maintenance – Page 2 – Cormacks On Cambria

Here Comes the Sun: Solar Power

We have a few ways to make electricity on Cambria but our preferred method is solar. It’s silent and it uses free, renewable energy–the sun. We have three solar panels on board. Solar panel output is measured in watts. We have a little over 400 watts of solar panels. It’s not enough. Back in CanadaContinue reading “Here Comes the Sun: Solar Power”

Spring Haul Out 2023: La Cruz, Mexico

We have spent the better part of the last week hauled out in La Cruz, Mexico. We didn’t haul out because of any problems. This was just part of our regular maintenance routine. What wasn’t routine was that we hired a company to do the bulk of the work. Last time we did all theContinue reading “Spring Haul Out 2023: La Cruz, Mexico”

Electric Winch

In a recent text message my brother, Chris, commented that soon, I will know how to fix every system on Cambria. It makes sense. We have worked on a lot of Cambria’s systems. From sails and rigging to water systems to electronics, we’ve worked on them. You’d think we’d have things all figured out byContinue reading “Electric Winch”

Shelves and Baskets and Space…Oh My!

Musings by Shar I have found another spot for a shelf behind the garbage drawer. I promise I won’t store any food there! It’s been fun finding space where none exists. And I have enjoyed scheming about how to add a shelf here or add a basket there. I counted up how many shelves IContinue reading “Shelves and Baskets and Space…Oh My!”

Sails

We got our sails back on. We took them off after our trip around Vancouver Island and had UK Sails look over them to check for wear and places that needed reinforcement. Our sails are big, heavy, and awkward to work with so getting them on and off was a bit of a job forContinue reading “Sails”

More Storage Space

Storage on boats is always at a premium. It takes careful planning and organization to make sure we have enough food and spare parts available when we need them. After all, we can’t just zip out to the corner store to buy milk whenever we run out. With this in mind Sharlene and our friendContinue reading “More Storage Space”

Spending $4,000 on Stuff We Plan to Never Use!

We spent $4,000 on stuff we’ll never use. At least, we hope we’ll never use it. We bought a life raft, an EPIRB and a variety of signal flares. All of these items are for use in an emergency. They would be used if we were ever in serious danger. Danger like a fire onContinue reading “Spending $4,000 on Stuff We Plan to Never Use!”

Mounting Our Windpilot Windvane

Here are a few clips showing my brother, Mike, and I mounting our Windpilot windvane. The previous owners removed the windvane because they preferred the autopilot for their coastal cruising. Because we’ll be heading offshore soon, we need the windvane. For us it will be invaluable.

How We Steer

We steer with the steering wheel–right? Well, yes sort of. Cambria has a steering wheel and yes, we use it to steer the boat but actually, I don’t like steering. I find it boring. It’s interesting when we’re entering a harbour, dropping the anchor or manoeuvring into a dock but the rest of the time,Continue reading “How We Steer”

That Sinking Feeling

Okay, not that kind of sinking. This is about our kitchen sink(ing.) Specifically, it’s about the faucet at our kitchen sink. A year ago, we replaced the original galley faucet. Sharlene did a lot of research to find a faucet that fit the space around the sink. Most faucets were either too tall to fitContinue reading “That Sinking Feeling”