New boat - Preparing for trip north

It's been a busy year and a half since the last post. We began a hunt for a slightly larger trawler in 2006, and by May 2007 we had settled on a DeFever 41 built in 1987. Since then, we have been working to upgrade some of the systems and the decor, with a new Force 10 propane stove/oven to replace the dreadful electric stove/oven (requiring us to operate the generator every time we wanted to use the stove), a hand held Simrad auto-pilot control unit (in addition to the console mounted unit), new GPS, new curtains and cushions (absolutely beautiful), new bow-thruster (to replace one 1/2 the proper size), and soon-to-be rewired electrical system.

We hope to have everything completed in time for a departure in late April 2008. We'll be heading to Canada, either via Maine on the ocean side of the continent, or via Lake Champlaine on the inside route.

Pictures of the new Sanderling can be seen at http://public.fotki.com/rmcleran/sanderling/