A number of blog posts recently have been focused on the house. But, in parallel with the house projects, I’ve been doing a lot of work on the Tahina Expedition itself. We’ve made some more partnerships during the past few weeks which I’m looking forward to announce in the coming weeks. Most of the partnerships will be announced as we get close to our final departure. Meanwhile, after hiring someone to help, the Tahina Expedition will finally get a real logo soon. A redesign for the Tahina web site will start soon thereafter.
In addition, in preparation for the haul-out next week, I’ve been researching and buying equipment which needed to be delivered in time for the installation projects. Some of the bigger items being installed are communications equipment (SSB radio and satellite systems), washer/dryer, GPIRB (emergency beacon), electronic barometer, some new lights, and some fans for the staterooms. In addition, a range of maintenance tasks will be performed including waxing the boat, painting the hulls, servicing all the sail hardware including the rigging, servicing engines and generator, servicing appliances, replacing lines and getting spares, modifying some of the line rigging, fiberglass cosmetic touch-ups, and installing a computer network and a long-range WIFI antenna.
Lining up people to help with all these tasks has been another big job. That effort isn’t complete either. I’m estimating I can get most of the work done in 1 week if all the stars align and enough people show up. However, I’ve allowed two weeks in the plan. If we go beyond that point (the end of September), our actual departure date (currently planned by the end of October) may have to delay a bit. Which wouldn’t be the end of the world (except that I’m just a bit goal oriented – or so my friends and family tell me – that’s probably an understatement).
