Journey Preparations Continue

Chain rode marking was done by pulling all the 300 feet of 5/16th HT chain out of each locker ( 600 ft in all) and laying it out on the yard where I painted it with a zinc oxide primer then an enamel second coat. Time will tell if it lasts as all markings are temporary. I marked every 20 feet. My first attempt usingcolored zip ties was a complete failure as they popped off by the windlass and could lodge in the anchor locker drain clogging it. Not a good thing.

Intending to leave by end Feb. will not happen. We are continuing to settle into the new house and get more familiar with the Carolyn Ann systems. This posting will chronicle this process as we move forward to starting our next journey the beginning of April. Bahamas?, some or all the loop??? As we've been told over and over, "...the most dangerous thing on a boat is a schedule...", however, we've also been told over and over DON'T wait till you are totally ready or you'll never leave!

First to fix the alternators:

This is the starboard engine pre rewiring. The loom has been removed for clarity. Balmar consulted on the rewiring of the system which is shown in the next picture.

The updated wiring per Balmar with a tri switch that allows selecting the alternator internal regulator, idle mode or the MC-612 smart regulator (shown on stringer). Still to test fully by anchoring out then running engines to recharge battery bank. Wondering if the 1400 amp hour battery bank of AGMS is more than the pair of 100 amp Balmars can handle ...use will tell. However, option is to run the generator to stat charging then allow engines to top off. Again, use will tell.

Second was the first(for me and boat) change out of the fuel filters having approx. 190 hours on engines with the new tanks. there is always small debris remnants from the manufacturing process and Mirage installs scavenger filters to catch construction debris in all the new boat. I had the small scavenger filters removed in Coco, Florida during the alternator replacement from the fire. The vacuum gauges were ok but ;increasing so thought best to change out filters pre- departure to start the journey with two fresh tandem filters for each engine.