Last week with some help from my good friend Sam, we installed the new autohelm, and finished up the last few jobs that had to get done before we leave tomorrow, Monday, for our 3 week shakedown cruise through the Thousand Islands which are a group of islands at the east end of Lake Ontario up through the St. Lawrence River....
In the next few weeks we hope to check out all the systems on the boat and plan to stay on the hook for most of the time.
I have to say that the new Evolution Auto Pilot system from Raymarine is AMAZING! It was very simple to install and after I got stuck after reading the instructions (that will teach me) I called and their support people who went to great lengths to get me fixed up and going.... The problem was the instructions asked me to do too many things that the engineers have now automated. Quite literally, all you have to do to calibrate this unit is at the dock, turn you wheel from side to side a few times, then take the boat out into the bay and drive it in one or two circles - THATS IT! they have made this thing idiot proof! I may have spent a little more than I had anticipated on all this kit, but we will be more than happy with the outcome, I'm sure...
This week I also put on some dive gear and retrieved a few lost items around the docks including my very expensive sunglasses that I lost a few weeks ago... The water around the docks is really murky, so it was a more challenging dive than I would have liked... All in all though I made a few people happy by retrieving lost tools and boat parts...
On Thursday our new windows arrived for the new dodger that our good friend Mike is planning to build for us. His company fabricates aluminum exteriors for buildings and so fabricating our dodger should be a piece of cake... The only trouble is he is so busy, getting his time will be tough... Oh well, hopefully it will all come together when we get home.
The first leg of our trip will be a 26 hour run up the full length of Lake Ontario about 160 NMiles. It should be fun!
I will check in the next time we have internet... Cheers!
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After 9 years of planning, and 4 years of preparation, we are finally on the adventure of a lifetime... On July 1st 2014 we left Ontario Canada setting out on an adventure that might just take us around the world.... This blog is a chronical of not only our trip but the work that went into getting us and our Dufour 12000ct Ketch rigged sailboat ready.... Enjoy... We are happy to share our adventures...
Ahoy Matey. It's good to see you're back on the water. It would be interesting to know what you eat on your on-board buffet or do you dock and enjoy the local cuisine? I'll check in periodically to hear the latest scuttlebutt.
ReplyDeleteRon Bruce