(posted 02/19/24)
We got up early to get to the boat, Reneé took laundry in and we were expecting a 1015 time for splash. I saw Salvador when I got to the yard, and he said 1415. Of course I did not look at the tide chart. We did not splash until much later (closer to high tide).
I worked on electronics, I got the chart plotters to talk to each other and to show the maps, but I could not get the Auto Pilot to see the network. That will be a project for tomorrow. Then I started into the project of changing the set points for the Battery Charger, I had already updated the solar controllers. First thing I did was disconnect the network from our old router. This was a wired connection, and the new router (with Starlink) doesn’t have a port. Then I went online to find out how to connect to the WiFi. Very easy. In the meantime, I had called Battleborn, the company I bought the batteries and chargers from and left a message for tech support. Hugh Sprock called me back and we spent the next hour or so updating the firmware and adjusting set points. This was the first time I had updated the firmware since installation, so quite a few changes had been made (I can see almost none of them).
Eventually, the yard picked up the boat in the truck, finished the bottom paint, and pulled us out to the lift. They picked up the boat and turned around so that we would go in bow first. We had a couple of people from the yard help with lines and we were in the water. We opened the isolation valve for the engine and verified water flow, then out!
We did not have far to go, and of course the wind was blowing. We banged into the dock pretty hard, and tweaked the port side ladder. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at “fixing” that.
We rigged up the bosuns chair and Reneé hooked up the lines for the dinghy, and polished some of the stainless steel on the aft arch and we put the paddle boards and kayak out, this cleared the deck.
Now that we are back in the water, we could turn on the refrigerator and freezer (both are keel cooled, so we have to be in the water to use them), good news the freezer is working, bad news the refrigerator is not. We expected something like this, the refrigerator has a small Freon leak, as in about once a year we have to recharge it. I have the Freon and the hoses/gauges so I can do it. So, it is on the list.
As I said the leak is very small, we have talked to the manufacturer of the unit, who said absolutely do NOT put dye in the system, as the dye will settle out in the keel cooler (at the bottom of the boat) and block the Freon flow, and the fix for that might include removing the keel cooler and replacing it. Refrigeration on a boat is a complicated thing, there are three major parts, the keel cooler, the cold plate in the refrigerator and the compressor. Of course the piping in between. Most of the piping is inside the cabinets, so I can’t see it to find a leak, we have had a couple of refrigeration techs look at it, but the end result is, charge it and wait until next year and charge it again.
Another thing to add to the list is the wind speed and direction, it did not appear to work as we had the electronics turned on. That typically means replacing the sensor at the top of the mast (I don’t do heights) and of course we don’t have a spare, and the nearest one is a mail order from the states and then getting it here. I just checked and the delivery date is February 22 – 26, and it’s about $360 plus tax (19% or about $70) and shipping to get it to us. We might have to figure out how to get it sent to Santa Rosalia or Puerto Escondido.
Then dinner and up to the room here in the marina for showers and back to the boat for our first night sleeping in our own bed on our boat.
