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Roxia 2023: A Year of Changes and Challenges
2023 was a year of changes, both to Roxia and the life of it’s owners. Let’s start with Roxia:
The theme of this year was the return to Mexico. After our last trip in 2018 we were left longing for warm water and sun. The pandemic threw a wrench into most peoples cruising plans and we were in that group. Fall/Winter 2023 would be the time. With that in mind Roxia wanted a couple upgrades, the largest of them was adding Solar panels. My goal with panels was to be able to leave Roxia for the day or possibly two and not worry about the batteries going below 50%. We only leave on the refrigeration but we have a lot of that. I will do a separate project post.
The balance of the work would be more routine with oil changes, checking thru-hulls, tighten electrical connections etc. The trip down the coast is not difficult but it should be planned for all contingencies. Before the end of the year the work was completed and tanks filled with fresh diesel and gas for the dinghy. This is when things started to change.
At the end of December my 95-½ year old mom had a fainting episode which lead to a quick decline in her health. Within two weeks she was at home with 24 hour care and hospice. As difficult as this was, it is the way we should all want. Two weeks of hospice and she passed peacefully in her sleep. I was able to spend much of the time with her and all four grandchildren were able to visit while she was still lucid and recognized them all.
Emmy and I with my brother and sister-in-law now had the task of cleaning her house and distributing decades of memories. It took the four of us three weeks of 10-12 hour days to pack and donate all the rest. Her home sold in less than a week and during this time I decided I would have Roxia delivered to Southern California by SD Captains. Nikolay and Camo did a fantastic job. This is the first and only time I have not been aboard Roxia when she traveled.
With all the work the weeks and months passed and our plan to return to the Sea of Cortez had to be postponed even though we were only 100 miles from the Mexican border. Sadly again we headed back North. Emmy and I stopped to visit friends and family on the way up the coast and settled in Sausalito for a couple weeks. We made new friends and visited old. As this was my 19th trip on the coast I really didn’t want to spend much time between Sausalito and home. Emmy did not want to do three days non-stop with the dogs, so… We rented a car and drove the dogs home. Emmy stayed there and I returned with two friends to do a quick trip back home.
Fast forward to August 2024 and we have spent many weeks cruising with friends and family. In May of 2024 along with Don and Jill Bernard (N47 Slow Burn) we put on the largest rendezvous of Nordhavns in history. We had 56 boats at the brand new docks in Poulsbo, WA from the N35 to the N96. What a site it was to see. There were another 14 boats “represented” by their owners. We had over 200 people at the Saturday night dinner.
Here is the link to the Soundings Article. Soundings Article by Norris Comer
Here is a link to the Nordhavn Video. Nordhavn Video by Doug Harlow NOR2024
Starlink Final Phase
With enough testing under the belt I figured it was time to make the installation more permanent. I measured the outside of the KVH dome and the diagonal length of the Starlink dish and base. The only question was how thick the dome was to determine if the Starlink dish would fit inside the KVH dome. Time to do some climbing.
The first thing to do was climb the mast remove the screws and take the dome cover off the KVH base. As it turned out the dome is super lightweight and only about 5-6mm thick. This is the first time I have removed the dome myself and was a little unsure how it would work. Very easy is my answer.
Fortunately there are only four bolts to remove the old hardware. Access required turning the old dish to remove. Once the dish was unbolted I removed the rescue tape from the coax connections and unplugged the communication/power cable.
The base of the old KVH dome had a slight taper and some ridges. I cut about 10mm off each leg of the Starlink dish support and wrapped with rescue tape to make the legs a little grippy. I reinstalled the four bolts that held the KVH dish and used them to zip tie the legs of the Starlink stand. This may be unnecessary but we have been in some rough water and more support is better than less.
When I removed the old cables I pulled some cordage through the pipe and left one extra just in case. I connected the cable back to Starlink and tested to make sure all was well. Then it was time to clean up the old dome and put in place.
I was paying $145 per month for Direct TV in standard definition via the KVH TracVision dome on the starboard side of the mast. Now I have full internet, wifi calling and streaming via Chromecast plus Google TV for $135 per month. Seems like a great deal to me.
I have heard that a Starlink dish inside a dome may create excess heat and send a warning. I have the snow melt heaters disabled and will check when the weather gets hot. It will be easy to install vents if necessary. At anchor if Starlink loses connection as we pivot I may need to disable the motors so that the dish looks straight up. Because Roxia doesn’t “sail” too much at anchor this may not be necessary. Both of these issues are easy to correct if they become a problem. For now I will test in the current configuration. In the dome with Starlink looking North in the direction of my mast Starlink shows no obstructions. So far so good!
Anyone need an old KVH Mini V-Sat system? Have I got a deal for you…
