Boat upgrades – Round 2

If you read my former post – Boat Upgrades–Round 1 – you’ll know that Conor has been working non-stop since January to get Sabática all geared up for our new season. While not 100% complete yet, it’s time to report on the bigger batch of upgrades. Recall our goals:

1. Anchor out more (as opposed to dock at marinas)
2. Sail more (as opposed to relying so much on motors)
3. Improve general safety, comfort or convenience

The various upgrades we are doing to support our goals are all interconnected, like a giant puzzle or maybe like a line of dominos. We want to be more independent so we don’t have to always rely on marina services like electricity, water, and laundry facilities. This is largely due to the fact that marinas are expensive and anchoring out on your own is not. As described in my previous post, we’ve got our awesome new anchor ready to secure us and our own cute washing machine onboard. Now take the goal of sailing more. This means using engines (and diesel) less. When running, the engines charge our house batteries, so if we aren’t running engines, we have to rely more on solar energy generation. Add to that we’re at anchor and don’t have access to shore power. And, we’ve added that cute washing machine that needs power (and water). And, we’re adding other appliances that need power. See where this is going? So, what we needed to support all these systems was more solar power, and in turn, a better battery bank to store up as much energy as possible.

Conor has done all the research, studying, designing, planning, and implementation unless noted otherwise. Great job, Skippy!! I will also commend Conor for his patience as procuring marine items in Europe is painfully slow as can be getting work done.

1) Battery upgrade – The largest job Conor undertook was to upgrade our house bank of batteries from lead acid gel batteries (which provided 520 amp hours) to lithium ion batteries (which provide 600 amp hours). That may not sound like much of a difference, but it really is huge. Three small, lighter lithium ions replaced four large, heavy lead acids. Our new batteries charge faster all the way up to 100% and can discharge deeper (down to 20%) meaning much more of their power can be used. In contrast, the old batteries would only charge quickly up to 80% capacity, and you could only discharge to 50% of their capacity. So for anyone quick with math, you might have figured out that the old batteries provided only 30% useable capacity (so 156 amp hours), while our new batteries now provide 80% useable capacity (480 amp hours). Big upgrade which will allow us to store much more energy from our solar panels, and thus, be much more independent from shore power. Conor did all of this himself – the design of the overall system, procurement, and installation. He did avail of a couple of neighbors’ expertise from time to time to confirm his electrical choices. The installation itself took about three weeks. I’m not really doing Conor justice here as there was WAY more involved than just the batteries. For anyone curious, you can check out Conor’s 14-page design doc here. He essentially designed our new system to allow us to anchor out for up to two cloudy days and still support all of the appliances on board (washing machine, toaster, kettle, lights, etc.)

2) Solar power upgrade – On the heels of our awesome new battery bank, we could now add more solar panels. So, we added six more panels which will provide another 690 watts of solar power generation to our chargers.  We went from a 920 watt generation capability to a 1610 watt generation capability. Not too shabby! Now, to add these panels to Sabática, we needed to get a steel platform built for the stern. A local outfit did this for us, and while they work on Italian time, they did a fabulous job.

In full disclosure, we technically only have five panels installed as one, unfortunately, shattered from shipment. Replacement coming!

3) Head sail – Last summer, more often than not, we either had no wind to sail by or had the wind coming straight onto our nose. In order to avail more of light winds, Conor planned to add an additional head sail – technically called a Code 0 / Screecher. He likes the term Screecher. 😉 Basically, it will be a massive sail secured to the very front of Sabática. Again due to Italian time, we don’t actually have her yet, but Sabática is all prepped and ready for her. First, we had to procure a bowsprit (a spar that extends off the bow/front to which the screecher will be mounted) and get it installed such that measurements for the sail could be taken. That might sound easy, but I can’t express how much stress was involved in the procurement and installation process. Conor’s best friend whom he visits nearly every day – the owner of the marina chandlery (marine shop) – did the installation for us. Conor then installed two blocks (pulleys) for running lines (ropes) and a winch. Our daughter, Laura, designed the sail for us, and now we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can collect it in mid-May.

4) Watermaker – We have an 800-liter (about 211-gallon) fresh water tank onboard that supplies all of our water for sinks, toilets, showers, and hoses. All year we have refilled the tank by connecting to a shore supply. So, to gain more independence, Conor installed our own watermaker to be able to desalinate seawater ourselves (like many boaters do). Our Spectra watermaker will produce 37 liters (about 8 gallons) of fresh water per hour. One reason Conor chose this particular one is because it runs on 12V DC and is very power efficient. Conor did the installation himself (including electrical and plumbing). Now we just have to get Sabática hauled out (which we’re doing in Malta in a few weeks) in order to make a thru-hull (a hole) so we can take in sea water. Another “stay tuned…”

5) Window screens – Last year we were able to get window screens made for all of the “upstairs” windows (around the galley and salon area). These screens mostly provide protection from the sun’s heat, but for windows that open, they also act as great mosquito screens. We were not, unfortunately, able to get screens made for all the windows in the “downstairs” (cabin areas) due to the type of windows we have. Conor found a neat idea from a YouTube video, designed it with better materials, procured, and prototyped. I then did the crafty implementation. My tiny contribution! However, we are super excited to be able to open windows in the cabins now to let air in and not worry about pesky mosquitoes coming in as well. Definitely a comfort improvement and possibly the one our guests might be aware of the most! 😉

Lots of other small things have been done on Sabática as well. There is always something to improve. But, we now have enough of the big things done, and she is ready to set sail. We have our first guests arriving and our new season starting very soon! 🙂