Sailing SV Cordelia · video

What this video covers

Three lithium batteries — each 300 Ah, totaling a 900 Ah bank — won't fit the existing battery compartment on Cordelia, a 42-year-old Venus Ketch undergoing a full refit at Monkey Bay Marina in Guatemala.3:56 Woodworker Jose builds a teak extension to the battery cupboard, templating it off-site and fitting it to sit behind the companionway steps, with the three batteries lying lengthways and space above reserved for Victron busbars and associated components.6:41 The lithiums replace a 780 Ah AGM bank of six 2-volt cells; actual installation is deferred to early the following year.7:45 Jose and his partner Antonio also rebuild a rotten saloon sofa — replacing the base, top, and water-damaged back section while reusing the original solid-teak front edging — and make three additional cabinetry modifications: filling in a galley shelf end, boxing in deck-drain pipework, and fitting a deep fiddle rail above the fridge where old compressor vents are removed.9:20 Annette strips and plans to reshape the saloon table to fit around the mast and accept a drop-leaf extension.13:35 Custom Sunbrella cockpit cushions with closed-cell foam, the first fitted set the crew has owned, are installed.16:37 A shore excursion covers Castillo de San Felipe, a mid-1600s Spanish stone fort at the narrows of Lake Isabel built to stop Caribbean pirates, later attacked by British and Dutch forces.19:54

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