[Previous entry: "Friends leaving"] [Next entry: "Vacation delay"]

06/19/2007: "Getting ready"

We spent the weekend getting things ready for our trip. Last year we took the bimini off to replace the canvas. This meant we had to take off the solar panels which I put in storage. We have been looking at the bimini frame and how to change it to our satisfaction before replacing the canvas. We still do not have the new design finalized. Fortunately I haven’t started cutting anything. Since we are planning to be gone for two weeks and anchoring out most days we decided to put the frame back on and mount the solar panels without the canvas to help with keeping the batteries charged. Saturday I got the panels mounted and all of the connections reconnected, turned off the charger and we are relying solely on the panels. So far everything is staying charged up even with the refrigeration running. We should be in good shape for the trip.

Cori spent the weekend making screens for the hatches since we expect there to be a lot of bugs in some of the areas we will be anchoring. We have screens for the windows but the old hatch screens were not in good enough shape to reuse. Since we are on the far end of the long dock we don’t have a bug problem very often so not having screens has never been an issue. Monday was running around picking up necessities – propane, oil, snacks, etc. and making phone calls. We sent our EPIRB in to have the battery replaced and now we are trying to get it back in time. Our insurance only covers Pamlico and Albemarle sounds so we need to get a rider to travel outside our coverage area. There are a lot of small details but our biggest concern is what the weather will be doing. The weather will dictate our route so we are keeping an eye on the forecasts.