Hauled, Cleaned, Repaired, and Splashed

On the Rail

One of the main reasons for heading back here to Virginia instead of going straight to New England was because of the haul-out facility here. Since we are a catamaran not every boat yard with a travel lift can haul us because of our wide beam (23' 7").  Before we came up we checked around Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina, but while there were many places to haul us, they also were a lot more expensive and often wouldn't let you do your own work. Some of the ones that did, were quite expensive compared to what we had experienced here last year.

Shake Down is Almost Over...Heading North

We've spent the last 2 months getting used to our boat and figuring out what things we'd like to change or upgrade. Our trip has basically taken us from Charleston, SC to Key West and now we're headed back north (to where, we aren't sure yet). The boat is only 9 years old but the previous owners lived aboard so some things have really gotten worn out. While I'm happy to say that most of our gear is in good shape, there are several things we need to upgrade, for example:  rip out the old carpet in the salon and replace with something else, replace or repair the galley sink and counters, finish repainting the interior, add solar panels, upgrade most or all lights to LEDs, get a new mainsail cover made, and look into adding a light air sail (screecher). Bill would also like a stainless frame for our cockpit awning, but that may have to wait. We also don't really like our refrigerator because it's huge and we only use about half of it which makes it pretty inefficient (and power hungry, hence the need for more solar panels), but that may also have to stay the way it is. I also have lots and lots of sewing projects to attend to - they seem to get put on the back-burner when there is school and cooking to do.