Ep 104 ARC 2019 Prep - Watermakers and Oyster Support

As we enter the second week of prep for the ARC transatlantic crossing, we focus on converting Talisman from a boat that’s bombproof at sea, to one that is also ready to go off the grid for extended periods. We take a pessimistic view, envisioning up to 30 days alone on the ocean. During that time we’ll need all the solar we can capture, enough fuel to run our genset for four hours a day, food for four, and have a watermaker capable of providing water for a larger than normal crew, allowing for showers and drinking water throughout the trip. We attend the ARC seminars on rigging repairs while under way, weather, and provisioning. Wendy stresses over the latter, although that doesn’t show much in this episode.

The big work entails removing our old, non-functional beast of a watermaker, replacing it with a new “energy recovery” reverse osmosis unit from Eco Sistems. Jim Cudd from Sailfish Marine (Eco Sistems dealer) stops by to supervise the initial runup of the install, confirming that all is working as planned. I also add a high water alarm while our new crew member Max is put to work installing new sink faucets and toilet towers.

The Oyster Yachts support team stops by (for four days), inspecting every nook and cranny of Talisman. This four-man crew has decades of experience with Oyster, and they inspect all eleven of the Oysters that are participating in the rally. They even do an extensive rigging inspection and report. This free service is one of the reasons we’re such fans of the brand. In an industry that is not known for good after-sales service, Oyster sets the bar at an unbelievable level.

sailing videos; sailing, cruising, monohull, marine watermaker, oyster, oyster yachts, sailing blog, sailing vblog, sailing vlog