This morning, December 21, 2020, Ayala splashed! On May 19, 2020 we were hauled out, and we have been stuck out of our boat since then. It’s been a huge challenge to get to this point – dealing with reasonable COVID restrictions, unreasonable management at the Berkeley Marine Center, and constant delays and overcharging – and there is still a lot of work for us to do.

Still, today we celebrate, because we are back in the water, and back in control of the project. We can finally start the DIY work we prefer, learning and doing on our own timeline.

We replaced our Nanni Mercedes marine diesel engine with an Electric Yachts Quiet Torque 20 (QT-20). It needed a custom-made V-Drive, and may very likely be the only manufacturer-produced electric V-Drive in existence.

The motor is installed and functioning, but the batteries are not yet in, and the Onan Marine QD 7.5 kW generator (which exists as a range extender) cannot yet be turned on.

We are still waiting for the generator to be certified by Cummins, and the remainder of the batteries to arrive, so that we can finalize the installation of electrical components of the system. This system is not a hybrid system, but rather an electric motor that can be range extended with the generator.

The CopperCoat is on and activated. There is nothing to be done on this, it will require regular diving, but so do all bottom jobs. Right now it is a coppery color, but soon it will oxidize like the Statue of Liberty.

We added a custom arch to the aft of our boat. It is gorgeous and looks great, but because we were not allowed to do any installation and the yard manager at the Berkeley Marine Center would not communicate with us about the work that happened, we still need to verify that it is securely attached to the boat.

Solar panels have yet to be installed. We will have 900 watts of Sunpower panels that have been customized for marine use.

We are going to induction cooking and an electric microwave/convection oven system, so that we are more energy independent and do not have to worry about buying propane or CNG. The Berkeley Marine Center did a shoddy job of removing the old propane box (we could have done it better and faster, but we were not allowed on board), leaving shards of wood and fiberglass around and not even re-attaching the lazarette hatch, so we have a lot of work to do in cleaning that up before we start our installation.

We have done all the purchasing (True Induction Mini Duo and Samsung PowerGrill Duo 1.2-cu ft 1600-Watt), so once we remove the old propane stove and oven combo, we will start installing and gimbaling these. The induction stoves can work with special silicone mats, which stop pans from sliding around under way.