A huge update!

Last week was full of major accomplishments so let’s start from the beginning! We managed to replace the heat exchanger on the generator which is something we’ve needed to do. It had a slow leak and was in danger of failing. It’s great now though! We got that part when we flew back to Florida and stopped by Cummins in Miami. 

We replaced the roller bearings on the bottom of our main sliding door. That was a major project that we’ve been needing to do since we bought the boat. This job was a bit worrisome since we had to cut the door rail in half to remove it. It ended up being a huge success and went perfectly! The door slides beautifully now and the roller bearings are accessible for future replacements! This was a factory defect as the rail was installed in one piece instead of two pieces. One piece meant we couldn’t remove it due to the location. More on that on an upcoming video. 

We also got 2 of our 3 AC units serviced, fitted with larger pumps and replaced the fittings with a three way valve so they’re easier to bleed. I’m not sure why but AC installers are still leaving piping solid after the water pump when there should be some sort of valve or other way to open the line (after the pump) so you can bleed the air out of the system when cleaning a strainer…A job you need to do monthly down here. Anyway, that’s another victory for Calypso since it’s rather hot here down island and those AC units are much needed sometimes. 

This past weekend we received our main sail back from being repaired. We had her washed and restitched in some areas that were need of care. She’s sitting pretty in her stack pack and ready to be used, the photo above is from the sail being reinstalled! The main sail was the last missing piece that Calypso needed besides a few cushions we had redone. They’ve come back as well and we’re ready to pull off the dock today!

We’re looking to depart this afternoon to stage at a anchorage off Grenada for our haul out tomorrow. We’re hoping for one week on the up on the hard, maybe two at the most. Then we will be well on our way up island to explore all those beautiful French Islands that we missed last season. 

The items we’re taking care of while on the hard are:

-Possible bottom paint

We’ll see how it looks once pulled out and then make that call.

-250 feet of new anchor chain installed

Ours is worn out and corroded, plus we only have about 150 feet of chain. Great for the Bahamas but not here when some anchorage are 40 feet deep.

-Gel coat repair

Just repairing some dings.

-Replace the spare dripless shaft seal on the port engine

We had to use one of the spares while in the Dominican Republic. More to come on a future episode for this!

-Rudder bushings replaced

Our starboard rudder is in need of a new bushing, we’ll be replacing both port and starboard bushings together. 

-Install a new mooring protector on the bow thruster

This broke while in the BVI, you’ll see more on a upcoming episode about this as well!

Some other items we’re taking care of include:

-Compounding and polish

-Stainless polished

-Painting the bow and stern thrusters

-Service Max Props

We’re looking forward to getting all of this knocked out and back in the water! Have questions? Send them in!