It's maiden voyage time! We have completed the first round of boat work, had a couple shakedown sails, now we are off! What could go wrong... We had returned back into port to complete some minor repairs after our first shakedown sail. Nandji 2 is a far more complex vessel with her systems more in depth and technical compared to our original sailboat and we have a lot to learn. Having previously inspected the rig and sails, but with a pending 150 nautical mile, border crossing sail ahead, we want to fully understand this vessel and know what she can do under sail!
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Whilst we have been living and sailing on a boat for 7 years, Leaving the safety of the mooring for the first time in our new boat had us on edge. Everything on the boat is old, but new to us, we don’t know what will work or what will inevitably break… we have gone over the systems the best we can and headed out for our first shakedown cruise to go find out! Thailand is home to some of the most picturesque islands and provides an amazing cruising ground for sailors. With such stunning scenery, Phang Nga bay also attracts millions of tourists every year. As the waters are calm, boats of all sizes, fully loaded with people visit these islands every day making them extremely busy!
FIRST SAIL ON OUR NEW BOAT! Let's hope it works... With our new boat now in the water , it doesn't mean the boat work is complete! We finalise the needed tasks to get her ready to sail and with the only thing thing left to do, it is time to untie the mooring and go test out our new boat! With a strong trade wind and a destination directly into the wind, we get really work out the engine and figure out what works! what better place to explore than the stunning islands of Thailand!!
After 2 long months of boat work, SPLASH DAY is finally here!!! Putting our new boat in the water for the first time! A lot has changed in our world of late… We started out 2023 full steam ahead with some drastic changes in our lives. Arriving back into Thailand after cruising the West Sumatra islands for the season, we set our selves a very challenging goal of selling our beloved sailboat Nandji in the search for a bigger vessel for our family. With a small budget we knew we had some work ahead of us, but went about seeking out a proven blue water sailboat that would continue to carry our family around the world. Finding a Bob Perry design Tayana 47 that had been siting on the hard stand for a number of years, we checked it out and honestly, despite all of the work it needed, I fell in love instantly and knew this was the boat for us. We returned 4 times to the boat evaluating the work that needed to be done to get her floating again. Within weeks we had accepted an offer for our old sailboat, and then put in offer on the Tayana and it was accepted!! We now have a new boat that’s in need of some love to bring her back to her former glory. We were on a limited time schedule to get the boat sea worthy as the vessels time in Thailand was due to expire. The next two months have been filled with long hot days in the boat yard as we ripped tore and rebuilt the rotted interior and completed some much needed upgrades to get the boat ready for splash day. It has been a long time coming and looking back is hard to believe we are finally at this point where our new boat is sitting in the cradles. With one last late night coat of antifoul, launch day has arrived and the first phase of boat work is complete. Lets see if she floats!!!
It's nearly SPLASH DAY! we are about to go in the cradle but where are the electricians??? With the original alternator packed up, we need to install a new one. In preparation for installing a new house bank of lithium batteries, we install a DC DC charger from the alternator to the house and starter bank of batteries. With the current external regulator not suited for lithium, this also must be changed. With so much AC power on this new boat, we have a lot to learn to not fry ourselves!!
This could BEE a sticky a situation, can we ever finish this boat work? In this episode, its time to finish off jobs and get this new beast of a sailboat ready to splash. It is full steam ahead until we are interrupted by colony of bees!
In this episode, our new boat is starting to feel like home. With the major jobs beginning to be finalised, the feeling of going back in the water is starting to become reality. When we think it is time to start moving onboard, the jobs must be coming closer to finished....
In this episode, we are scrubbing, cleaning, cutting, grinding, measuring, drilling, gluing, painting, fibreglassing and last but not least, swearing our way through this new Boat refit. We knew there was a lot of work ahead of us, but it easy in your mind to down play how much you actually need to do until the work begins. With some help from a few local tradies, hopefully we can cut through the jobs and have our New Boat floating sooner than later!
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