What would we do with out our laptops ?

It was both Mark and Lotti's birthdays yesterday...so we celebrated..a bit.

We're just about ready to go. Provisioning is almost done, just a few things to get. Fill up with diesel on Tuesday and we clear out at Marsden wharf 1100 on Wednesday. Weather looks good for departure, SW breeze to speed us on our way. 

The alternator has had its internal regulator disconnected and the brush leads led outside so the new Next Step regulator can control the alternators field current.

The regulator is installed on the bulkhead in the engine room. Cable runs connect the regulator to the alternator on the engine and to the batteries for voltage and temperature sensing.

Getting the cables through the engine room wall was a hell of a job. Seems easy enough, drill a hole and poke the cable through....except it didn't appear on the other side. It was diverted by the heavy insulation, but after a lot of pushing and pulling and a few well chosen words to accompany the blood that was coming from my hands, I got it through. Then sealed up the hole with Sikaflex to preserve the watertight integrity of the engine room.

And here's the new battery charger replacing the 30A Dolphin charger and sitting underneath the 100A charger where the old one used to be.

These chargers run from 220VAC so are used with either shore power when at a marina or when the genset is running at sea.

This charger is programmable, which means that absorption and float voltages can be set to within 0.1 V.

So now we have the engine alternator and its regulator set to exactly the same voltages as the new charger.

This is the best way possible to look after the new batteries for maximum life.

Freezer full of pre-prepared meals

10 Chilli concarne

12 chicken lasagne

8 Thai chicken curry

8 salmon with leeks and carrots

                                                                 8 mushroom risotto

                                                                 8 Bolognaise sauce for pasta 

                                             (actually could be 16 - 2 serves per container)

                                                                10 stir-fry vegetables with prawns

we'll cook rice and pasta underway to accompany the above.

This is Gunilla's salmon, leeks, carrots with cream and saffron !

This is 4 serves, she made another one similar but slightly different that was baked in the oven.

We are going to eat well !!

Today I finished off my share of the cooking, serviced the engine, oil and filters, genset, oil and filters.

Tomorrow I'm going to take out the 30 A Dolphin charger and install the Pronautic programmable 30 A 24V charger which should take much better care of the batteries.

We can still use the 100 A Dolphin charger to pour the amps in to start with and when it gets down to 30A we can switch over to the smarter Pronautic, which will continue to pump the current in up to 29.5V and then switch to absorption mode - the Dolphins only go to 28.2V, which isn't really enough for AGM batteries.

Back in the water at last !!

Wind generator is off for repair. Alternator is being modified. New regulator is installed and wired in

New batteries !

12 x 6V, 260Ah AGM wired in 3 paralleled groups of 4 in series to make 24V.

This is why the alternator is being modified and the new regulator installed, so that the batteries will be charged properly.

I'm sure it was the automotive type reg in the 175A alternator that finally killed  the previous lead-calcium batteries - motoring for 3 days with the voltage at 28.8 - too much.

Starting to prepare passage meals for the trip to Tahiti.

Big pot of Chilli Concarne done this morning. Lasagne this afternoon. More tomorrow...and the next day...all in the freezer for heat and eat on the passage.