The list of things we need to finish the refit that we started at the end of last year is beginning to shrink. After another nationwide search from Ebay to Craigslist, I finally found a great deal on a second Raymarine E90W that will mount in the cockpit. It was used but never installed and got it shipped here lickitty-split in perfect condition.
I love opening FedEx boxes these days!
I was also able to snag a NavPod from Ebay for a fraction of the original price. I used my wait-till-the-last-second Ninja bidding skills in order to swipe it away from the previous high bidder - oh I love winning items on Ebay that way, makes me all tachycardic and shit. Only thing about the NavPod though, I'll have to modify it just a bit - it was originally for a Raymarine C80 - which is just a bit taller and a bit narrower than my E90W is, but it looks like it will be damn near a perfect overall size.
What it should look like once mounted
One of the other items I've had my eyes on was a Sirius XM weather receiver for the Raymarine network. It wasn't at the top of the list, but something I've considered after doing a bit of research. It would hook right up to my existing backbone and offers weather forecasts, wind, sea, and of course the XM radio channels. During another one of my Craigslist searches I came across somebody upgrading to another electronics system and had one for a really good price. I sent him the funds via Paypal, and he promptly delivered the parts to my boatyard. Damn, I love Craigslist.
Raymarine SR100 XM Receiver
This next item is one I haven't bought yet but will right before we head to Florida. I can buy it brand new from Bed Bath and Beyond and have it shipped to my boat at no cost. But finding it has solved a space issue that is hard to come by in a boat. Currently, we have an old microwave and a toaster oven, and while you don't really have to have either on a boat, we like the convenience that each offers. But that's two items, and while they are both small, they do take up double the real estate. But then along comes Cuisinart. Its a combination microwave, convection oven, and can also be used as a grill. And to top it off, its small. Can't wait to throw the old units in the trash and to start using this work of "Cuisin"-art (thank you, I'll be here all week.)
I've also have been looking for a replacement dinghy for months now. We've spent tons of hours searching Craigslist - everywhere from Fort Lauderdale to Key West. There have been times when both my wife and I have been on two different laptops doing daily searches. I've seen tons of boats, but everything was usually too new and expensive, too old, or too heavy - we could never find that perfect size, condition, and price. I'd love to have one of those solid inflatables - some are either aluminum or fiberglass, but they are few and far between and above my price limit. But then I came across these high performance inflatable catamarans. The two biggest brand names are Thundercat and Hammerhead. They make a casual version and a performance one. I'd passed up on a couple of them already because they were too far away to look at and I wasn't in the area at the time. But then I also discovered that the "normal" size Dux Hammerhead was 13'6" - too big to fit between my hulls as I only have 12' on the nose, and no more. In fact, we measured that distance about 4 different times because I couldn't believe that I didn't have at least that much to fit one of those boats there. I became very frustrated.
But then, I found it. It was like finding the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Could it really be the one - this has got to be the one! It was a Dux Hammerhead Performance version and it was listed as an 11 footer. "How can that be?" I asked myself. Eleven feet? That's not possible, these boats are over 13 feet long. So I called the owner of the listing and he assured me that this was indeed an 11 foot Hammerhead. In fact, he said it was specially requested to be that specific length, and actually the title said it was 11 foot 6 inches - even better!!
A very kick-ass 2009 11'6" Dux Hammerhead
So is this the perfect dinghy? My wife is having her doubts. Its got an open transom (its the performance version remember) and they're known to be a little rough and a little "splashy." But they hold a shit ton of weight for when we have it loaded with scuba equipment and anything else. And it could not be more of the perfect size even if I had ordered it myself. These boats are also supposed to be fun as hell to play around with - some even use these in place of a personal watercraft - my crew should have a good time on this thing. Plus (and this is the best part) how cool will it look to have a performance inflatable catamaran hanging off the davits of my sailing catamaran?? Sounds completely bad-ass to me! And hey, if it doesn't work out, I really don't have that much invested in it. It would have cost me more to get my 10' Caribe re-tubed than this cost total.
All this will start coming together soon when we head back to Florida to begin the last phase of the refit.....and we can't wait!