Solar Panels and the Pineapple Express
Chances are you've heard, but it has been a little rainy here in the Bay Area these last few days. The high winds coincided with Dominic's plans to install the solar panels on top of the bimini. We figured the storm force winds would be a fine opportunity to check the security of our mount.
And secure they were! The solar panels didn't waver at all through the storm, and except for moderate rocking Wednesday night, Helios was cozy and comfortable for the duration the rain. I slept really well using ear plugs, because sometimes the rain can be noisy. Our "roof" is fiberglass and only about a foot and a half above our heads. Dominic woke up a few times in the night to check the panels and make sure we didn't have any leaks. And we didn't! Very, very good news. Particularly good, because it means some of the small leak fix-its we've done have been successful.
I'm so glad it's raining. Mostly for the sake of my dehydrated home state, but also because it demands Dominic and I stay indoors and figure out the nitty gritty (less fun than sailing) stuff before we actually take off: eons of paperwork to take the boat to Mexico, hours in the pharmacy for a year of what-could-go-wrong-at-sea medical supplies, electrical installations that have Dominic buried in the lining of the hull, and so much organizing, organizing, organizing…..