Job 5

In the tropics it's "Shade or Die"
We love our new dodger, bimini and boombag.

 So way back last summer when we returned to BC we had a list of 5 big projects that we wanted to work through to have the boat ready to go. There were of course 3 or 4 thousand smaller projects that we have also worked through over the course of the last 12 months. All in all, we are thinking that we are in pretty good shape (touch wood). We often marvel at how patient some of our visitors have been over the past year putting up with various deficiencies and gaps in our understanding of boat systems. Everyone is invited back to see the progress we have made. Patrick, we have come a long way since you and Bev were here a year ago. Gord and Jane, we now have 'sailing under a bimini' figured out so that we can have good access to view the sails without dying in the tropical sun. Ian and Caroline, we now have the watermaker working so that the ritual of cleaning dishes off the stern of the boat is a thing of the past. Brent -- we love our new outboard cowling. That Merc just works now and we no longer live in fear of a moderate sized boat wake. Chris and Anna, you would love that the last of cardboard boxes are gone and there is space to put things away. It's all good!

This past week we have finally gotten to 'Job 5' which is a new furler for our 100% jib. The previous owner of Sophrosyne had removed this inner headstay in favour of a headstay rigged to mid bow which was never really anything more than a handhold getting on and off the boat. We have found that in the tropics -- where the wind blows (just ask any of those people mentioned above) -- we have sailed too much with our 130% genoa and a triple reefed main. In this configuration the boat is unbalanced and the autohelm works extra hard to keep us on track. The boat was designed with a self-tacking 100% jib and we are moving back to that setup hoping that it will allow us to sail with a bit more main showing and a better helm balance.

While we are at it. We have new saloon cushions which make it seem like home. (those are Christopher's clothes on the floor in the forward stateroom just to give it that 'lived in' feeling.

So, in review the Big 5 are:

1.) New dodger/bimini/boom bag (and saloon cushions -- you know, while we are at it) DONE. The old dodger had clears that were so brittle and cracked that even duct tape couldn't keep them alive.

2.) New radar/sonar DONE.

3.) New Max-prop. DONE.

4.) New Lithium Ion battery and modified solar charging DONE. I'm Lovin It. It has been over a month now with no shore charge and we have been squandering energy trying to find the end of our capacity -- watermaker, inverted shop-vac, power tools.

Energy from the sun is just -- magic. It seems silly but I really can't quite get over it.

5.) Back to that furler. We are slow on this one because the furler foil and jibtrack were lost in transit and spent most of a season in New Zealand. Eventually they were delivered (all in good shape) and we are able to get on with that project. We did get some help from Westside Rigging as we needed to have a longer headstay to reach back to the bow again. Happy to report that the new headstay and foil are in place with just the jibtrack left to install. Happy days.

Finishing touches on the new headstay and foil. Thanks to the boys at Westside Rigging for their help through this process.

So, with all this done now we have been making our plans to depart Fiji. We have been saying goodbye to some of our favorite spots as we will leave from Vuda to head west in a couple of weeks. We have 1 small detour (Saltspring Island, BC) for a family wedding but once we return we will be off into the ocean.

That's all for now folks -- more to come in the coming days.