Month: January 2021

I’m on Escapade listening to blues on CBC. I’ll sleep aboard tonight for the first time in weeks.

It’s been a benign and mild winter so far and I realized today that January is almost done. We’ve been managing well. Just had the first real cold snap. My neighbors turned on their bubbles and I’m still in their pool. The furnace now has about 300 hours on it. I leave two 1500w heaters on full time, and set the temp on all thermostats to 10 when away. Fuel is below half, but a couple of trips with Jerry cans should keep us through the winter.

Boat projects: ordered a Rocna 33 anchor, and am pursuing a snubber solution. Discussion here.

After much deliberation, I ordered a set of davits. I had been thinking of storing the dinghy up top, but had a bunch concerns with deployment that sent me back to a system that I know will work fine for me.

Electronics: I’ve ordered an AIS tranceiver.

I’ve been scoping out additional fuel tankage. I think i have a plan, but haven’t committed yet. Getting pricing for flexible tanks. Discussion here.

Not much other boat stuff this time of year! I’ll chat about spring plans in a new post some time soon.

I just bought a new dinghy, a 2021 Highfield Ultralight 340 Hypalon. Info here

I’ve been thinking of a new RIB for the last year or more. The local dealer runs good January specials, and they had very good pricing on the Hypalon version. I think I’ll be happy with it.

I have an old Yamaha 15 hp 2 stroke that will be a good match for the boat. Total dry weight of the boat and motor is under 200 pounds. My plan has been to keep it on top of the deckhouse, but I’ve recently been having doubts about that. The alternative is a good set of davits. In any case the new dinghy is well suited for either storage method.