More Outfitting on Island Ranger

[CaptMac]

We've added a few upgrades to Island Ranger in prepartation for our departure next week - and I thought I should post a couple of them -

Linda really enjoys weaving, so we created a storage spot for her portable loom (a Jane - 8 shaft, table loom made by Louett and named after Jane Stafford from Salt Spring Island). I just added a second hatch cover to the current one over the mid station berth and used dowels to elevate so Jane could fit in her cubby. She can weave on the table or using the stand, she can sit on the bench in the cockpit and weave away!



So now all I have to do is find a place to store all the yarn !

Mac

 

[Stella Maris]

This would be much easier to do in an R-29..........

 

[CaptMac]

We're estimating about three months on board and wanted to make sure everything was working before we left. We took a brief shakedown cruise - 4 nights on the hook at Sucia - to test everything. It rained a bit, not hard, but even with the cloudy weather the solar panels were able to provide enough power to keep up with the power demands during the day. We ran the fridge, the new portable freezer (Novakooler 45), computers, lights, electronics, etc - and even ran the water maker (Katadyn 40E power survivor which makes about 1.5 gallons of fresh water per hour using aorund 4 amps ) for a couple of hours each day.

When the motor was running, you can't hear the watermaker. But, when anchored - it does make enough noise pumping to be noticable. I sure do like having an almost unlimited supply of fresh water though! We added fresh and black water tank monitors so we can keep track of things (and did plumb the second output line of the water maker direct to the fresh water holding tank). I know the manual says don't do that (you can contaminate your entire water supply if the watermaker fails), but it sure is convenient to just fill the tank back up.

While the panels did keep up with the demand during the day, they did not make enough power to recharge the batteries on cloudy days. On sunny days, the panels even recharged the batteries. I am extremely thankful to Stuart (Spirit of Gratitude) for talking me into adding the Xantrax Link Pro battery monitor. I really like being able to see exactly how many amp hours are left in the batteries....


Mac

 

[CaptMac]

Two other upgrades -

After getting hit on the head from everything falling out of the overhead shelf, I added some bungee cord and netting to the openings. I just drilled a couple of holes in the wood and threaded the bungee cord through to hold the netting. It seems to work like a champ.



and



Another thing that really helped with the head - we added a toilet brush in a holder that we fill with cleaning liquid. We use it every time we use the head - keeps it clean and minimizes the flushing required. I attached two velcro straps to the wall to hold the unit in place.



Mac

 

[CaptMac]

And a new toy for me - a sail kit for the Portland Pudgy!



and



It is fun to sail and can really handle a strong breeze. Everything stores right in/on the dinghy, so it doesn't take any more space to bring it along...

Mac

 

[Nellie Too]

Looks great but would expect nothing less from you guys. I like the sail boat.
Bob & Nita

 

[sparky]

So, I guess you and Linda will be weaving wery soon!? :lol:

 

[captd]

You guys have a great safe trip. Keep us posted with lots of picture. I hope to follow in your foot steps. Dee might change her mind based on your postings. 🙂

captd

 

[baz]

Good sailing Mac.... 🙂 Your upgrades look handsome and the PP sailing gear seems to have worked out for you. I will be asking you for a report on how well the PP handles with sails. I held off getting the sailing rig for my PP and used my budget to buy the Torqeedo electric motor. 😉 I want to see the two of you AND your two dogs in the PP with the sail up. 😀