Our new stainless steel solar panel support system starts to take shape.
A view of the Dockland 5 boat yard from the deck of Sidewinder.
Hamish (our stainless steel man ) and I welding it all together.
Mike, one of "neighbors" in the boat yard is a friendly Kiwi who always has a cold beer for me.
Hamish and I after it all came together and looked so good.
The two bars attached to the rigid dodger will support the new extension canvas keeping the water and elements off Sidewinders crew as well as strengthening the complete system.
We now have davits on each side to raise and lower our outboard motors. No more moans and groans !!!!
Sidewinder's Perkins engine got new motor mounts, new heat exchanger and all new hoses and hose clamps.
The refer./freezer has been rebuilt with new major parts and all lines welded together instead of compression fittings that were notorious for leaking and making for a warm boat.
A new charge controller will help our solar panels make energy more efficiantly, HOPEFULLY !!!
The largest eucalyptus tree in New Zealand. Not sure it deserved a place in our blog but here it is ???
The ribbon around it was part of the ceremony they had last week commemorating the earthquake one year ago; flowers and notes were placed around the trunk, remembering the 185 people who lost their lives that day.
Billy, Suzi and I hamming it up while riding the trolly around the botanical gardens in Christchurch.
The underside of each leaf on this fern looked as though it had been hand painted; the silver fern is significant to the Kiwis, especially to their sports' teams. The All Blacks fly this fern on their spirit flag.
It was so special seeing Laura and Billy during their tour of the New Zealand South Island.. A great break for us away from "boat work" and a chance to smile a lot with some close friends. And did I mention Billy brought me some fantastic tequila !!! Love that man.......
For almost two months now Sidewinder and crew have been on the hard in the Dockland 5 boat yard which is in Whangarei, on the North Island of New Zealand We have given her a bit of a face lift along with some much needed routine maintenance. I won't get into the details right now but will show you a few photos of work in progress as well of some shots of friends and family taken while Suzi was home visiting in the states and while Suzi's cousin Billy and his wife Laura were vacationing here in New Zealand. It has been hard for us to get back into the blog-creating groove but we promise to do better from now on. So, welcome back and enjoy -
