Our New Fridge...

My sweetie just helped me make a cover/insulation for our new fridge :) As you may remember we recently bought two Dometic portable fridges for ORION...one 53 quart which we use exclusively as a fridge and one 33 quart which we use exclusively as a freezer. We "tested" them for a few weeks now and are extremely pleased...actually we are ecstatic...they run on our solar panel and wind generator only (!), so that we have not had to use our engine or our 2K generator for charging up the batteries at all...AT ALL...and it is over a month ago that we bought them :-)

We also decided where we want the units semi-permanently placed (they are portable, so can be moved again if we feel like it)...the fridge will stay in the main salon and the freezer in the aft cabin...the reason is quite obvious: one uses the fridge much more often than the freezer. Since ORION is a Morgan 41 Out Island she has a center cockpit, so both main salon and separate aft cabin can easily be accessed...in other words we can still reach for the ice cubes quickly and put them in that sundowner, hahaha ;)

Today I will report on the fridge only, leaving the freezer for another day...after all we are retired and it's hot in the Caribbean, so one project at a time please!

Our friends Bruce and Connie, who also have a Morgan 41 Out Island, were interested in our new refrigeration set-up...Connie wanted to see some pictures, which inspired me to make this blog post...thanks Connie :) Maybe some other cruisers and our landlubber friends will be interested as well...so here are the gory details...

We decided to put the fridge right next to the galley, sacrificing one of the benches surrounding the dining table for it to sit on. This will still leave enough space for Rick and I to dine and entertain in the main salon...however we usually dine and entertain in ORION's huge cockpit, so no big changes to our every day life are involved...phew!

For good insulation from below we put two layers of closed cell foam on top of the seat cushion...we used a blue camping mat (the ones you buy rolled up at big stores like Walmart for placing underneath a sleeping bag) for all of the insulation...we just cut it to fit! Then we cut pieces to fit the outside of the fridge and attached them with duck tape...omitting the spaces where the fan blows and the air intake. To hold the fridge in place when times get rough...after all we do live on a sail boat...Rick screwed in two Ubolts in the wall that separates the galley from the dining area to attach a strap.

Here is the "naked" fridge...

Here is the "shell" made of closed cell foam mat...

Here is the cover put on loosely...

Here is the completed cover attached with duck tape...

Here is the fridge put in place and strapped in...

View from salon towards galley...

Fridge can be opened easily from galley...

Holds everything we need in a compact space...

We put additional insulation on the inside...I used a car sun shield (cut it to fit)...this prevents "sweating" on the outside of the lid :)

I placed a pretty quilt cover on top of the fridge...this insulates as well as adds a touch of decor :)

Here is another view of the dining area with the fridge in its place :)

There you have it...our new fridge and dining area on ORION...all in one :) Life is good!

 

 

Melones Beach, Culebra...and a new portable freezer (!)

We are secured to a mooring ball...

Hurray hurray...we pulled the anchor today, left Dewey harbor and sailed to Melones Beach. Melones Beach is located on the west coast of Culebra in a little bay just past the main ferry dock...the next bay up is Tamarindo. Melones Is known for great snorkeling...it belongs to protected waters, no fishing is allowed! There are a few mooring balls in the pristine turquoise waters...we took one and had no problem securing it to ORION...practice makes perfect and we are having a lot of practice these days :) There was only one other boat moored next to us, a catamaran, making this a nice private little bay...just what the doctor ordered, hahaha.

fast speed passenger ferry Fajardo-Culebra

Tracking back a little bit I am happy to report that we took the ferry again and picked up our new 33 quart freezer, a Dometic CF35, at West Marine in Fajardo last Thursday...we want to thank the staff there, especially Estella, one of the managers, who accommodated our request to exchange the previously ordered CF25 for the CF35...all went well and we returned on the fast speed passenger ferry to Culebra and ORION. The new CF35 Dometic works great :) We are running it as a freezer, and we already enjoy home made ice cubes in our drinks! The meat is frozen solid, the unit turns on and off and maintains a temperature of 13 degrees Fahrenheit (we set it to that temperature)...best of all...all this under wind and solar power only! We are ecstatic about it :)

Okay...now that we no longer have refrigeration issues we are able to really get going...we stocked up on some fresh supplies of meat and veggies and even went to have a hair cut at the local Barber! As already reported above we are now moored at Melones Beach...went snorkeling this afternoon and are still pinching ourselves about the wow factor of this stunningly beautiful little beach area...there is a coral reef right by the beach...we swam with a turtle, a sting ray, and lots and lots of blue tang, saw hundreds of small colorful fishes and a reef full of healthy corals and sea fans swaying in the underwater current! God's creations at their best! Oh and all of this in crystal clear water with white sand on the bottom! This is what it's all about...this is what we enjoy the most...and we are so thankful to be able to live our dream in all its glory! Next step is to get the underwater camera out, so we can share the glory with all of you :) God bless!