The video is in French. The full write-up is in English below.
End of summer. It had been a while since I had been down to the boat — too hot, and other things to sort out. Arthur is here, we give ourselves three days. On the list: a bit of plumbing, a bit of electrics, and above all one last go at the engine. Spoiler: the mosquitoes won the nights, but not the days.
A screen to read the electrics at a glance
First thing fitted over the weekend: a Victron GX Touch, the screen that goes with the Cerbo GX. Wiring it takes no particular skill — one HDMI and one USB, and that is it. It configures itself.
What you get in real time: state of charge, instantaneous consumption, and above all both battery banks at once — engine and house — because they are linked by VE.Direct rather than Bluetooth. That is the condition for them to show up on the screen. At sea, being able to check the whole electrical system at a glance is worth what it costs.
Reckon on €230 to €290 depending on the dealer. For now it is temporarily mounted: its final home is the chart table, and there is still an HDMI cable and a USB extension to run.
The engine runs
That was the point of the weekend, and the last chance I was giving it. I had found the fuel filter again, perfectly clean, ready to fit. Getting the old connectors off took some persuading — and the hammer, which is honestly still the best tool mankind has invented. Once the right sleeves were free, it all goes back together directly.
The diesel is there, we prime with the hand pump, the pressure comes up. First try: nothing. Second: nothing. Third: still nothing. And then, just as I was about to call it a day, it fires.
We shut it down and tried again from cold, to be sure. It starts instantly, no suspicious noises, good pressure, no overheating. On that point at least, what we were told at the sale was true.
One thing still to sort out though: the stop button does not shut the engine down. You have to go about it another way. That is the sort of thing you cannot leave as it is before going sailing.
The teak lives again
Arthur took on the cockpit: sanding, then the protective treatment. The result is striking — you would swear the planks had been replaced. Treated wood next to bare wood leaves no room for doubt.
We deliberately started on a small area. The idea was to see what it looked like before deciding whether to do the whole deck the same way. Going by the result, that question is half answered.
The ram, fixed with 3D-printed bolts
The famous steering ram. The problem was not the part, it was working out the right thread. The method was a bit homespun: I 3D-printed several bolts with different threads until I found the right one, then ordered the real parts.
Dry fit first, then final tightening with PTFE tape. The fittings are in, the ram is back on its mounts. All that is left is to get oil into the circuit.
The ceilings come down, and what is behind them
If there is a screw, we undo it. The ceiling came down and gave up its secrets: of the eight cables running through it, six were already cut. One HDMI socket rusted to the core. And a quantity of wire that serves absolutely no purpose.
A good surprise on the other hand: there is an NMEA 2000 network in place, and it is rather tidy. For this boat, that is almost startling.
The seacocks, nearly done
One Trudesign valve was already fitted and two were missing: they are on. The full plumbing will have to wait — I do not have the right hose sizes, I need 19 and 22 mm. The main line is connected though, with a Y to split the suction. I also refitted the sink with a fitting made on the spot and a Y-joint on what we broke last time.
A question for anyone who knows
One mystery we did not solve: we do not know where the shower water goes. The shower sits below the level of the black water tank, no pump kicks in when you use it, and there is no dedicated skin fitting to drain it.
If you have come across this arrangement on a boat of this generation, we would be glad to hear it. In the comments under the video, or straight to us by email.
What we take from it
The engine starts, the ram is fixed, the teak has its colour back, the seacocks are moving along. We wrapped the weekend up a little earlier than planned: a big storm was coming in, and after three nights of being eaten alive by mosquitoes, the urge to sleep won.
The boat is still a big untidy building site. But every item ticked off is one fewer before the departure, and every euro spent is set out on the budget page.
To keep up with what comes next: the logbook, or the yard letter, once a month.
