New Zealand: Fall Projects & Launch Day

Back to Terikah at Marsden Cove boatyard, looking so great with her new blue and purple (yes, purple!) stripes. It’s “go-time” to get Terikah ready for our long journey home to Alaska. Here is the list of many of the boat projects we have done this fall:

• Bottom work: Terikah’s underwater hulls were sanded and painted with anti-fouling. The boat was also waxed, with many thanks to Calder who has definitely paid off his new foiling gear.  We took pity on him and hired the yard crew to handle the overhead bridgedeck, which has never been done. 

• New boot stripes: Our old stripes at the waterline have been worn off in many places by the sea; Terikah has earned some new dark blueberry and purple stripes that match the name color for her hard work carrying us across the Pacific. She feels so pretty.
• Props: After removal and disassembly of the folding propellers, Calder cleaned the gears using a chisel and wire brush to send those persistent barnacles and marine crustaceans on their way. We then had Prop Speed applied, a specialized coating applied to boat propellers and underwater running gear to prevent marine growth and maintain performance.

• New through hull fitting:   One of the through hulls in our galley was leaking slightly due to a bad install from the factory.  Chris made a temporary patch that has done the job since French Polynesia, but now it was time to put in a brand-new one.  After some leveling of the interior hull surface, he installed a new fitting that is watertight without a band aid. 

• Diesel engines serviced: We had both engines inspected and serviced by the local Volvo mechanic.  We are approaching the 2,000 hour mark on the Volvos with no access to a certified mechanic on the horizon in the near or distant future, so this was good timing to make sure everything was in top condition beyond our normal routine.  Chris also spent lots of time getting all general maintenance up to date.   
• Re-align shaft on port side: Unfortunately, the Volvo mechanic noticed that the shaft on the port side was not aligned after removing the prop shafts and replacing the cutlass bearings in both the stern tubes and the struts, as well as the dripless seals. The dripless seals replace a traditional stuffing box, and our particular ones allow you to install a new seal while in the water, which is very unique.  However, a spare seal needs to be installed on the shaft ahead of time, so we put a new one into service and put a spare on for the future while the shafts were out.   Still unsure as to the cause of the misalignment, as we had both struts replaced in San Diego, and all was good then.  Nevertheless, Chris worked with a local boat builder to remove, then align and re-bed the strut.

• New dinghy: Sad to see Little T go, but it was time for a new ride. We cleaned and patched her up before bidding farewell. We are now the owners of a Highfield 340 Classic in Dark Grey named t2 that has a nice new cover and a new set of Beachmaster wheels.

• Spare parts: When looking ahead at the remote locations we are heading into, Chris restocked a pile of spare parts, filters, oils, sealants etc.
• Cockpit canvas: Strong winds had pulled apart some of the snap points of our cockpit side covers and we had these reinforced using a different and much stronger method than the previously used snaps. 
• More solar: Last year we updated our batteries to lithium, which has been a huge improvement in our energy system, but the need for more solar input was obvious. We added 4 semi flexible smaller panels that fit nicely on the hard top, giving an additional 360 watts on top of our original 1200.  We also purchased 2 portable solar arrays that fold up neatly and compactly when not in use that can provide another 350 watts.  They have their own remote plug and so far are exceeding expectations.  They all have their own charge controllers to combat shading and maximize solar gain. 

• Anchor roller repaired: Our anchor roller was damaged when we got the anchor stuck on a rock in Fiji last year, so we removed this (took a bit of doing!) and had a local welder repair it.

• New mainsail: Our mainsail had stretched out to a point where the leech was very floppy, the batten pockets were wearing through and the sail as a whole did not have good shape anymore. We now have a locally designed and built, partially battened, radial cut mainsail from Willis Sails in Kerikeri, made of hybrid cloth.  This cloth contains dyneema, which helps eliminate stretch, and the material itself is much slicker and tougher than our previous dacron sail.  This should allow it to last much longer, perform better, and roll up smoother. He also inspected our genoa and made some repairs. Chris spent a few hours cleaning some unfortunate mold and gunge off the genoa on a friend’s lawn, so it is clean and in top shape again.

• Security system: Unfortunately, there are some locations we will be traveling where we would like a few deterrents to boarding from unwanted intruders. He has installed motion lights and an alarm in our cockpit.

• Generator work: We’ve had a temporary fix or two since early July 2025 in Fiji.  Then some of the aftermarket spares that we ordered from Amazon failed after a short time.  We found a good source of genuine Cummins Onan parts (a lot more $, but worth it as long as they actually work?!)  We’ve been keeping it running as needed, but it’s been a work in progress.  Finally, this week, Chris got all the new parts in, full maintenance completed, and the whole works put back together.  Considering how little solar we are getting now in the New Zealand winter, the generator is pretty crucial, despite our new panels.     

