Saildrive seals, bilge pump & washer/dryer (Patreon)

Surprise! This week's video is a day early (here on Patreon only). The cement boat people will be spraying epoxy the next couple of days, which means I can't get to Athena, so I had to finish the video a little early. Athena will be covered with tarps for the duration of their spray work. As I learned earlier this year, overspray travels surprisingly far! I'm not taking any chances! 

This week it rained every single day. Not all day but there was some rain every single day. That's enough that I can't apply that 3rd coat of Perfection Pro. It's incredibly frustrating to be so close and not have an acceptable weather window. Weather-wise, tomorrow is an option but not with the cement boat people spraying epoxy. Fingers crossed I get another weather window :) Once I have the 3rd coat applied, I'll be ready to install the cleats and reconnect and run the diesel. With those out of the way (plus the last thru-hull), Athena is theoretically able to go back in the water. Pretty exciting! I'd still like to get the mini-bulwarks installed before putting her back in the water but just the fact that it's AN OPTION to splash her for the first time in 4 years is very exciting :) 

Behind the scenes, I've started more seriously looking into the battery setup for Athena. I've been flip-flopping between 12V and 24V over the last six months. I think I've settled on 12V for a couple of reasons (not in prioritized order). 

1) The BMS (battery management system) at the top of my list (REC Active BMS) is 12V only
2) I've already got a lot of 12V electronics
3) I like copper ;)
4) The DC-DC converters I'd need to run 12V stuff are only 85% efficient.

All the heavy loads will be AC loads. The batteries are going to be mounted within feet of the two inverter/chargers. I like the simplicity of a single voltage setup. We'll see, there's still time for flip-flopping some more ;) 

Ava is settling in well in Michigan at her parent's place. She has painted her room and found an awesome desk from 1937 for $5. School has started back up (online because of COVID). This is her last semester. The plan is for me to come to see her as soon as the US lifts travel restrictions. COVID is horrible, and it certainly doesn't make a long-distance relationship easier. Ava and I are handling it well, but I miss her a lot. 

I hope you're having a fantastic weekend. Thank you so much for your support! Stay safe :)