We’re calling our prolonged refit “the 40-year refit,” as Totem was inbuilt 1982. There was a short time final 12 months the hassle was hopefully known as the 39 12 months refit. Ha! Initiatives grew as we noticed a possibility to make lasting life enhancements. Some are important, however many are high quality of life additions we’ll admire for years to return aboard our floating house.
It’s a shrimping city: boats launch from the Cabrales Boatyard the place Totem is being refit.
I’ve began cataloging the 40-year refit in 4 sections: repowering, enhancements to the hull & deck, cabin updates and inside enchancment, and techniques updates. Final Could (it’s actually been that lengthy) I made a listing of refit tasks we deliberate to sort out. There’s been nice progress on some, little on others, and a LOT on further effort we didn’t even dream of on the time. Right here’s a rundown of among the largest, and most important tasks:
Gazing into a really empty engine compartment
Repowering with Beta. A 70 hp (turbo) Beta will change Totem’s 75-hp Yanmar 4JH3-TE. The brand new engine has an extended technique to journey, beginning with fabrication at Kubota in Japan, then getting marinized at Beta within the UK, then arriving on the US distributor in North Carolina for personalization, after which it’s shipped to us in Arizona… and we deliver it into Mexico.
Our Yanmar 4JH3-TE is out! 
Primed for hull paint. Final week Totem was moved into the paint shed at Cabrales Boatyard. AlexSeal’s Matterhorn White is on order from the Marine Trade in San Diego. I couldn’t get my household to go together with a global orange boot stripe, however all of us just like the deep shade of inexperienced that’s deliberate.
The shed affords higher safety for portray
Cooking with GN Espace. Taunting me from the porch of our momentary land digs, the Ocean Chef propane cooker (that’s UK English for range) ticked each field for me. Extra when it’s put in: feast your eyes right here for now. We’re very excited to place it to make use of.
Hole on the correct completely sized for the GN Espace. Every part else… maintain me?
The final chainplate. It’s really the primary: Totem’s headstay, the one chainplate we didn’t change in 2008. The machine store at Cabrales did nice work with a bit of 316. Right here’s Jamie scheming find out how to adapt it for a sprit so we will fly a Cruising Code Zero… making an attempt to keep away from challenge creep, however wouldn’t that be cool?
Jamie explains the bowsprit and I fake to know the way it suits within the scheme of issues
Including swim steps. Jamie had made the primary cuts into Totem’s reverse transom final Could. It’s all carried out however the priming and portray. Is it simply me, or do you see the tiki with a tongue protruding?
I positively see the tiki.
Updating cabins. We thought we’d make just a few adjustments to freshen issues up. HAHAHAHAHA A FEW CHANGES. To date, most of Totem’s vertical and horizontal surfaces, from bulkheads to lockers, are being rebuilt. It’s radical and barely overwhelming: inside design will not be our sturdy go well with (recommendation welcome!). The traditionalists will bemoan the lack of all that pretty teak end beneath, however we expect it’s going to be nice.
Jorge is a talented carpenter who has been a fantastic work associate to Jamie
By hulls have moved. Greywater tanks have been created. Cabin sole is being changed in some areas, and there’s been plenty of bulkhead reinforcing: the low humidity right here sucks moisture out and exposes any hidden rot. There’s an extended ‘bonus challenge’ record.
Some massive selections are nonetheless pending: particularly, choices for a brand new battery financial institution. We all know we wish to migrate from AGMs to lithium. Weighing the professionals and cons of various setups takes centered time we haven’t been in a position to dedicate.
There are days once we take a look at this, and it feels overwhelming.
It’s somewhat hectic beneath deck in the principle cabin.
Our happiness engineer is again on campus now, eyeing commencement in Could, and probably not disillusioned that our delays enhance his possibilities of becoming a member of us for prolonged passagemaking.
TOTEM TALKS: charting
Tomorrow is the final Sunday or the month, and this month’s subject is charting. Be part of us at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Jap on Feb. 27. We’ll speak about charts and plotting a route, then stroll by making a route in OpenCPN (free, opensource chartplotting software program). Register right here to attend.
Niall traces a route: display screen seize from ‘Totem,’ by Aline Escalon, 2016
