Salty Kisses

family sailing adventure blog with vlog

o-oh

by Filed Under: Kids

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That’s right we are baking a blob, a completely unplanned MEGA surprise of a blob. I’m still in my first trimester so it’s safe to say that I’m still in the freak out zone.

We’ve sold our business and our house so there’s no turning back now. Who says a pregnant mum of two can’t sail around and go on adventures??? Well actually I hear it’s quite miserable with a lot of hurling over the side. Yikes. We’re still debating on whether to have the baby in the Bahamas or in the BVI’s, we have friends in the BVI’s which would be nice to see and have a nice break there but I just don’t know if my stomach is going to be able to make it all the way down there. Nassau has a public and private hospital and a birthing center – none of which have emailed me back but hey it’s the Bahamas.

As I’m sure you’re aware we have changed the layout of our Skye 51 to accommodate mum, dad and two kids.  NOT THREE! So the wee one will have to sleep in the sea berth in the salon, I’m going to make a breathable lee cloth that will enclose the berth and make a cozy crib.

We never imagined that we would ever have 3 kids on land let alone on a boat, I just hope it’s not as hard as people say. We estimate that the coming 2 years are going to be rough but we’ll get through it.

Big C is oober happy that mummy has a baby in her belly, with conditions.

Mummy: “We need to think of some good names for the baby”

Big C: “I know, Cinderella, it’s a great name”

Mummy: “But what if it’s a boy”

Big C: “Do you hear that mummy?”

Mummy: “What”

Big C: “You’re making baby Cinderella cry because she’s NOT a boy, she’s a girl!!”

How does a 3 year old come up with this crap and if the baby’s a boy is she going to toss him overboard?

 

Carly

life jackets

by Filed Under: Kids, safety

I hate life jackets, my kids hate life jackets. What’s worse than lifejackets? Sunscreen, but that’s another post. Today we got via mail our new life jackets for the girls. I searched high and low and tried on all that West Marine had to offer but nothing I liked. I was taking a bit of a risk ordering the new jackets online but they got great reviews.

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I went with the Salus Nimbus from Binnacle. The life jackets are made in Canada by Salus Marine, I thought I had brought them from an American dealer but they we actually shipped from Canada – free shipping and all! GREAT! The fabric is really soft and the zipper doesn’t go all the way up to the neck so it won’t chafe the chin when sitting. The back is stretchy and looks like it would be cool on hot days. Little C is pretty indifferent about them but big C refuses to take her off. We have a winner folks! And did I mention the color PINK, what girl doesn’t want to wear pink.

 

Carly

fine fine floors

by Filed Under: Refit

We weren’t very kind to our floors when refitting the “mega yacht” and I thought they would never come good, but check them out!

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I really like that they have that nice worn personality.

The rest of the boat is coming along, shelves are being built, bilge painted, emergency bilge pump installed, painters working in the cockpit area. Less then a month before we have to leave our home. We may have to look for somewhere else to live for a month because I don’t think we’ll be able to get her finished. We need to install tanks and get her hauled out before we can move on so I don’t think that can all come about in a few weeks…. but I have seen crazier things happen!

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With the painters in the cockpit, we have to enter via a hatch in the master.

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Carly

wind generator woes

by Filed Under: Refit, wind generator

I am about ready to gouge out my eyes from looking at a computer screen for too long. I’ve been given the task to find a good wind generator. We have pretty much no room on the boat for solar panels – we may try and squeeze in two on our bimini but they won’t be that efficient 100% of the time because of our mizzen boom. So we need a bloody good wind generator. Oh and a quiet one, we wouldn’t want neighboring boats throwing eggs at us!
I have narrowed down the winners to: Ampair 300, Superwind 350 and the D400.

Ampair 300
wind gen ampair 300

We currently have an Ampair 100 installed on our mizzen and it is so quiet that we forget it’s there but unfortunately it’s had it’s day and doesn’t produce anymore amps. I checked out the specs on it and apparently never really produced a lot of amps in its hay day. Step up from the 100 is the Ampair 300. Only 3 blades so it will be louder that the 100, I haven’t been able to find any youtube videos on it but it has to be louder due to having only 3 blades. It is expensive ($2909) but there are a lot of retailers out there for parts. Ampair has been around for a long time and has a great reputation. Puts out great amps in low wind even tho it has only 3 blades, cut in speed is 6 knots. At 20 knots you’re looking at roughly 200W.

Superwind 350
wind gen superwind

I found a few youtube videos on the Superwind and it sounds whisper quiet and got a good review from the “Practical Sailor” . The Superwind has also got a pricey tag attached at $2399 and I’m not too sure how easy it will be to get parts. It has 3 blades so it probably won’t be that great in low winds but high amps in high winds. Cut in speed is 7 knots. At 20 knots you’re looking  at 350W. From what I’ve found this wind generator plateaus out at 350W I guess for safety (don’t know a lot about this stuff).

D400

wind gen D400Carl originally wanted to go with the D400 and of course I had a heart attack at the price tag so of course I thought he was going for the mega high tech over the top super model of all generators. Thought I could find a better deal – HA! Well it turns out the D400 gets top reviews on Cruisers Forum. They are the beast amongst the 3, weighing in at 15kg (33lbs). Price tag $2495. The D400 has 5 blades and from what I can tell off youtube it’s super quiet. Cut in speed is 5 knots (because of the 5 blades). At 20 knots you get 200W.




Conclusion

The Superwind is a mega amp creator but doesn’t start working until 7 knots. I haven’t read of a lot of people owning them but seems to be quiet. Ampair 300 doesn’t pump out mega amps compared to the Superwind but starts working sooner. It has a huge price tag so I think that one is crossed off the list. The D400 is a whale and would make our poor mizzen mast cry but it has the lowest cut in speed, got rave reviews and is pretty good with the amps.
Because of the D400’s 5 blades and low cut in speed we probably will be going with it. Lots of people mount it on their mizzens so I’m sure our old gal will handle the extra bulk. My tail is between my legs and after hours and hours of research I will be going with the wind generator that Carl originally suggested. Bastard!
I’m sure you’ll find more sophisticated reviews out there on wind generators, I recommend going to Cruisers Forum and asking around. The Rutland 914i got great reviews and super quiet but we will be requiring more amps then it can provide. It’s got a great price tag and if we had a good solar bank I’m sure we would be going with them.
I will of course do a follow up when we install the wind generator.
Carly