Year Two

It’s 2016 and the adventure continues. 2015 was incredible. It was a year of firsts; retirement, living aboard, cruising…a long list of “first times”. First time through customs in another country with the boat, first time to run aground, first flawless docking, first awful docking, etc. Every day was filled with new experiences, new places, new people….many of whom are now fast friends. We couldn’t have chosen a better lifestyle. It has exceeded our expectations in so many ways. It keeps us mentally engaged, it keeps us active, every day is a new adventure. What’s not to like? There are downsides for some; boats are “needy”. They need your attention and complain bitterly when left alone for any period of time. This is manifest in broken things. One has to enjoy these boat maintenance chores; of course fixing things is also part of the challenge.

Tivoli is a remarkable vessel. Every trip increases our confidence in her seakeeping abilities. She takes good care of us in the worst of conditions. We, in turn, do our best to take good care of her. The big upgrades are done; it is fun to finally hone in on the smaller items now. Those things that have been on the “to do” list for some time. We have plumbed in our spare hydraulic steering pump, added a small Engel freezer to the lazarette, replaced the old halogen deck lights with LEDs, replaced the front crankshaft seal and vibration damper on the Lugger, serviced the fuel injection pump on the genset, replaced the packing in the wing engine shaft packing gland, updated our paper and electronic Caribbean charts, replaced an IS20 display with an IS40 for better daytime visibility, cleaned carpets, applied Huper Optik film to the pilothouse windows, installed a magnetic sensor in the windlass for our chain counter, new bow rollers, added smart regulators…and a dozen smaller tweaks. We are “dialing in” the boat. Great hardware is in place for all systems with spares in storage. All of this to keep her in good health to carry us safely wherever we may choose to go.

Feels good.