Sailing Zataravideo

I did NOT sign up for this! (empty nest boat work) Ep 299

September 5, 2024 · 27 min · 220K views

What this video covers

Keith and Renee Whitaker aboard Zatara, anchored and then docked at a marina in Grenada, tackle a multi-week refit during an empty-nest period after their children departed for Tonga. The central job is installing two CTM City Marine air conditioning units: Renee crawls through a tight hull cavity to route ductwork while Keith, too large to fit, directs from outside, eventually cutting the old duct to free it.1:46 A friend, Chris Knapp, assists with re-stepping a sail.Watch A parallel task involves balancing six Epic lithium batteries that fell out of sync; Keith pulls them in pairs, charges each set to 100% on a trickle charger for 24–48 hours, then reinstalls them before pulling the next pair.19:51 He moves Zatara into the marina solo in rain to access shore power for the balancing process.17:32 Renee describes the quieter two-person boat life: one grocery run for produce, daily FaceTime with the kids, and accounting work at the nav desk.9:38 Keith, weighing 308 pounds, begins a documented weight-loss program, cutting fast food and fasting until noon.20:41 Battery balancing requires shore power and sequential pair-charging when cells drift out of sync after extended use.12:33

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