Results of our Shakedown Sail | Sailing Soulianis - Ep. 15

That’s a wrap on our shakedown sail! In this episode, after sailing back across Lake Michigan to our home port of Racine, Wisconsin, and getting a little weird during the crossing (being alone on a boat definitely makes you go a little batty), we talk through everything we learned during our 3-week cruise along the west coast of Michigan.

We wanted to do a proper shakedown cruise for two reasons:

1) FUN. After years of planning, saving and searching for a sailboat, we wanted to have some fun, see the west coast of Michigan, and sail into Charlevoix to achieve one of Kirk’s childhood dreams.

2) TEST the BOAT. Even though we’d taken some daysails, up until this point we hadn’t used the boat like a cruiser, which was the big plan. Before setting off south from our home port, we wanted a better idea of what we needed to fix, change or upgrade on the boat. A multi-week shakedown sail/cruise gave us a much better understanding of what it was like to live aboard our Tartan 37.

Below is the TO DO list of things we decided were the most important and/or easy/cheap to complete before leaving on our big trip down the Mississippi/inland river system.

* Ground tackle upgrade
* New anchor – https://amzn.to/2ulA1sI
* Add windlass
* New anchor bridle
* New all-chain rode
* New chain hook – https://amzn.to/2JisyQ1
* New anchor swivel – https://amzn.to/2uoAo5S
* Replace leaky head with compositing head
* Convert all lights to LEDs
* Cabin – https://amzn.to/2Jlziwq
* Navigation – https://amzn.to/2L81N5L
* New battery bank
* Communications upgrade
* Purchase Verizon mifi – https://amzn.to/2ukuQcI
* Cellphone signal booster – https://amzn.to/2NMf821
* Marine cellphone antenna – https://amzn.to/2uxRCgj
* Wifi booster
* Insulate engine compartment
* Hydrogen sulfate monitor – https://amzn.to/2umsJVP
* Plumb 2nd water tank
* Add foam to settee cushions
* Run spinnaker halyard internally
* Sew UV canvas covers for winches, handrails & compass
* Buy handheld VHF – https://amzn.to/2uydZCq
* Rig anchor light for river trip – https://amzn.to/2JmTvlp
* Buy jerry cans for diesel & water/make deck railing for stowing
* Diesel – https://amzn.to/2NQG8NV
* Water – https://amzn.to/2LgYjdZ
* Re-charge fridge

Stay tuned for the next episode as the projects begin!

Hope you enjoy!
Lauren & Kirk

P.S. If you’d like more Sailing Soulianis content or would like to support our video production, consider becoming a patron here: https://www.patreon.com/sailingsoulianis

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Music:

Days Passing By – Wandersound https://soundcloud.com/wandersoundradio
Horizon – Deaf-an https://soundcloud.com/deafanmusic
Adventures – A Himitsu https://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE

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