After being in La Paz since the middle of November waiting to get stainless steel work done we are finished with the project and will be planning our next adventure. Because of the drop down stern, the davits and arch needed to be custom designed to lower the dinghy into the water while clearing the platform when its in the drop down position. It required lots of stainless steel that had to be ordered, a fair amount of welding, and a crew of 5 stainless steel guys. It works with an electric winch so its easy to control the raising and lowering of the dinghy. We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. It was well worth the wait.
Why did we need to add this arch? We needed to be able to lift it out of the water. For long crossings it will still go on the foredeck for safety in rough weather. At anchor, we really wanted to be able to easily lift the dingy with the motor on it out of the water and secure it. It’s not common to have a dinghy stolen but, on the other hand, I have talked personally to three people that have had a dinghy stolen.
Besides the dinghy, the arch also provides a convenient spot for two more solar panels for an additional 450 Watts. I’m certain you’ve heard me complain about batteries, alternators and the amount of solar I had – but this brings all those systems into balance and makes Kevin VERY happy. Bev immediately requested additional electrical appliances 🙂
The last few days have been reassembling areas removed to install the arch, pulling wires for solar panels and installing lights on the arch. I’ve made many trips on my e-scooter to the chandleries around town!
Finally, we were feeling like we were ready to plan our next move AND then we discovered a serious problem. To be continued . . .
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