The days on the calendar are flying by, as we approach our departure from Alanya.
The first big news is that I ripped out our 220V Jenn-Air Electric Cooktop. This was a good product when I bought and installed it in 2000, but it has never really done what I expected. Due to the very high wattage (almost 4000W), I could never use it on shore power and was only connected to the generator. In North America, I would have had to use a two-phase 50A shore power cord (much more expensive than a single phase 30A cord), and at a marina – those dock pedestals are not nearly as common as the 110V single phase 30A receptacles. Therefore, we had a bit of a “white elephant” in place – with this cooktop that could only be used with the generator. The next kick in the head is that the Onan generator has never been all that reliable either. I bought what I believed at the time to be a very good product, but as I’ve learned from others – there does not seem to be such a thing as a “very good generator”. With all this in mind, I have been thinking for years to get away from relying on the generator and build up more solar.
This photo shows the space where the Jenn-Air used to be. You can see that the downdraft extraction pipe is still there. I have filled the void with plywood, as a base for the new stove.
With Ahmet’s help, we found a shop in the industrial area (the Sanaya) that could produce a countertop special to our needs. We researched granite, Corian, and quartz, and eventually decided to buy a quartz “off-cut” from someone else’s project.
As usual, Ahmet got us a bargain.
Once this new quartz countertop was in place, we needed to focus on the small details. A small, but important piece of wood trim was needed here, outlined by the red oval.
When I was building the boat more than 20 years ago, I would make this kind of trim myself, since I had a table saw and router table on the boat. So…..back to the Sanaya with Ahmet to see the “Master Carpenter”.
This is the same area, now showing the trim pieces added and the quartz cutout for the stove.
By the way, the little green can to the left is a small propane cylinder attached to a gimballed mountain camping stove. It is rarely used, but usually for hot beverages when underway.
When we are underway, there is a bit of motion inside the boat (side to side) and since we don’t have a proper gimballed stove, this is how we cook. We use a rice cooker, or in this case – our InstaPot – fastened to the side. As long as the pot isn’t full, this works very well for soup, curries and stews. Diane is very skilled at making tasty meals when underway, in an anchorage or at dock.
A few weeks later and our friend Jean Yves returned from a visit to Canada, carrying our new 110V stove (sourced on amazon.ca and delivered to our brother and sister-in-law in Canada) with his luggage. The stove fits perfectly. Our friend Kevin (on NOCONO MOON) brought back the necessary GFCI receptacle and box for us, because there is no possibility of sourcing those 110V components here in “220V-land”.
As you can see, once the Jenn-Air cooktop was removed, so was the pipe connected to the down-draft extraction fan. I bought a “grow-op” 110V extraction fan (on amazon.com and delivered to Türkiye and stuck it up into the ceiling, using the existing on deck piping. It seems to work well and the pipe is now gone.
The galley also got a new light, directly over the cooking area, which means that Diane has a much better view of what she is cooking.
This winter has been a bit severe at times, but seemingly very short. It already seems like it’s over, nearly a month earlier than last year. In order to help cope with the high humidity and condensation on the hatches and port lights (when it is very cold outside), we bought a small dehumidifier. This device plugs into 220V shore power and consumes less than 200W. We leave it running when the boat is closed up, and it pulls 5-6L of water per day out of the air. With the dryer air, it is warmer – and, there is no sweating on the hatches and port lights.
We did get hail twice during the winter. Here is some looking forward on the raised cabin deck.
We even had to use our electric blanket for a couple of weeks.
Another inside project was the construction and installation of a new LED light positioned over the saloon table. This light provides a great illumination for dominoes games, and even sewing or electronics projects. Why didn’t I think of that years ago? This required LED purchases from AliExpress and another trip to the Master Carpenter.
Our neighbour Pam Sellix (with her husband Eric) celebrated a birthday, and we had many of the neighbours over for cake and coffee.
When Jonathan was here during Christmas, he brought us a replacement Magnum Energy MS-2812 Inverter/Charger (30kg in checked baggage). Although it was “possible” to use the existing remote and programmed for Constant Current / Constant Voltage charging, I thought it best to go the next step and acquire a new remote ME-RC50. This model has the latest firmware and together with the MS2812 has all the programming features necessary for LiFePO4 batteries.
Finally, I decided to replace two more solar panels. Since arriving in Alanya in July 2020, I have now replaced 8 of our 10 solar panels. These last two are identical to the two flexible panels I replaced a few months ago. Our total solar array is now 1740W, although 720W of that is in flexible panels and they rarely give out more than half their claimed wattage. In any event, we are now well electrified for living on the anchor. As long as the suns shines, we have power for hot water, cooking, battery charging, refrigerator and freezer, ultrasonic anti-fouling, phone and computer use etc. This is pretty much everything.
