We have Sun Power!

Malo is a sail boat and that is what we plan on doing, SAIL.  I prefer the quiet of the sails and the feel of power provided as the sails catch the wind and move us forward.  Our boat is relatively light as far as boats go - 16,700 pounds. It can even go  upwind well. However, we also need power to run the navigation equipment, bilge pumps, lights, water pump, refrigeration, charge our computers, cameras etc and at times run the engine.   Our batteries, of which we have 4 marine batteries, need to get a charge somehow.  What better way is there, then via the sun?  A much better solution for me than listening to a motor run to charge the batteries.

Dan spent considerable time researching, designing and gathering the necessary supplies to install a solar system.  He has done this once before when he cruised on Gypsy to the Carribiean and beyond.  Since Malo is a different boat the solar system needed to be configured to fit it's qualities.  The following pictures will highlight some of this installation.

The first step was to place the solar panels on the frame of bimidy and drill holes into the stainless steel frame for bolts.  This was precision and time consuming work.  Luckily Dan had bought a special tool that allowed him to drill straight into the tubing.  I stood by as an assistant.

Clamps were used to help hold panels in place.

Holes were drilled at the correct spots.

Finding the drilled holes after bimidy was put on was tricky.

Lots of soldering and wiring had to be done.

The solar panels are secured on the bimidy, but there is still the hook up to do.  This involved considerable work below.

Oh no, Captain Dan is getting little frustrated.  It's a tough job and the place is really torn up.

This is the connection box Dan made for the 3 solar panels.

Solar booster is installed.

The solar system is in and that is enough!  It's time to head back to Eugene.

Odds and Ends

If there is one thing I cannot stand, is sleeping in a wet bed.  It is really not very inviting to me and could really ruin an adventure.  Dan tells me "all boats leak, so get used to it".  But I am sorry, this was not settling well with me.  I guess this is where I was a "nag". We tried 3 different fixes for what we thought was a minor leak in the aft cabin.   The aft cabin (where we slept), did get a little wet on the sail up from Alameda.  But it was not until the fall and winter rains on the coast of Oregon hit our boat, that the water poured in. The mold and mildew followed with the rain.  Eventually, we had to remove the entire mattress, as well as all of the boat cushions and bring them to dryer storage in Eugene.  Fortunately, Dan has a very large woodworking shop, with a lot of storage.  The cushions were much happier there.  But what to do about the leak?

This is what caught the water in our aft cabin.

I did not like water going all over the bed, even though the mattress  had been removed.  So, I had the brilliant idea of catching the water in a plastic storage box. I taped a piece of place next to wall to make a "slide" for the water to land in the box.   It worked great and if nothing else, allowed me to visually see how much it leaked after only a week. Mucho grande!

Dan making up epoxy to fix the hole.

Dan is using a syringe with epoxy filler to fill in spaces, so the water would travel to the lowest point.
He had a clever idea to make drain pipes out of copper tubing and put them at the lowest part where the water collected and then leaked into the cabin. The pipes collected the water and because of the "C" shape Dan formed with the tubing, the water got redirected into the bilges of the boat.  It has worked fabulously!  Dan can figure most things our, but sometimes it just takes time, several tries and patience on my part.  The best part is, the bed no longer gets wet when it rains and I am delighted.

Bev sorting nuts, bolts and screws.

It feels like most of the projects require a skill set that is not one of my better talents.  Dan on the other hand, has a great aptitude for figuring out how to fix things.  As you can see, there are many things to fix and keep working on a boat.    I do have a good sense of organization and that is what I've been putting my attention to lately.   Here I am organizing all of the many nuts, bolts, screws etc that are needed on a boat. These are all stainless steel of course.  I actually enjoy doing this and it does make it a lot easier for Dan to find things.

Dan decided to remove the teak floor boards of Malo to refinish them.  He did this project over the winter months in his woodworking shop.  He preferred to take one floor board at a time to work on.  Each board required sanding and 7 or 12 coats of varnish, with a sanding in-between coats.  He was very consistent with doing this project and would do it in between other things so as not to be too bored.  Here he is bringing a finished board back to the boat.  We now have very beautiful finished  teak floors.  Thanks Dan!

