The docks are very busy here at the Bay of Islands Marina, as boats prepare to head north to the islands for another cruising season. Just like us, many cruisers had work done while they were away visiting their home on the dirt, or land touring around New Zealand. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of both planned and unplanned projects still to be finished. Here is an overview of the projects that have been keeping us busy before heading off to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

When we returned to Texas in November we had made arrangements for a number of things to be done on the boat. First, we planned to have the bottom redone. In 2015 we had identified that the epoxy barrier coat was not adhering well in places on the bottom. Patch jobs were done so that new bottom paint could be applied. Last year we decided to try and get one more year out of the paint and existing bottom. Over the course of the cruising season last year we had a few more places show up where the epoxy barrier coat came off, so we knew it was time to bite the bullet and have the complete job done this year. (I have to add that one of the reasons that we choose to proceed was the confidence that I had in BlueFix performing the work!) BlueFix Boat Yard removed all the bottom paint and epoxy barrier coat back to the fiberglass. They inspected the bottom and patched fiberglass where needed before fairing. Interprotect epoxy barrier coat was then added, and finally the bottom paint (Sea Hawk BioCop). When we got back and saw the bottom it was stunning, and we were even more pleased when we noticed an increase in boat speed while motoring as well. The other job we had done by BlueFix and McKay Electric was an upgrade to the ventilation system for our motors. Our electric motors are air cooled and while the original ventilation system worked fine in the Pacific NW and Alaska, we have noticed in the tropics that if we have to motor for extended periods we need to be mindful of the ventilation in the motor compartments. After some calculations, discussions, and feedback from the suppliers, we installed two 7” “plastic, sealed radiator fans” on both motor compartments through a dorade style box venting from the motor compartment into the rudder compartment. We opened up vents at the face of the motor compartments for incoming air and two large vents as exhausts out of our aft cross-beam into the backporch for the additional airflow. The fans are connected to “smart” relays that are programmed to allow one fan in both compartment to run when the motors are “on” and a second fan to run when the motors are run at higher amps. That way both fans only come on when that motor is seeing higher amperage. We will see how this system performs over this next cruising season.

We also had one of those “unplanned” projects, eg an unwelcome surprise. When the yard was removing the rudders to fair the bottom, they discovered severe corrosion of the rudder shafts. The culprit was that the rudder posts had not been bonded (long story). The good news in this story is that we found out about the problem this way rather than having a rudder break underway (I can list at least a dozen examples of this kind of failure that I am aware of). We now have new rudder posts and they are properly bonded!

We also made arrangements for a new North 3Di jib, after our laminated jib came apart progressively over the course of last year. I will say it again, our experience is that laminated sails don’t last cruising in the tropics! (To be fair the jib did last 1 more season than the main.) I’ve continued to watch as cruisers get to NZ and are faced with replacing their laminated sails. It was also time to replace our canvas, so we have gotten a new Stack Pack to cover the mainsail, a set of chaps for the dinghy (we should have put these on when the dinghy was brand new to extend the life of the dinghy!), and a sun shade that covers the entire back porch (we have used everything from bed sheets to printed fabric from French Polynesia).

The Genset has hit 1500hrs of use and it was time to service the fuel injectors. The Genset also got a new starter battery after our old one went dead while we were gone (the breaker that allows it to be trickle-charged was found in the off position when we returned).

One job that I have not gotten to yet (as I write this) is replacing the membranes in the water maker. Last season the product water (what we drink) had a higher TDS (salt) than prior years. The levels were still below acceptable standards, just not what we had been producing. After troubleshooting and discussing with the vendor we came to the conclusion that it was time to change the membranes. The two new membranes flew with us as checked luggage from the US. As we sit here I know of at least two other boats trying to get their water makers operational before leaving for the islands. Another “surprise” upon our return was that the accumulator tank for the freshwater system had failed. I was told that on cruising boats that a 5 year lifetime for an accumulator tank is the norm. The good news was that we were able to get one locally. Why does it seem that 5 years is the average lifetime for everything on a cruising boat?

As they say, cruising is all about repairing your boat in exotic places!