Provisioning

Storage on a boat is a pain. Everything is eventually attacked by the harsh environment. Plastic is a great help. Here we use an empty jar to store our pills. They are stored in our fridge so the heat  won't get to them, and the jar protects it from spills.       

We also use plastic small coke bottles to store water and juices. They are easier to fit into the fridge and more compact. You don't store empty space like you would in bigger bottles.

We use 2 L coke bottles for storing flour, rice, sugar, popcorn.... etc. This protects from moisture and bugs. It is also easier to store under bunks and salon cushions.

We will never again buy large economy size containers of liquid dish soap or laundry soap. You can get it anywhere, and you end up storing half-empty containers. Also, the liquid laundry soap jugs BOTH split open, spilling their contents all under our nice teak & holly floor (ruining it) and into the bilge where it destroyed the bilge pump.

All of our   brass lamps and reading lights have developed black spots of tarnish under the lacquer covering spray. This is ugly and we are now sanding them and repainting. This is a lot cheaper than replacing....

Well Julie continued to sand while I got the paint booth set up in the back locker. I spread newspaper around to catch the over spray.

Once they were sprayed they were moved into the drying area for a day. Just like back in the old factory.....

The last step was to reassemble and reinstall.... My concern was that the paint would not be able to handle the heat. It's been 2 months now and no problems.

The paint was just ordinary gold paint you can buy in any hardware store for $7. The oil lamp works great taking the chill of the boat at night while watching TV or reading a book.

You will notice the lamp is one we purchased from West with a modification. We bought a stainless salad bowl, drilled a hole in the center and installed it upside down over the chimney. This stops the heat from getting to your ceiling and radiates more evenly to the rest of the boat.

Varnishing has to be kept up too. It's a good idea in our opinion to have as little as possible on the outside of the boat, but we do have trim around the companionway and a teak cockpit table....

Duct Tape is being used here to repair our dingy bilge pump. It has been cracked for two years and I duct tape it every 6 months to keep it going. If it is stolen so what... "Red Green" lives

Propane Solenoid with heavy corrosion on the carbon steel coil housing. This created two concerns. The switch stopped working properly and had to be replaced, and how to stop it in the future....      

First of all everything had to be pulled apart. I have  a pressure gauge at the tank to give me an indicator of leaks. The regulator (aluminum) was cleaned up. The new regulator was sprayed with lacquer to provide more protection (there is probably  something better).

I used pipe dope to but everything back together... Yippee it works. 

Propane Tanks that are carbon steel rust... not a good thing. This one started to rust as soon as we got it out of the store. I applied 2 good coats of good poly paint before it got out of hand

Computer Scanning... we scan everything. Here Julie scans her log books. We use Adobe for this and everything else. We then "Burn" the data onto CD's. This works for music, home movies, digital pics etc. etc

Wind Generator - KISS bought in Trinidad. Quiet, generates lots of power. We had a Rutland 913, but that wind generator had little output compared to the Kiss, and was not as noisy as AirMarine.

Solar panels - now have 260 watts. We left Canada with 100 watts, upgraded in St Martin. More is better.

Honda generator - just a little gas 1000 watt generator. Quiet and gives us 20+ amps onto the batteries, powers our computers & sewing machines.

Rainwater collection system on deck - put through hulls in the low spots and can now catch loads of water. Better than trying to use the bimini or awning because it works even when its windy.

Dinghy & outboard - 10.5 ft AB Aluminum bottom with 15hp Yamaha outboard. Yamahas are standard issue in the Carib. Can get parts & service easy. The AB dinghy is great - huge payload possible and nice dry ride. Both are a lot cheaper to buy in the Caribbean.

Davits - can easily haul the dinghy up. Don't have to stick the dinghy on the deck when sailing, can easily haul it way up out of the water in those crime-prone anchorages. Get good, strong ones that get the dinghy high out of the water.

Ham Radio - we have an ICOM 706, and the Pactor IIe for email. Ham operators license is a real asset.

Jerry Jugs for Diesel, Water, & Gas..... You will need them and you will get used to lugging all these liquids around. Recently we used a new 215 liter Vetus collapsible fuel tank we bought at a flea market - put it in the dinghy, filled the collapsible tank with water, brought it back to the boat and pumped it up into the tanks - how much easier!!

Heater - we installed a Dickenson propane heater and it saved our buts coming down the Hudson from Canada in November 1999. It is very efficient and no diesel smell.

BBQ - We have a propane Dickenson which has been great. In the past we had a couple of Force Ten BBQ's and they we terrible. They would always blow out or never really get hot enough. This one doesn't have those problems. Works in the "Trade Winds"