furious summer getting this and that done around the boat. KARMA IV is a Queen bee, her humble servants scurrying around catering to her every need. KARMA IV will soon become our floating home so today we change our center of effort to unloading, cleaning and making ready to live aboard. I can and must still dabble with the remaining task list but from today forward KARMA IV is a sailboat first a residence second and a project third. Change is good.

Since getting a basic electrical circuit established I was able to energize the main breaker panel at the nav station and that allowed a 24 hour test to see if the refrigerator still worked after almost 2 years in limbo. The weather co-operated, providing a brisk, steady diet of 15- 25 knot winds that had the wind generator churning out the amps. I estimate that the wind generator supplied 75% of the fridges power needs over the next 24 hours. The winds tamed down over that 24 hour test but if they had of remained constant there should of been a surplus returned to the battery. The little fan on the rectifier unit came on and ran constantly during periods that coincided with higher wind gusts. Still more to learn about the Air Maxx system but I liked what I saw yesterday.

After the 24 hour fridge test we discovered that the water bottles left in the freezer compartment had frozen solid, the cooling system works just fine and we plan on running the fridge a lot more as we move aboard.