As we worked our way north we had stopped in at NYC (Nanaimo Yacht Charters & Sailing School) to check in and make arrangements to turn the boat over to them before July.Previously I have discussed putting Never for Ever in charter and that time is fast approaching. In fact, after talking it over with Lorraine when we stopped in, we all decided we would bring the boat in on June 19th and be completely off her by the 23rd. That would give everyone time to clean her top to bottom and make sure any remaining things on my to do list were done before the first charterer boards on June 30. Last time I asked, Never for Ever has been booked for about 6 of the 8 weeks available in July/August. Not bad for a new boat in the fleet. That does mean we have less than 2 weeks left to explore Desolation though.

We also need to haul her and survey her as much as possible to ascertain her state of being as she enters charter and avoid any possible conflicts in the future. There are a lot of little details like that that I want to take care of to avoid having any fuss later on. I have a lot of trust in the crew at NYC and we have a good working relationship, but the more we have documented the less potential for conflict there is.

So as we hung on the hook in Von Donop Inlet, one of our tasks was to finalize the revisions to the official charter manual. This manual includes all the standard charter info and then details the systems on our particular boat, as well as documenting any how-to’s or processes we deem necessary for safe, fun and easy use by people who will be aboard for as little as a week. It is an amazing exercise to think through all the systems and steps and then try and record them in a coherent and orderly manner. I found it particularly fascinating to uncover all the small routines that we had internalized and reexamine some of the unconscious habits we had gained. While for most owners it would be a lot of work for little gain, I would almost want to suggest that everyone go through the exercise. Certainly if you were selling your boat it would be an massive boon to the buyer. Take a look at the end of this post to see the Table of Contents as it stands now.

Also as a result of this exercise, my next task — not specifically meant for the charterers — is going to be discovering and recording all the vestigial systems that previous owners had added or removed, things like the breaker marked “Battery Charger” that does nothing as far as I can tell. And hopefully we will remove some of the old wiring while we are at it.

I am also trying to finish off as many of the outstanding chores as I can, working on the dinghy (fixing the oarlocks), repairing dings and gouges and cleaning some of the accumulated dirt. One of the things about charter companies is that they are so helpful and accommodating you forget that everything has a price tag and it all gets billed back to you. We do get discounted rates on labour, but I want to do as much as possible myself to avoid unnecessary charges. And frankly I want the boat to be in as good a shape as possible for the charterers. Nothing is more frustrating than the small annoyances that could have been avoided. It’s relatively easy to forgive or at least accommodate major issues like breakdowns — there are always established mechanisms to resolve those — but having to deal with piddly things like broken latches or flaky equipment is just annoying and rarely comes with any recompense. So I want to avoid that as much as I can and hopefully build up some good will.

And I really am hoping that we can make enough money to invest in a few things as well, like upgrading the canvas or adding a TV back to the boat (it used to have one and wiring is still there). But I guess we will see.

Battery Update

We spent 4 nights at Von Donop and left with 11.5 volts and 53% of capacity showing on the battery monitor. According to the “amps used” meter we had used 217 amps of our usable 225 amps (out of 450 amps available). For those of you who don’t already know, the health of a lead acid battery is best maintained by not running them below 50% capacity or 12.2 volts. Unfortunately an accurate voltage can only be measured after the batteries have rested with no load for 12 hours or more — something virtually impossible to do if you are actively using them. When we installed our battery monitor last year it involved placing a shunt in the main connection from the battery which allows the monitor to measure the amount of current that flows through the system. Theoretically this gives you a more accurate way to gauge the state of the batteries. Previously we would only go three nights without at least running the diesel for an hour or two as the voltage would be reading 12.2 or 12.3v. Now, given our total 450 amp/hr capacity and more accurate measurements, we are able to go for 4 complete days without any sort of charging.

So when we left Von Donop, we decided to head back to Gorge Harbour (approx 2 hrs) rather than make a run for Lund (approx 4 hrs) to pick up some supplies and charge the batteries. As a result we ran the diesel for around two and a half hours and our 50-amp alternator managed to put 76 amps (30.4 amps an hour) back into the batteries and bringing us back to 70%. Pretty good considering the alternator isn’t really meant to work that hard. One of the options we are considering is upgrading to a 100 amp alternator with a smart regulator. This would put more amps faster into the batteries and allow us to get a few more nights without having to go to a dock for a full charge. The other plans include adding some solar or buying a portable generator. Oddly enough all three methods of getting more juice involve roughly the same investment: around $1200.