• Piles of routine maintenance: In addition to keeping the engines running, we (Calder mostly) has been cleaning bilges, fenders, cushions.  UV protecting the clear side covers, waxing the top sides, polishing the exterior stainless.  We hired a professional rigger again to do a super up-close inspection of the mast and all the standing rigging.  We did send Calder up for his first trip to the top of the mast afterward for a quick follow up job and we tightened the bob stay lashings to allow us to get a little more tension on the Code 0 sail.  The lists go on and on and on.   

• We’ve been going through the boxes and cabinets of tools and parts and general stuff to tidy and clean house a bit and have managed to pass on quite a few items that we haven’t needed or want to haul around anymore.  This means less weight in the boat which equals faster sailing… but we have a long way to go to lighten the load and right now, as we heavily provision for the remote destinations ahead, removing 50-100 pounds seems kind of moot.    

Beyond just the boat itself, when looking at the 15 months remote cruising ahead, there are other matters to tend to, from malaria prophylaxis meds, school curriculum for one year of high school for each kid, reprovisioning of food/toiletries/medical supplies, updating charts, and more.

Now, back to our New Zealand travels…We worked in a trip to Auckland to see the musical production & Juliet and hang out with friends. If you get a chance to see this musical, I highly recommend it; we couldn’t stop smiling and laughing throughout!

Though Calder is fully capable of sailing a catamaran on ocean passages, he is missing the skill of driving a car. One might argue that sailing on the open ocean is much safer than driving a car. He took a New Zealand online driving course, then obtained his Learners Permit; Chris has been taking him out driving. When he gets to the USA, he’ll have to re-do it all for driving on the right-hand side of the road; but at least he gets some confidence being behind the wheel.

Launch day! Always a bit of anticipation; will all go well? How will she settle in the water? Will there be any water ingress? The tractor hauling Terikah along the New Zealand forested road, her mast sticking above the trees, and down to the launch. They slowly lower her in. Chris goes inside to check. All good. No leaks. We take her to a slip in Marsden Cove Marina.

The next day, up at 5am, to get underway by car to Auckland with hopes to get new USA passports issued urgently. Chris and I have passports that expire June 2027, which is the month we should be leaving Japan for the Aleutian Islands. However, most countries require passports that do not expire for another 3-6 months; we would not make it. When we looked into coordinating new passports in the remote areas we would be traveling, it seemed it would be quite the challenge, if not impossible. So, I requested an urgent appointment with the USA Consulate in downtown Auckland and laid out my request. We were given an appointment in mid-June and asked to supply further information if we needed to obtain passports before then. Hmmm, yes, we need to leave New Zealand before then. We sent a letter from our weather routers outlining the predicament and they thankfully moved the appointment up to May 1. The night before we went to a local pharmacy that took passport pictures for us. Walking in, we went through the security, metal detectors, paperwork in hand. We walked up to the counter and as I started to explain the situation, he pleasantly exclaimed, “Oh, you’re the sailors! This is no problem; we’ll have it for you in about a week.” We were both relieved and humored at the situation.

We head to Costco to provision, two full carts overflowing. I was also able to coordinate a self-referral self-pay mammogram, which was challenging in a health care system that requires GP referral typically. The cost for a 3D screening mammogram with tomosynthesis was NZD 400 (USD 237), not a bad deal at all. Back to the boat by 5pm, Cora had cleaned and tidied the inside, Calder had washed and finished waxing the outside; amazing!

We’d like to stick around this area a bit longer to tidy up some boat projects and get Calder some more driving time in, but the weather looks to be deteriorating in a few days and sticking around for over a week. So, we will head north to Bay of Islands to finish up projects and stage for our passage to the tropics. We have been reading about our friends’ current rough passages to the tropics and are in no rush, hoping to find as lovely a passage as we can to head north. We have been landlubbers for almost 3 months, between our Australia trip and boatyard time, and anticipate some pain as we regain our lost sealegs.

As we head out of Marsden Cove Marina, we have anticipated headwinds and seas until we turn north around Whangarei Heads and can put the seas and wind on our beam. It hits us that these are our first miles north on our way home to Alaska, from this stage on it’s north to Alaska (on a circuitous route that I will describe later). It’s a fast angle for Terikah and, with our clean bottom, we make good time to Mimiwhangata Bay, 38 nm day, a calm anchorage surrounded by pastures of cows. The day wiped us out, between the pain of regaining sealegs to the somewhat sedating effects of the meclizine we took, naps were in order and we all slept hard that night.

Up not too early, we enjoyed a good breakfast before heading back out, still feeling a bit of disequilibrium as our bodies continue to adjust. Again, beam reach up to Cape Brett, where a pod of at least 12 of the most massive dolphins we’ve seen join us, playing in the water off our bows; an amazing delight that has us up front peering down at these massive cetaceans who have gifted us with their play! As we turn the corner it’s a mellow downwind sail that affords some of us a nap. The girls watch a movie; we have Cora’s friend Lauren along from SV Waterdogs. The two fishing lines whir in synch; we have matching Kawai, dinner is planned!

Feels good to be back in the Bay of Islands, so familiar to us, and we anchor off Opua for a couple of nights.