Stocking up the sail robe for Lifgun and spare parts in general

Hi All

Sails

Lifgun gets new clothes. After struggling sometimes with the Genaker when single handed, I was thinking about a new downwind sail. After research for quite a while and checking out Spinakers, Parasailor and so on - finally I decided to go with the new blue water runner from Elvstrom. Seems to be a reasonable downwind sail and is usable until 130 degrees wind angle. Because it is equipped with a furler, it will work perfectly for shorthanded sailing. The size will be 130 m2 which is a little bit smaller then the Genaker (150 m2) I used in the past. The sail is right now in production and will be shipped within the next two weeks ! More infos here : http://www.elvstromsails.com/da/tech-layline-dk/produktnyheder/item/new-product-blue-water-runner

Engine

When we arrived in Richards Bay I discovered that the sail drive oil is contaminated with sea water -  the oil was looking like mayonnaise. However it seems that the sail drive sealing/gasket has to be renewed. This will cause a haul out, which is good anyway. Then, the freshwater pump (for the internal cooling circuit) needs also to be replaced. After talking with Volvo in Gothenburg they send me a replacement part. Anyhow the whole engine has now a little bit over 1000 running hours and deserves a special treatment....(that's how I explain such expenses in front of myself...) 

Navigation / Electronics

I finally decided to install an additional chart plotter at the navigation desk. The reason for that is first to have a unit in the cabin which is sheltered from the elements (kind of back up thoughts) and second, to hear the alarms even when I'm sleeping or hanging out downstairs. At the same time I will install a digital yacht nmea gateway which will allowing me to overtake data from the Raymarine network directly to the logbook or using different apps on the iPads. I'm wondering if this is working. 

Even on land, Lifgun somehow keeps me busy.... more will follow up soon. 

September 23, 2017 - 0735 UTC - Zurich (Switzerland)