Valent

Update from 25 Feb

Work continues to progress well. Phil and Marcos have continued to make great progress and Valent is starting to come back together now and look like the boat that is going to become our home for 2 years. The new deck is now down and finished, the bowthruster installation is just about complete and work has started on getting the bottom ready for the new copper coat treatment. Inside, the electronics are being installed along with an general update of the wiring.

The chartplotter is in and Marcos and his team have made a smart new backboard to house the displays. In the afternoon we got the power on and inserted the new chip – and hey presto it all looks to work. Not only that, but I successfully linked the chartplotter to the ipad and sat on deck viewing and controlling the plotter. It was a wonderful sensation to get technology working correctly without too many wrong turns (i.e. once I stopped messing around with Bluetooth and set up a wifi connection it was all great). The radar will get added in once Valent is back in the water. We have also got the pedestal refitted with the new instrument displays.

The new house batteries arrived safely from the UK via Landrover courier transport (thanks to Alan) along with the Nav lights, life jackets and some safety electronics.

During the afternoon we managed to erect the old bimini, and whilst it was in better condition than we expected, the fittings are not robust and the structure feels as if it would collapse in a decent breeze, let alone 2 years sailing around the world. So the decision has been taken to replace the bimini and supporting structure rather than repair the existing. This will enable the new canvas to be made to accommodate the solar panels rather than trying to fit the panels into the existing structure. I have had a chat with the Jim at Sailfish Marine and the new 200W panels sound great.

The old bimini. You can see the lack of stell supports and the need for string to hold it up. Also, note the pedestal (with steering wheel) back in place.

So after all this great progress, we started talking dates…and we are looking to relaunch Valent on Tue 17 March and then carry out sea trials on the weekend of 21/22 March. The big jobs that need tp be completed before then are finishing prepping the bottom and then redoing the Coppercoat, receiving the new electronic winches and fitting and finishing the electrics. Loads more little jobs, oh, I forgot to mention the new kicker that we have also found we need. Lots to do, but she is definitely starting to look more like the boat we envisaged.

Update from 4th Feb

I went back over to Empuriabrava on Tue to check on how work was progressing. The good news is that the deck is now down and the team are well on the way to returning all the fixtures and fittings. It certainly feels a lot safer waking around the deck now that the stanchions and safety lines have been put back. There are a few finishing touches before the deck is fully finished, but expect that to be complete early next week.

The lovely new flexiteek deck – looking smart.

Other developments include the holding tanks now fitted and wired up. For those of you not eating, the holding tanks are where you deposit the contents of the toilets whilst you are alongside or in sensitive marine environments. They are a requirement in order for us to transit the Panama Canal and visit the Galapagos Islands. Given the location of the tanks in 2 of the cabins fingers crossed that they are air tight.

In exciting news, the ‘all important luxury’ items are now well on board and in the process of being installed…..

The upgrade of the electronics has now commenced, as has work on the installation of the bowthruster. The pedestal is due to be rebuilt and installed in the next week or so.

All being well we hope to have Valent back into the water in Mid March and ready for sea trials at the end of the month.

My visit 13 Jan

I am just back from a quick trip over to see how all of the work is progressing on Valent. I am heartened by the progress that has been made over the last few weeks, especially as Christmas and New Year rather got in the way. Phil from Nautica Aqua is doing a great job of getting the teams in and managing them.

The new deck is being laid, the holding tanks have been installed and the bowthruster is well on the way. Met up with Marcos from Nortec and reckon we have a good understanding of how to redo the electronics and instrumentation.