Bavaria 44 | Skarape

There are, however, a few significant issues that should be addressed. 1. Weak batteries Although the solar panels and wind generator charge the batteries to full capacity during the day, the voltage drops significantly overnight. The batteries appear to have lost much of their capacity and probably need replacing. 2. Electric toilet The electric toilet was a complete nightmare. The non-return valve appears to be broken or missing, making the toilet extremely difficult to use properly. This problem was made even worse by the weak batteries mentioned above. Every time the electric toilet pump was switched on, the battery voltage dropped almost immediately. This is definitely something that needs to be fixed.

Always room for improvement but everything is there ready to spend a week at anchor.

There were some minor defects on the boat, but these were immediately rectified.

Small bits can be improved but nothing to hold you back. Defo will be coming back.

We had difficulty getting the sails out, especially the jib.

We would have needed fans onboard, since it was very warm some nights 😅

The boat itself isn't to blame! The list of defects at handover is now long: V-belt completely loose, so the alternator doesn't work (mechanic repaired it), depth gauge broken (two technicians needed two hours to replace the instrument), log broken. No spare gas, no bucket at all (what did we need them for), no tools, not even pliers, which were needed to open the makeshift diesel tank lid. For 7 people, two lifebelts, no harbor book, no navigational tools other than a pair of compasses, just an overseas chart. The map on the plotter at the navigation table showed no details. The fuel gauge was at zero (I could no longer rely on the statement that the diesel was full. We filled up with 22 liters in Lefkas and got an average of 7 l/h for the first 3 hours of engine power, so we were about 9 liters short). We couldn't start on Saturday. Sunday morning, in the first 10 minutes of sailing, two battens from the mainsail flew into the sea because the batten pockets obviously didn't have any Velcro fasteners. We waited in Lefkas for new battens. There were no reefing lines tied in and they were hooked into the boom. We waited a day in Ithaca until the lines worked. The jib reefing line roller was rusted shut. Lines from the mast to the cockpit and those from the genoa tack points crossed and blocked each other. The bow bathroom window couldn't be closed properly anymore because the clip on the window seal had broken. When it rained, it just got wet. I think I'll stop now. At the final handover, I was accused of: losing the sail battens, breaking the bathroom window, and magically letting the genoa reefing line rust, but that's enough now, as I wrote, the boat can't be blamed!

Contrary to what Boataround states, the deposit must be paid in cash.