We did put together a list of the work last month that we'd like to get done on the boat before we leave and sent it on to Rich Larsen at Manitowoc Marine. He then took that list and re-organized it into, critical items for the boat to be safe, suggested items for proper function and a list of items that are niceties if we have enough money to get them done.

Right now we are only focusing on the critical items. After review of the systems, we agree, that the main electrical panel needs to be completely replaced and much of the main electrical backbone of the boat needs to be redesigned. This will allow us to truly integrate the equipment being installed with the electrical panels on the boat instead of just adding one system on top of the last one, as the prior owner had done.

Most of the electrical system has been designed and now we are going to clean out the engine room put a fresh coat of bilge coat and begin putting fresh electrical and other systems backing the boat. We are very excited about this fresh approach because we will have an integrated, well designed complete system when we complete this refit.

We found some very disturbing things as the yard stripped the engine room. One of the battery cables had melted into a battery, there were a few capacitors and other electrical components which were just hanging by the wires. All in all, we already feel better and we have not put a single component back in. See the picture and the fresh start.

We did get one bit of very good news during the review of the boat. The toe rails, which we thought would have to be completely removed and re-bedded, have dried out and there is only one area that needs to be addressed. So, that little soft spot will be dried out and filled with epoxy and that portion of the toe rail re-bedded.

We have settled on several items including the re-designed electrical control panel, MasterVolt 9.6kw generator, Xantrax inverter/controller, Stainless steel12 gallon water heater and 4 - 8d AGM batteries for the house batteries and two Group 27 starter batteries for the engine and generator. The refit is in full swing and we are excited to see the progress.

Lastly, we are taking a little brake from winter and going sailing/snorkeling/scuba diving in Belize, we won't be back to tell the story before this newsletter but we will tell you all about it when we return. One thing we are finding is how useful it is to sail extended periods on other boats to see how they are set up and if we like their setup or not.

More later.

Happy New Year,