I am planning to spend a lot of time in the
Bahamas and
Caribbean. I've spent a lot of time there already, but not in my own
boat. One of my options is to singlehand in an
Islander 32 MkII that I bought
cheap, but it needs a
refit and it lacks some
equipment that I think is essential. It's in Ft. Lauderdale.
Engine is a 13 hp
Volvo diesel, which provides adequate
power at best. Tiller steered, and there is a tillerpilot that works fine. Four foot
draft, nice for
Bahamas.
Here's my list:
Essential stuff:
New
Bimini and
dodger. I have the
aluminum frames and I may do the
canvas work myself.
Upgrade ground tackle. Currently there's a 22 lb.
delta which I consider an adequate primary, and I will add an oversized
fortress (37, I believe) as a combo storm/stern
anchor, mounted on stern rail. Would this be enough for a 9,000 pound
boat that has above average freeboard? Will rope/chain rodes be OK, if the chain is say 25-35 ft.?
Newer main. I don't want to spend on a new sail, but I will look for a used replacement. Either way, there will be three
reefs, so I don't have to carry a storm trysail. Add lazy jacks with maybe one of those cool easy to use covers.
Add
storm jib. Currently there's a good headsail (130 or so) on a good
furler. Should I look for a small
jib that goes on the
furler, or one of those "gale sails" that is attached over the furled headsail?
Galley improvements. Currently for
cooking there's a good, but slow,
Origo alcohol two-burner. I will add a
propane burning
grill on the stern rail (how difficult is it to find those canisters in the
Caribbean?). I could find room for a small microwave for in port
cooking, but that's a maybe. The
icebox is unimproved, and the only
refrigeration is an AC driven small fridge that sits under the
Origo. I can use that when on
shore power, and as dry
storage when not. I should probably upgrade the
icebox insulation and add mechanical
refrigeration to it.
Tankage. No easy way to upgrade
fuel or
water capacity, so I will use jerry jugs.
New
batteries, with adequate amp hours to handle increased needs.
New, thicker
cushions below.
Repair or replace
cockpit engine panel.
Replace bad depthsounder and
knotmeter.
Add
chartplotter at
companionway. (Already have handheld
Garmin GPS as backup, and I will also have a
laptop with
charts and
GPS capability for planning. Plus I will have paper
charts and a good complement of
cruising guides, etc.)
Add
solar panels. Maybe a
wind generator as well.... they are not that expensive.
Add
inverter.
Add DC driven fans below.
Nice to have stuff:
Add hot
water heater and
shower in
head and/or
cockpit.. (Those
solar showers should be adequate for just me.)
Repair windspeed/direction instrument.
Add
windvane to supplement tillerpilot.
Upgrade primary winches to
self tailing. The
current two speeds have those blue rubber attachments that seem to
work fine.
Add washdown system for ground tackle (salt water, the simpler the better.)
Upgrade to higher output
alternator.
Add
SSB.
Add a small
hatch in
head.
Add asymetic
spinnaker, assuming the one I already have is the right size.
Very unlikely to do:
A stronger engine, if I can find a way to do it for
cheap.
Add
Radar.
Add
windlass (unnecessary for
rope rodes - if I decide an all chain
rode is needed, I will add a mechanical one).
Upgrade some
current fixed
ports to opening.
So that's my current list, and I'd appreciate opinions, particularly from the Caribbean vets around here. And if anyone can recommend folks in Ft. Lauderdale that I should use to help me do all this, that would be helpful as well.