Going down our to do list...
1- Electrical
* Nathan continued to add switches and circuit breakers, draw cables to connect every piece of equipment we have on the boat in a nice and clean way. It now works and needs only some cosmetic (there's a bunch of wires in the nav table now which really shouldn't live outside :)
* We have tried the big solar panel and it delivers MASSIVE amounts of power. It looks like between all of our solar panels, we might be able to run the autopilot during the day as the panel will replenish the batteries in real time (at night it'll become more difficult). Nathan suggested that we may be able to have a nice lazy morning nap as typically mornings are light.
2- Communication and navigation
* The GPS is working fine (and really something we should rely on it a bit more...)
* The autopilot is now calibrated and it WORKS, also in wind mode, eg it steers to apparent wind. We even tried it in conditions with a little bit of weather helm and it didn't bother it in the least. So I am proud to say that "Nick" drove the boat to and back from Alcatraz and took us through a tack. It feels a little weird not to have to touch the tiller but that's kind of cool :)
- Also we can now use the knotmeter (GPS gives us speed over ground, NKE speed over water and the two combined give an indication of current at races that allow such a combination of instruments) - NKE is also a cool lit digital compass, very handy for night sailing.
3- Deck hardware
* added permanent fitting for the Raymarine autopilot (our emergency one) and resined in the pin it connects to on the tiller.
* repaired strobe holder
* added 2 fairleads to guide the foreguy back to the cabin top on starboard side if we use the foredeck fitting to hold the pole down.
4- Emergency
* fixed our bilge pump and bought a strainer for it (since some plastic crap had gotten stuck in the hose was causing the problem...
* we decided to follow Nathan's recommendation and NOT mount the boat EPIRB. We will add it to our grab bag instead.
* inventory of what we have in our first aid kit (added Sam Splint and bandage scissors) and corresponding shopping list
5- Sails
* We tried the spinnaker net and it fits (with a little lanyard) - looks pretty cool :)
* got a new long bag for our Dacron #3
* re-rigged the traveler line so it can be adjusted easily when the driver is hiking up
6- Comfort
* We tried the stove and cooked some freeze dried Jambalaya and soups on it. Definitely pretty good at heating things which I suppose is a rather good thing for a stove.
* got a nice big thermos to keep water warm all night long. Also bought another plastic plate, 2 set of camping cutlery and a bigger pan...Also found places to stow all of this away somehow...
* got one yoga mat to soften the quarterberth surface...
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