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| Andariego's new inexpensive air conditioner |
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| Mike Wagner |
On Sunday, September 22, 2013, the autumnal
equinox, I went for a little shakedown sail with two marina friends, Mike and
Willy. They both have sailboats moored at Isleta Marina. Mike is a live-aboard
with a dog named Pebbles, and works on construction for a living. Willy has a
sailboat and a place on land where he sews canvas works for sailboats and
furniture upholstery. They’ve both done work in Andariego.
Mike had helped me install a small
air conditioner in the main cabin hatch. We attached rope handles to move it to
the dock finger using a winch. I don’t want to sail with a bulky ac over the
hatch. It had not been tested. I cannot lift an ac by myself but I can move it
using winches. Willy had made the ac’s canvas cover, which can be left on when
the ac is on or off protecting the digital elements from direct sunlight and
rain, but with screen canvas on the back to allow air flow without taking the
canvas off. It works beautifully.
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| Willy Angleró |
We sailed from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
around the bay, wherever the wind blew, without a port in mind, just sailing.
The t-shirt I wore said it all: Are we there yet? Who cares? All worked well,
except we found a small rip at the head of the mainsail. Willy said he could
fix it. I had used sail tape previously, but obviously that is not a permanent
or reliable solution.
Mike took the helm for a while as
we headed toward Palomino with a gentle ESE wind. It wasn’t windy enough for
his taste, but enough for me preferring cruising to racing. Willy sailed toward
Icacos, as we made a big loop to head back to port. As I sailed back in, all
was handled smoothly, including the re-installation of the ac using the winch.
The temperature outside was in the upper 90’s but the heat index indicated 103
degrees Fahrenheit. We celebrated a well-spent afternoon with a few cold beers.
It was nice to have the ac cooling the main cabin again.
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| Eva's t-shirt |
