The goal after arriving in Panama in early January was to get Spirit XL to a stage where she could operate independently of marinas.
We’d spent the three prior months in Costa Rica in a marina and had more than had enough of them. Getting the final bits we needed in Costa Rica was out of the question. With import costs as high as 100% and delays a normal occurrence we decided to leave the big ticket items until we got to Panama where it was cheaper and easier to import them. Spirit was also still in her old owners name as transferring ownership was another bureaucratic mess we preferred to steer clear of so this had also been delayed until Panama. The main items we were yet to order and install were. - inverter - Water maker - New anchor chain 80m x 10mm - Spare windlass - Dinghy 10ft RIB - Outboard 2 stroke Enduro - New hydraulic ram for autopilot - Order starlink - Fit new 2nd hand sails Some of the main jobs we still had to carry out were things such as. - fit solar panels to decks - Rewire 12v & 24v board - Replace hydraulic pipes on autopilot - Fit new hydraulic ram on pilot - Remove and check rudder/lubricate/service - Simplify running rigging - Cut sheets and lines to correct lengths - Scrub hull - Remove SS sponson band - Remove redundant deck hardware - Fill numerous holes around the boat with epoxy. - Order and fit starlink - Remove nets for stitching & re-lash netting. - Fit hand shower to forward head - Replace fridge compressor and thermostat - Stitch in new tack on mainsail - Organise onboard tender stowage - Service blocks and winches - Source new portable freezer - Design, source and fit new stove This was all made easier when we were joined by Sam for five weeks in Panama. Sam had kindly offered to come and help us and was also looking to buy a trimaran and wanted to know and experience the realities of such an adventure. We had two months until the start of March to get Spirit sorted and to finally break free of marinas. Come March our plan was to head out and to cruise the Las Perlas islands, which are 40nm off Panama. This three week cruise would give us the time and chance to test the changes and additions we’d made and thus give us the confidence in the boat and her systems to make our final departure across the Pacific to French Polynesia in April. Three very close friends had offered their services and would join us for the cruise around the Las Perlas. Having more people onboard would allow us to stress the boat and her systems and to pinpoint any weaknesses or faults we had. As you can imagine the last two weeks have been incredible. We’ve finally broken free of marinas and Spirits presently being tested with five people onboard cruising the Las Perlas. Stay tuned for the next update and the test results from the Las Perlas cruise and adventures.
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