Refit #3 New B&G Triton2

...All electronics removed and for sale...

We bought our boat in 2001 and first commissioned her with our dear friend, Rob, one of the best there is in the business. Rob spent 10 weeks full time installing all our gear, which is same gear that has run us tens of thousands of miles over last the 15 years. It has been fantastic. So, with our new goal of sailing beyond the Bahamas and into the Caribbean, we thought it was time to upgrade our electronics and radar to new digital NMEA 2000 gear. We are doing all of this with the oversight of Colin Mack, owner of Mack Sails. I am very impressed with the way he runs his business. Colin has been so helpful! We decided to buy all our new items, including new head sails, from Mack Sails. I did not know that they can do it all; electronics, rigging, sails, watermakers, chain plates, etc. I am really impressed.Thank you, Colin, for all your guidance.

Old White B&G Depth transducer 1.75"
New Triton2 is 2"

Today, Oct 29, 2016, our third day at the boat, we are working on the hard at  the Hinckley Stuart, FL yard. Unknown to us, we needed to replace a B&G thru hull because the new Triton2 sensors need a larger thru hull. Lucky for us, this turned out not be a big deal. Colin advised me on how to easily run a 1.75" hole saw inside of a 2" hole saw and simply drill it out. Drilling took all of about 5 minutes! Amazing. So now with that job completed we could focus on removing all our electronics.

B&G Network Speed, Wind, Depth working well

This ripping out was really difficult in nature because all our B and G electronics were in working order. Nothing was broken. I took photos because I plan to eBay this gear as it is in high demand for repairing old installed B&G networks. This network gear was installed in 1994 and it has never failed. We replaced the wind anemometer and the speed sensor but other than that, it simply works great. So why are we replacing it all? We wanted the new digital 4G radar so we can see better at night. This first purchase of 4G Radar and a Zeus2  9" screen then kicked off the issue of trying to drive 1994 electronics with 2016 electronics. We decided to not do that. So, we committed fully to replacing the entire system. Then, at the Annapolis Boat show, Navico released the Triton2 B&G gear and we chose that over the Triton1 gear. Once we replaced Wind, Speed and Depth, we needed to replace the 2001 Autopilot brain, which then needed a new autopilot compass, which then needed a new rudder reference, which then is best driven with a new GPS. WHAT????? YUP, it just kept adding up until we needed to remove ALL our old analog gear because we went all digital. This lead to also needing a new NMEA 2000 backbone network to plug it all into. So, we are pulling out all our Rob-installed 2001 wire and gear and installing everything new. We are very excited!

Our RL70C Chartplotter and Autopilot Head

So, in one day of work, all the gear is out, Wind, Speed, Depth, Radar, Chartplotter, Data Repeater and the NavPOD. Next up, remove all the wire runs and pull chase lines to guide new NMEA 2000 wire. Next week, we will begin to install the new gear. It is all arrived on Friday and is ready to go! Thank you for following along, we enjoy the sharing aspect of our blog.




Here are some photos, we are back to blogging and sharing...

Look at Radeen's smile. Even with the boat a wreck, she LOVES THIS LIFE!

The best tool on our boat, a 30" standard crow bar used to lever out the old thru hull fitting.

We are living with all our stuff in the car, how crazy!

THE GOAL....the Caribbean Sea in Spring 2017

B&G Network Data repeater at the nav desk, removed.

Raymarine RL70C Color Chartplotter, removed.

Our chartplotter also displayed our 48 mile radar.

Drilling an existing 1.75" hole to become a 2" hole

Nest the hole saws together and thread them on.

This worked great!

Drilling took about 1 minute, easy!

YUP, that is a 2" hole in the boat under the floor. It would sink the boat very quickly!

Radeen took this shot as we installed the new thru hull fitting.

Thru hull installed. Next, epoxy paint and then bottom paint.

Our log from last year....2,354 nautical miles.

Our Ship's log, 32,074 nautical miles

The NavPod taken apart, Radar, Chartplotter and Pilot head

All these wires needed to be pulled out.

The bottom of the helm, excellent work by Rob, now removed :-(

Rudder Reference under cockpit floor beneath the helm to be removed, new digital one going in.

B&G ACP1 Autopilot Computer. This is the brains of the system, works great, now removed.

This is what has driven our boat for the last 15 years.

Cut it out, remove it?...OUCH, that hurt for sure.

There it is, the helm is stripped.

NavPod is empty. Next, install a slightly larger Navpod and B&G Zeus2.

Thank you for following along with this exciting new adventure.  We hope to have all this installation work completed in 2 weeks, but who knows. We will see how it goes. We are doing most of the install work ourselves: that way we will know the system very well.

Departure is a challenge

Vacuum pack bags have made this possible!

It would seem easy to move out of your house, get in your car and drive away, not returning for 6 months or more. This is year #6 that we have lived this cruising lifestyle. Maybe it is the fact that we have been here, done this, and we know exactly what we need to do to "get out!" Don't get us wrong, this is a very exciting adventurous lifestyle, we still LOVE IT. It is simply a major task shutting down the house and planning to not come back for 6 months! Off we go, let's get this adventure started up again.....

Sabrina the Sailrite Machine was pressed into service

We made new light weight quilts in tan and blue with seashells

Our absentee ballots arrived with only one day to spare.
We had requested them in August!

Packing of the trunk begins....Sabrina on the left and our new B and G 4G digital radar on the right.

One of our favorite destinations! This should be our first stop this year!

This could be Goldie's last trip to FL. Long may she run!

We ran 13.5 hours on day one, then we took our time

We are now in Stuart Florida where we will be working on our Refit #3 installing new sails, new Spectra Ventura 200t watermaker, new B7G Triton2 electronics, new 4G B&G Radar and a 9" Zeus2 screen at the helm. We plan to install this in the first two weeks of November all with the helpful team at Mack Sails. If you need anything, simply check with Mack Sails first, they are a great company to work with. Thank you Colin Mack!

Weddings are Beautiful

We were so honored to be invited to Dave and Joyce's wedding! These are fellow Island Packet Yacht owners whom we first met a few years ago at the Annapolis Boat Show. We had such a great time meeting their family and friends in Virginia at this wonderful event. The outdoor venue overlooking the pond and the planned community of Reston was a really beautiful setting.

I want to ask Dave and Joyce to send us their vows because they were so beautiful and so heartfelt. I would love to read them and review them again. Thank you so much for including us in your special day. We really enjoyed sharing in your love and joy!

The Bridal Party listening to the Bride's father's reading

Hayden & Radeen celebrating with Joyce, Dave and son Dylan

The new Mother-in-Law and Son-in-Law

Left to right:  Best Man, Bride's Mom, Happy Groom and his Son

The groom's sister with her daughter and god daughter.

The happy family celebrating!

Even after the fun was over, we couldn't stop smiling!

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After this lovely wedding, we stopped in for a fun visit with our niece, Erinn, and her husband, Dave, and their toddler, Parker, in their beautiful new home. Our niece, Kelly, and her husband, Bill, and their children, Alex & Baby Claire, were visiting from PA, along with Hayden's sister, Raymeta. Call it a Bonus Brunch! We feel so fortunate....thank you for having us!

Claire is 4 months old!

Parker is two!

And Alex is three!