Maestro Imani is trying to teach Beverly Spanish!

Since we are traveling to Mexico, Dan and I signed up for a Spanish class at the senior center in Eugene.  He took one semester, where as I am on my forth.  (I had to retake level one three times!) Here I am with Maestro!  He is a great teacher, makes the class fun, educational and brings in many cultural observations.  I must admit, that it has been a challenge for me.  It seems my brain doesn't remember the words as easily as when I lived in Sweden and learned Swedish.  Granted, I was 21 then and now being a good 42 years older, language learning is even harder.  I am hoping that it will help when I am surrounded by Spanish speaking people.


Fiddles are needed on a boat.  We learned the hard way when coming up the coast from Alameda. While on a tack, the boat really leans, and everything below does too.  If the cupboards are opened while on a wrong tack, all the stuff comes flying out and onto the floor.  I was not able to go below to cook so Dan had cook. This meant he had to try to find the stuff that I stored in the cabinets.  And guess what?  Yup, a lot of stuff went flying onto the floor.  The solution was "fiddles" which Dan made from a nice cherry wood.  All the cupboards have them now.  Here are some photos.

Nuts and bolt cabinet with "Fiddle Boards"

Galley cupboards with fiddle boards.

I have already mentioned, how much I hate engine noise.  Thus, one of the things I really wanted to do was replace the insulation that was in the engine compartment.   While this was not high on Dan's priority lists of jobs to do, he was willing to have me do it, under his supervision.  It required taking the old black, deteriorating insulation out, cleaning the side walls where the engine is,  cutting and sticking a new foam on the walls.  Here is me in action.

Bev removing old insulation, to replace a newer one.

But wait, we are not done yet.  The toilet needed to be taken out and some new valves put in as it was not working.  We used the old pee in bucket trick.

The toilet in the head needed some TLC.

In between working on the boat, we would find time to enjoy the beautiful South Beach a walking distance away from our dock.

A big boat needs some little boats!

Malo is a "Big" boat in my eyes.  Big boats are great, but so aren't little boats.  Little boats are "play" boats and that is what I like to do.  I enjoy getting out on the water, feeling the waves, the movement and physically moving the boat forward.  I like to exercise, in fact, it's a necessity for me. Thus, the first "play" boat I purchased while in Alameda, California was a Stand Up Paddleboard  otherwise known as a  "SUP".  Dan and I looked at inflatable ones and while they've progressed greatly, there are still issues.  At the local West Marine shop, there was one that had a rubber top and sides, but was a hard shell.  Dan thought it would be a good style to have on the boat, as it would not ding the sides of Malo as I got on and off the board.  So, I bought it. It is not a high performance boat, but it is stable, wide and I can do yoga on it.  I am very thrilled.




Dan decided he wanted a board too and ordered one over the winter months.  Here he is trying it out on Dexter Lake in Oregon.  We are both looking forward to many hours of fun using our boards in Mexico.

I found another SUP board for the sand!

Here I am rowing my Alden Rowing Shell on Dexter Lake, Oregon.  

I grew up on a lake in Connecticut - called Coventry Lake or Lake Wamgambaug . My siblings and I learned to row wooden boats, aluminum boats and my Uncle Gorden's duck boat at a very early age.  I absolutely loved rowing.  When I saw my first single rowing shell, 30 plus years ago, it was love at first site.  I bought the Alden Recreational Shell in Maine and rowed on Coventry Lake many a morning. It was magical, as I was usually the only one on the lake in the early mornings.  Now I live in Oregon, and because I am no longer living on a lake, I have to transport the shell in order to row, so sadly, I do not row much any more.  

Hauling my Alden Rowing Shell to Dexter Lake.

We needed to buy a dinghy for our sail boat.  This will allow us to leave an anchorage and head into town, explore smaller coves etc, etc.  Based on previous research, Dan knew he wanted an Achilles inflatable.  In January, we took a trip Northwest Inflatable Boats in Portland, Oregon.  The owner, Joe was very helpful and definitely knew his product.  We left with a new Tohatsu 9.8 horsepower motor and a 10 ft Achilles Inflatable.

