2012-10-06 Annapolis Boat Show

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Annette and I attended the Annapolis Sailboat show again this year and unlike last year I actually stepped onto a boat! See, we have Magnolia, she is in my mind the first and last sailboat we will own! (Granted we will see and of course the Admiral will have some input on that!) There was one boat from Gozzard displayed there. Our slip neighbors are very interested in the brand so I promised them we would tour it! The boat is truly “art.” In addition we had a our shopping list (purchases & information).

Boat & Dinghy Ladders – Magnolia has a swim platform on her stern that drops down and allows for SUPER EASY access to and from the dingy or from the water if swimming. Unfortunately this platform can not be deployed unless the dinghy is in the water and out of the way. From a safety standpoint “no good at all”. We decided to go with one of the Up-N-Out Ladder  (www.up-n-out.com). The best thing is the ladder can be deployed by someone already in the water which is a HUGE safety step forward. While we were there we also opted for one of their dinghy ladders as well which will make the Admiral happy so she can comfortably get in and out of the dinghy in those nettle free coves around the bay and beyond! These are ladders are not inexpensive but they are made as solid as you could ask and fold up compactly. Granted this whole paragraph is written before I have even tried them out so will report out more later.

LED Lights – With the exception of one LED light in the aft head, all our lights are traditional which translates to a battery sucking sound every time a light comes on! Five (5) of our cabin lights use a E-27 bulb so thought this would be a good place to start! Keith over at the Boat Light Store (www.boatlightstore.com) hooked us up. I generally/always have what I want to purchase in my “minds eye” and of course that did not come off the shelf. Keith suggested using a particular LED along with an E-27 base adapter would provide me with what I wanted. To make it all work, Keith had to break out his soldering iron, but in the end it worked perfectly and we happily have them installed on Magnolia.

Galley Countertops – The Admiral has not been over excited about the countertops in the galley so we have been on the lookout for a quality craftsman to perform the upgrade. We had a very good conversation with John Norton from Annapolis Harbor Boat Yard (www.annapolisharbor.net). He seemed to “get us” and suggested we send him some measurements and pictures to give us a “ballpark” estimate. I am simply relating a first impression but thought I would share.

Navpod Electronic Housing – We recently purchased a new “pod” for our new cockpit chart plotter. Rob Walsh from Ocean Equipment (www.oceanequipment.com) gave me some tips and pointers for cutting the pod to accept our chart plotter, including using a rotor zip cutting tool.

Charger/Inverter – Magnolia has a old Freedom Xantrex charger inverter installed along with a new Xantrex LinkLite battery monitor. After hearing Nigel Calder speak at last weeks GAM I started wondering if the technology had improved to the point where we should consider upgrading in spite of the fact the equipment is still functioning perfectly fine. After speaking with Chris Hanranhan (www.tekris.com) we decided against any upgrade at this time, but based on his unbiased advice we will certainly consider his service when we do!

Two other products we purchased and will try out are the Poli-Glow (www.poliglow-int.com) UV Protectant for fiberglass and Spotless Stainless (www.spotlessstainless.com)

We also met the marketing director for Kanberra gel which we swear by for eliminating boat smells on Magnolia. See Annette’s testimonial video on the Kanberra Facebook page.  Annette also upgraded her Sailrite SZ1 with an accessory pack on sale at the Sailrite booth.  See Annette’s blog post on www.seamlesssailor.com.

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I nearly forgot the TriTip Steak Sandwich from the Fleet Reserve Center. If for no other reason, this is your reason for attending the Annapolis Boat Show!!

2 thoughts on “2012-10-06 Annapolis Boat Show

  1. We liked the Up n Out also last time we were there. We have a Mystic Stainless ladder ($$$). I think it will deploy from the water, but you might get hit in the face. I’ll check it out, if I can find my old hockey helmet.
    Enjoy your cruise!
    P
    Latitude43.com

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