Table of Contents
Rigging & Exterior Work in Bradenton, Florida
Our St Francis 50 refit continues to be awash with activity. Our refits touch on all aspects of our catamaran, SV Aphrodite.
To start, here is a view of her exterior.
In the photo above, Brad, who is heavily involved with the refits, is going up the mast. Pat Reischmann of Hy-Tech Marine is standing to the left of the mast in the yellow shirt.
Pat has built more than 200 boats, and was one of the visionaries behind Manta Catamarans. He has been advising us during our St Francis 50 refit process. Pat has another client at the marina that we’re at in Bradenton, Florida. They own a Helia catamaran and are doing a refit to prepare their boat for circumnavigation.
The couple on the Helia completed their world circumnavigation in March 2020. Their journey spanned roughly five years, covering over 34,000 nautical miles across 27 countries.
Interior Teardown & Weight Reduction
Inside, parts of our boat look gutted. For example, the television has been taken out, along with a outdated car stereo. These electronics were deemed to be too heavy.
Also in the saloon, the leather saloon seats were removed today for refurbishing.
Living Aboard Challenges & Countertop Refinishing
If you wanted to use the bathrooms right now, you would be out of luck. There is no running water at the moment. Fortunately, our boat is located very near the marina bathrooms. We are replacing the water pumps.
And the stove top has been removed to allow for the Corian countertop to be refinished. This limits meal options to microwavable dinners, sandwiches and cold cereal.
My husband has been taking lots of video, largely for the benefit of our cabinet maker, Derek. Because Derek lives in Victoria, B.C. these videos provide him with a sense of the work to be completed when he comes to work on our boat in early July.
Electrical System & Alternator Upgrades
I enjoy the videos too because I live in Ottawa, and haven’t seen the boat in person since early April. One of the videos shows the master berth filled with boxes of parts, including the new solar panels. Spools of wire lie on the floor.
I asked my husband about the spools of wire. He said the wire was being laid-out to connect the new alternators to the batteries. The new alternators are 200 amps, whereas the old alternators were 80 amps.
While we preserved the original wiring, we needed thicker wire to carry the extra energy to the batteries. He tells me that the wiring is now complete, and the spools of wire have been removed.
Work is happening in parallel. During the day, our boat is a hub of activity. And, my husband has been meeting contractors, and researching and ordering parts full-time. He gets home from Florida tomorrow.