Time For Another Shakedown! 1

“The time has come, my little friends” so says the walrus, and so beacons the sailboat. We’ve done quite a few things to the boat since our last shakedown, so the time has come to get her out there once again and see what will survive and what will break. From rearranging the storage areas, to installing the windlass and larger anchor, to installing the cold plate refrigeration and a second solar panel, we really need to get the old Morgan back out there. We haven’t been to the island in several months, so we’re over due.

We will shove off this weekend and spend at least two days at the island. We will probably go to the backside and perhaps Little Harbor. Marina friends Dusty and his wife will be sailing their 43 footer out with us, and doing a shakedown of their own. Misery loves company, but let’s hope that’s not the case for this adventure. Little Harbor can be more difficult because of the rocks at the entrance, especially because some are submerged. Cat Harbor is the calmest – waves just don’t make it inside where you anchor. Little Harbor is the prettiest, though. More secluded and beautiful sunsets! I’ve taken some of my favorite pictures of sunsets while in Little Harbor. I switch between them for my desktop backgrounds.

In the end our main focus will be how our systems hold up. Having 200 watts of solar makes be feel more comfortable, although I would like to double that. Having the cold plate really helps, with the way it sips current and saves battery power. I might take some time to install more LED lighting while we’re out there. I’ve replaced all the interior bulbs with LEDs, with the exception of the forward head. I have LED strings that will be used for ambient lighting in the salon and the aft cabin. They add a really nice touch! I still need to replace the navigation lights, along with the lights on the mast, with LEDs.

We will be taking tons of pictures and shooting a lot of footage while we’re sailing, so stay tuned!