Stuff we liked and stuff to avoid according to the crew
Caveat
NO. We don’t have any financial affiliation with any of these companies.
YES. We have used or are still using all of these products and will give our honest opinion for you to do with what you will.
YES PLEASE. If you have any products or ideas you’d like to share with us, please do! We’re always looking for ways to improve what and how we are doing what we do. We may even post about it to share with others.
Bluetti Portable Power Source
https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac180
We decided to put our Starlink on its own power source and it was becoming a bit of a chore to separate a battery/solar/charge controller situation for just that purpose. If you know me then you know I like having redundant systems and options. This Bluetti AC180 Solar Portable Power Station appears to be worth its weight in gold. With the 200 watt solar panel it comes with keeping it charged, I can run the Starlink all day, charge two laptops and cell phones, and end the day fully charged. We love it so far!
Dinghy Wheels
https://www.railblaza.com/products/c-tug-dinghy-wheels/
Who else is tired of dragging their dinghy up the beach? I'm getting too old for that and frankly I just don't want to do it anymore. We found these wheels after watching the nightmare of inflatables failing other cruisers on YouTube. So far they are awesome. You don't even have to pull the boat out of the water entirely. The wheels sink into the sand and act like a brake in ultra shallow water. They are adjustable and seriously hard plastic material. Measure twice and cut once and you'll be glad you did.
Solar Panels
https://www.bougerv.com/products/200-watt-bifacial-solar-panel?option1=1PC
We recently did a major solar overhaul and changed our flexi panels to rigid and added two bifacial wing panels. All are from BougeRV and so far they have provided us 1600 watts of power into our Victron MPPT charge controllers. All are on their own circuit just in case one panel is blocked or out of use for some reason. Let's just say, power is not a problem anymore and we love it. Bring on the ice maker!
Westview Marina, Tahsis, BC, Canada
This marina and especially the owner John and his staff took us in when our engine failed. They didn't balk at the undetermined length of stay or at our request for a modified moorage rate for our two boats since it was heading into off season. The marina is clean, well kept, and can accommodate a multitude of guests in various types of accommodations both at the marina or in town. It's a small town so everyone knows everyone else and offer to help or provide suggestions effortlessly.
We had to coordinate with a mechanic 3 hours away in Columbia River and they made that as easy as possible too! The easy conversation, endless curiosity, and laid back vibe all played into helping us stay calm and focused on our engine issue until it was solved. I cannot say enough good things about this Marina or the town. As small as it is, they really did provide 95% of everything we needed or asked for without making it seem like an inconvenience.
If you manage to make it there during peak season to fish or just take a break from reality, plan on having a great night listening to live music on the dock, eating some good food, and having a few beverages on the dock. I would absolutely come back here again. We're already talking about making a camping trip outing over the winter to see the interior of the island and you better bet this will be one of our stops!
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