Joe explaining the boat options to Dan.

Dan trying our new motor on the transom.  

We put wheels on the back of the boat, to make it easier to haul the boat up on the beaches.  Then we had to put the registration stickers on the boat with a special adhesive.  It looks pretty official now.

Bev putting the registration sticker on.

We decided to try the boat on Lake Dexter.  Dan used his car battery to blow up the dinghy and we than rolled it down the ramp and into the water.  It was easy to roll down, but coming back up the ramp was more a challenge.  We decided what was needed, was a shoulder harness that would attach to each side and then we could both haul the boat with our bodies.  In case it has not been apparent, Dan is a solid foot taller than me, and it made for unbalanced hauling loads.  We hope the shoulder straps will help even things out.  I know it will be easier for me use my body rather than just my arms to pull the boat.  I later made the straps our of two inch webbing with adjustable buckles.

Dan putting air in the dinghy.

And here we go!  It worked well.  But wait....I really prefer to row.  The oars that came with the boat seemed a bit too short to really get a good sweep.  So Dan looked on line and we found a longer pair of aluminum oars.  He drilled oar lock holes into the longer oars, and it appears to be better.  I really have not tried them on the water yet, but I am hopeful.

These longer oars feel better, but where's the water?

New windows, a new bimidy and life in Newport

During the months of September and October, the weather on the Oregon coast was dry enough to begin the very important task of replacing Malo's windows.  We knew there was a lot of crazing on them from sun damage - which made them very difficult to see out of.  On the sail north from Alameda, we experienced "projectile force water" exploding into our salon when a wave would hit us from the side.  This was mighty unsettling to me.  We eventually discovered the water came in through the underside of the window seal.  Fortunately, no damage was done except some clothes and salon cushions got wet.  The water went into the bilges and was then pumped out.

Malo's windows are small compared to many sailer/cruisers.  We discussed the possibility of making them bigger, but ultimately decided to replace them with thin, plexiglass so they would be able to flex some.  The old windows were carefully removed and used as a template for new windows to be cut.  The surfaces were cleaned and prepared for an expensive double sided tape to which the windows could be attached.  The dilemma was how to keep pressure on the windows for a long enough time until adhesion took place.  Dan figured out a "wooden brace type support" that applied pressure and we filled our old pillow cases with sand, to make sand bags to hold the contraption together.  Needless to say this was a learning process, and it took several weeks and considerable work.

The following are some pictures showing the steps along the way.  And most importantly, it was successful!

Malo's old windows were very crazed and difficult to see out of.

Old windows removed, surface needs to be cleaned and repaired.

Dan is preparing the windows for new plexiglass.

Bev helping whenever she could.

Clever wooden brackets Dan made to apply pressure on windows.

Dan is putting the tape on the edges of the window.

Sand bags were used to hold down wooden forms that pressed against the windows.

Here is one window done and caulked.  Looks pretty good!

We love it, when our friends make it to the boat to check out our progress.  Hopefully a few will find their way to Mexico to sail with us this fall and next year.  Here our friend Terry came to check things out.  Dan is showing her the chart plotter.

Our friend Terry visits the boat.

The Newport Bridge is a stunning bridge.  Here are a few photos taken while we were there.

Even in the fog it is majestic!

Dan and Bev at South Beach, Newport

Dean from Cutting Edge Canvas met with us to design a bimidy.  

Here Dean is sizing the stainless steel bimidy supports with a plastic material, from which he will make a pattern for cutting the Sunbrella fabric that we are using.  I have tried sewing some of the canvas work myself and I found it very difficult on a home sewing machine.  Since I barely managed to sew a pinnacle cover, I can really appreciate the art that goes into making nice looking and strong bimidies and sail covers for sail boats.  We are very happy with his work and highly recommend Cutting Edge Canvas for any canvas needs.

Before we take a nice walk on the South Beach I clean up the dishes in our galley.

South Beach    Newport, Oregon

Sunset under Newport Bridge, Oregon