So right now it appears one full day/night is 12% of capacity or around 55 amps which mean running the diesel for at least an hour and a half. I am not sure how much the revs need to be to maintain that but we ran at 2400 rpm most of the way to Gorge. That gives us 4 solid days which is pretty good and we can likely street that if we do some travelling in between.

The next few days

We ate the Floathouse Restaurant while we were at Gorge. It’s still early season so the food is a bit more pub that it is in high season where the menu is much more sophisticated and pricey, but that suited us just fine. The dock also had a few more visitors than when wed been in the harbour the week before. The season is stating to pick up.

The next morning we cast off and motored (still no wind) into Desolation Sound proper and headed for Grace Harbour. As we entered the harbour there was only one big powerboat and two other sailboats — no need to stern tie as there was still plenty of room. We tucked into the far end of the bay as far from everyone as we could and settled in to enjoy a couple of days of hot weather and sunshine.

Over the next few days a few boats came and went and they inevitably anchored as close to us as they could. This is a well-documented and (and bemoaned) phenomenon in the cruising world. People always want to cluster rather than spreading out and enjoying a little solitude. It reached its peak on the third day when 4 sailboats arrived from the Gibsons Yacht Club and immediately dropped anchor beside us. Then a fifth one came in a few hours later and hemmed us in on the other side. This last one made us a bit nervous as the wind had built up and shifted south; our anchor and rode had spun 180° so we weren’t too sure of where everyone’s anchors were and were a bit apprehensive about the possibility of dragging. That stormy night we had 13 boats for company in the harbour, but thankfully they mostly left and were only 5 the next morning to enjoy the sun that came back out.

One bright note was the boat that anchored closest to us from the Gibsons flotilla turned out to be Ocean Grace (Larry and Sheila) whom we had met on the Broughtons flotilla a few years ago. We’d also run into them last August in Squirrel Cove — just another one of those ‘small world’ episodes. They came over in the afternoon for a visit and we caught up and got to show them the boat as they hadn’t seen it last year.

We plan to stick out the full four days and leave for Lund to hopefully pick up some produce, as we are down to one onion, one clove of garlic and half a root of ginger — I’m not sure what that means for dinner tonight, but I am guessing it will be something pasta-ish.

And of course we need to charge the batteries again.

Never for Ever Operation Manual

Table of Contents

• THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• NAVIGATING AND SAILING IN TIDAL WATERS
• AREA WHISKY GOLF
• QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
• VESSEL SPECIFICATIONS
• SAFETY EQUIPMENT
  • Life Jackets
  • Flares & Air Horn
  • Wooden Bungs
  • Flashlights
  • Fire Extinguishers
  • First Aid Kit
  • Emergency Tiller
  • Life Ring & Floating Line
  • Lifesling Rescue System
• ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
  • Engine
  • Starting And Stopping The Engine
  • Engine Salt Water-Cooling System
  • Changing The Raw Water Pump Impellor:
  • Operating The Gearshift/Throttle Control
  • Engine Alarm Systems
  • Tool Kit /Top Up Oil Spares 14 Batteries
• NAVIGATION AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT:
  • Speed And Depth Sounder
  • Speed Log
  • Autopilot
  • Garmin FishfInder
  • GPS
  • Radar
  • AC Panel And Shore Power
  • Battery Monitor & Inverter
  • Troubleshooting Low Batteries
  • VHF Radio
  • Stereo System: Sony Media Player
• ON DECK
  • The anchor windlass
  • Spare Anchor
  • Propane
  • BBQ
  • The Water Tank
  • The Diesel Tank
  • Holding Tank
  • Tank Systems Monitor
  • The Outboard Motor
• SAILS AND FURLING MECHANISMS
  • In Mast Furling
  • Mainsail Reefing & Furling
  • Downwind Preventer
  • Genoa Furling
• BELOW DECK
  • The Stove
  • Smoke Detector
  • Microwave
  • Refrigeration
  • Water Pressure System
  • Cabin Heat
  • Hot Water
  • Bilge pumps
  • Shower Drain Pump
  • Toilets
  • Holding Tanks and Macerator
  • Dinette Table
• GENERAL SAFETY ISSUES AND INFORMATION
  • Locker Lids
  • Propane
  • Barbecue
  • Outboard motor gasoline:
  • Thru-Hulls & Drains
• CONTACT INFORMATION
• RETURNING THE YACHT
• DE-BRIEFING AFTER THE CRUISE
  • Photographs

—Captain Why #Charter, #Posts