A bilingual title, as it felt so good to get home and open Enfin after so many months.
On arrival we found Enfin in great shape. Recently washed and her wax job still shining. The cabin dry, with no smells, all thanks to the attention of our friend Sean who'd stop by the boat regularly and take whatever measure needed to keep her in perfect shape. Thanks again!
It was a shocking 105f (40c) on arrival, so our first mission of the day was to reopen all the necessary thru-hulls and start the 3 air conditioners. I had worked on them before leaving, so was confident they'd restart with no problem. Still, it was a real pleasure when I switched all 3 units and a circulation pump on, and all 3 sprang to life, blowing cool air in no time. Within 30 minutes the boat was back down to very livable temperatures, the a/c units doing their thing automatically, adjusting fan speed and cycling as needed to maintain a constant temperature.
One of the deciding factors in buying Enfin as our retirement boat was that we wanted a "go anywhere" boat, and in our mind that meant a boat that is as comfortable in extreme cold weather as it is in searing heat. Enfin having both air conditioning and a heating furnace fir the bill perfectly.
It is rather rare for boats to have both systems, as boats who live primarily in the Pacific North West tend to only have heat, whereas those who live primarily in Florida tend to only have A/C.
Tough going world capable Enfin has both, and we sure appreciated the cool air on arrival.
The water tanks hadn't been rinsed in months but we had super-chlorinated them before leaving, so we found them in good shape with no slimy growth or weird odors. Nevertheless, just to be extra safe we filled them up and emptied them a few times with extra chlorination until we were satisfied that the tanks (and associated pipes) contained very fresh and very clean water.
The head produced no smells. Being a fresh water it doesn't tend to smell anyway but Di had clearly done a good job closing it down and treating the black water tank before leaving.
The washer/dryer started as well, going through all our trip laundry with no problem.
A few days later I aligned all fuel valves as needed, and started all 3 engines: The main, wing and generator engines. All 3 started on first try and without any hesitation, sputtering or soot. Again, preventive maintenance and using a good diesel stabilizer did the job.
What a joy to find Enfin in such good shape and ready for a cruise!
The only problem so far is a small leak coming from the water heater. It probably suffered in the extreme cold winter we had. I had chosen not to empty it (we didn't need it last year), so we will chalk this down to potential operator error.
We have a new one on order and all going well it should be installed by the end of next week. Luckily the leak is tolerable for the moment, even though it will only get bigger, so we can continue using the water heater and more importantly taking long hot showers.
In the grand scheme of things, it's a small price to pay after leaving Enfin for about 7 months.
By the time we have the new water heater installed, Enfin will be ready for a cruise. I'm hoping we will take off just after Labor Day to go and explore the Columbia River up from Portland.