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Everything is coming together. Two weeks ago our Monitor Self-steering vane arrived. The next weekend was spent mounting it. The Monitor is like our third crewperson. Similar an autopilot, it will steer the boat while we do other things like change sails, cook, rest, or just watch the world go by. Unlike an autopilot, it requires no electricity and it steers by the wind direction instead of the compass. Therefore if the wind changes direction the boat will compensate and continue sailing efficiently. More information on self-steering gear can be seen at: http://www.selfsteer.com/
The insulation project that has been happening over the last two years has just been finished. This involves attaching half inch closed cell foam to the inside of the hull and deck. The boat will now be warmer and dryer in the winter, and hopefully cooler in the summer.
We then completed installing our Furuno 1621 Mk2 Radar. It works well so far. Now we just need to find some fog, which the trip into Canada just about guarantees.
We just returned from Ellen's cousin's wedding in St. Paul, Minnesota. The wedding was in a chapel built by Ellen and Ed's (the groom) grandfather in 1938 and the reception was held at the Cleary farm which has been in their family for many generations. The whole weekend turned into a Donlin family reunion as our wedding did last August. It was great to spend time with immediate and extended family. We took a day to drive up to Duluth and the Lake Superior north shore. Taking Mandolin up the East Coast and through the Great Lakes looks like a pretty nifty possibility... Ed, we might be coming back for a visit sooner than you think.
We just received our Yacht Saver in the mail. This is a system designed to float the entire boat in the event of a possible sinking using a carbon dioxide bottle and inflatable bags. It's tough to spend money on something you never expect to use, but will be very happy you have in the event of the unthinkable. Once we have installed our Yacht Saver, built a new dodger and provisioned the boat, we should be ready to go. Except... all this stuff we can't or don't want to take with us. If you or anyone you know is interested in any of the following, let us know right away.
Everyone on our dock keeps asking us how excited we are. I think we'll really feel excited once we untie our dock lines and head down river. Until then we have quite a bit of work to do to be ready. We'll let you know how we're progressing with our next installment. If you have questions and curiosities about our plans, send us email. Hope you're all having a great summer.
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