Yikes! Two weeks until departure!
We are now at the two-week mark before our Great Loop departure. YIKES! Excitement (and nervousness!) is setting in as we work to wrap up the last of the projects before we cast off.
July Shake Down Cruise
We started July off with a great shake-down trip up to Traverse City for the Fourth of July. We were able to spend some time with family and friends and celebrate the holiday together. We enjoyed the Cherry Festival, a great air show featuring the Blue Angels, and watched one of the best fireworks shows that we had ever seen while anchored out in Grand Traverse Bay. Knot Again performed wonderfully with no issues and it was nice to get some more extended cruising time in prior to our trip. Check out a little video footage (left) I shot of the Blue Angels practicing for their airshows while we relaxed in our slip at Duncan Clinch Marina in Traverse City.
Enough Fun – Back to work!
Once returning to our home port in Manistee, work resumed on the remaining projects that needed to get done prior to leaving. I started re-caulking the exterior of the boat. Not a fun job! I have a feeling I will be working on this project well after we start our loop.
Window caulk before
Taping for new caulk
Caulk after
Huge Project – New House Electrical System Upgrade
The biggest project that Scott tackled and has now completed was upgrading our house battery system. We have eliminated six, 140 pound each, 8D house batteries. At best, they provided a total of 1200-amp hours of power – with only about 600 usable. (Although 2 of the batteries were dead, so it was more like 800 with 400 usable).
The new batteries are Epoch LiFePO4 Lithium with 460-amp hours each, for a total of 1380 amp hours with 1100-amp hours usable – and only a third of the weight of the old batteries. This also required upgrading the charging system, mainly the original starboard alternator which was 24 volt, 60 amps. The new alternator is an Arco Zeus high output 12 volt, 275 amps with over 180 of that available at idle – for fast recharging of the new house batteries. Other parts of the upgrade include an Arco Zeus regulator as well as a Victron battery monitoring system. Special thanks to Andre with TheYachtRigger.com and Bob Campbell from Bob Campbell Marine Consulting (bobmarineconsulting.com) for their many hours of consulting on this project!
New House Electrical System Completed
Crossing items off our To-Do List
Looking back at our first blog post this spring with our to-do list, I am happy to say we have completed pretty much everything on the list;
- Quick touch up, top coat of bottom paint DONE!
- Complete exterior detail DONE!
- Finish install of Sureshade retractable awning DONE!
- Finish install of Starlink DONE!
- Engine work:
- Replace all hoses, coolant DONE!
- Aftercooler servicing DONE!
- Change all fluids, filters, etc. DONE!
- Install bridge heater DONE!
- Complete Fusion stereo upgrade DONE!
- Recaulk all exterior joints IN PROGRESS
- Replace all porthole seals and screens DONE!
- New house electrical system with LifeP04 batteries, new high output alternator, regulator, and monitoring system DONE!
- Add several 110 outlets in salon DONE!
- Repaint anchor chain markings DONE!
- Install Nebo Link DONE!
- Install AIS transmitter/receiver DONE!
- Finish fabrication and install of custom work area for Scott DONE!
- Build custom table/desk/storage for salon DONE!
- Build custom storage area for 3rd stateroom DECIDED NOT TO BUILD, BUT HAVE A PLAN!
- Install backup anchor and rode DECIDED AGAINST THIS. Sometimes you just have to draw the line on how over-prepared for anything you can be. Fingers crossed we won’t regret this decision.
The Final Prep Work
Once we finish up the remaining items on the list, we will work on provisioning, organizing, and moving the rest of our “stuff” onto the boat. I’m sure I’ll regret saying this later, but so far, I am pleasantly surprised with how much storage room Knot Again has and am happy with how organizing everything is coming along.
We have spent much of the summer living on the boat as much as we could, which not only has allowed us to get our long list of projects done, but has also helped us get the hang of living and functioning in a much smaller footprint. We are still trying to get used to cooking on board, as there is significantly less counter space than we are used to! I’m sure as we go, we will continue to learn and adapt to our new space.
As of now, we plan on departing the week after Labor Day, which will hopefully be sometime between September 3rd – 6th (weather depending). We need a couple good weather days to make our way down to Chicago. Since our home is in West Michigan, we don’t plan on spending much time making our way down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, as we have already explored many areas and can always do that in future years. Once we get to Chicago, we hope to spend at least a few days there exploring the city before we start our journey down the inland rivers.
Stay tuned as our adventure is about to begin!
Erin Jaehnig
