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They did a great job for us...Maybe we'll see you in Bayfield this season!

Thanks! And we appreciate the feedback... we are continuing to evolve audio...we got a better deadcat for the mic, so next seasons videos should be better. We're working on editing end of the season your watching and getting the 2021 vids up, too! Thanks again!

We're still working on perfecting the design. We're hoping to test it on Saros, our for now boat, more thoroughly. Probably won't be able to for another year as we cant be there fulltime yet. It's on the list for more refining over winter though...will share what we do!

We ended up keeping the 240v in, despite the fact we realize it's not optimal, it is working...another lesson learned for us! :)

Awesome! We're hoping to make up there this year if they'll let us in!

My youtube channel is sailing banjo. Hopefully you guys make it up here.

We'll let you know if we do, maybe we can meet up...checking out your channel now😀

Hi Anthony! Thanks for the comment. Hopefully, you got some good info from our screw-up! Yes, we should have left earlier, and possibly started from Cat or Outer to shave some additional time off. The conditions the night before our departure were benign enough that we could have made those alternate anchorages work, despite the holding supposedly not being the best at Cat. As it was we left Rocky before dawn and had to skirt around some nets and South Twin. We could have just as easily done that at midnight and that would have got us there in daylight. We knew it'd be dark, just not "can't see 100ft in front of you" dark. We are hopefully headed to Houghton/Hancock in August and will try to leave from Outer on that 15hr crossing at a more appropriate time of day. Ultimately though, we learned a lot, and that's a big part of why we are doing this. How did you like Grand Marais? We stopped there on the way back.

Chartering in the Virgin Islands and Apostles. And we've take ASA classes. Do you have sailboat?

Fishing...lol... been watching alot of sailing channels and living only 2 hrs from lake erie or lake Michigan I've been strongly considering a sailboat... maybe eventually retire on a sailboats much further south.

We hear you on the 'much further south'! 😀 2025 is when we'll be heading to the middle latitudes and warmth...but having some fun here on the great lakes for now.

How long did it take for the Asa and where did you go for it? Is that expensive?

@@neilellinger6157 There are lots of courses and can be taken various ways depending on what the school you go through. I got my 101, 103 and 104 in the BVI through a local school, Steffan got his in White Bear Lake, MN for 101 and at our Marina in Pikes Bay for his 103 & 104--there is no 102 that I know of, btw. Not sure why....Steffan also has 105 & 106. I took 105 on self study but haven't taken the test yet. And we both got our docking certification at Pikes Bay. We go through NorthernBreezesSailing.com, but there are schools all over the country, checkbout asa.com. Costs also vary, my BVI certification cost more then if I'd done it local, but we combined it with vacation 😎 plus, meet lots of fun sailing people at the classes.

We paid $48,000 last week of 2019, pre-pandemic boat craze. :)

Thank you! We learned about microwaves and inverters the hard way :) Luckily we have college age kids who love free stuff like microwaves! The distance is crazy....we bought Saros in Racine and thought about sailing her back, but would've taken us too long as we both are still working full-time; so we had her trucked over. We do hope to do some longer adventures this year...episodes we are posting now are from last year. How far have you gone from your home marina?

@@LivingtheMiddle I have solo sailed my S2 8.5 from Milwaukee, WI to Little Current Ontario Canada in the North Chanel of Lake Huron and back in 3 weeks. That was really too long of a trip in 3 weeks. But to sail from Milwaukee or Racine to Bayfield would be much longer trip!

Thank you!

Hi Sue! Thank you so much for the question and the feedback!! The battery is a Renogy 200 Ah AGM here is the product link - www.renogy.com/deep-cycle-agm-battery-12-volt-200ah/ It's a big, heavy sealed lead acid unit. It being lead acid makes it super heavy (about 120 lbs), and we should only really expect to get 100 amp hours of usable capacity, but that's realistically enough for us with the kind of cruising we do at the moment. It being AGM & sealed means that there is no water to top-off or risk of leakage/spillage, and it being a single large unit simplifies the wiring and the general complexity. As with the rest of the boat systems we are treating all this as a learning opportunity, trying to start off simple and keep the costs down a bit. Once we transition to full time cruising we'll take the lithium plunge, we expect. How do you like your 34.2? What kind of house battery system are you running? In upcoming episodes we'll cover our solar panel and battery monitoring system, so stay tuned!

@@LivingtheMiddle hi we are pretty happy with our SO we have had her for 5 years now , so far we have done some coastal cruising on the NSW east coast of Australia . plan is next year to take 5 months off work and head north to the Whitsundays . we are running 4 x 85amp batteries at the moment powered by 2 solar panels on the bimini, which works well for us so far. we have a Victron battery monitoring system, which my hubby is obsessed with lol. we dont have a youtube channel but are on Instagram #sailmystere if your interested. cheers and happy sailing

Steffan is also obsessed with Victron and has let me know we will be having not only the battery monitoring system, but also a victron inverter/charger on the forever boat :) Just followed you on insta, gorgeous pics...We are hoping to make out the Australia way, but won't be a few years, we'll live vicariously through your pics for now!

Thank you!

@@LivingtheMiddle your welcome 👍😊

Hi Rob. That's great info on the Catalinas! The Jeanneau we ended up purchasing in the end - th-cam.com/video/enrAP0BFN8U/w-d-xo.html - has limber holes, and bilge well, albeit a small one. I'm planning on upgrading the bilge pump system this season. Count me as a Yanmar fan too. I know no engine is perfect, but I do like the marine-from-the-get-go aspect. I understand this means no cheaper tractor parts available a-la Beta Marine, but it still makes me feel a bit better.

That is very helpful. I’ve had 3 Catalinas. Looking at 32s and 34’s. Will adjust my searches up a bit.

Well you have proved it again. Sailing is 80% work and 20% enjoyment. But that 20 % is amazing.

BTW we replaced all of our aluminum framed widows with glue on polycarbonate panels with "dummy" plastic frames for the inside available as a kit from cantilena direct. One down side was that you only get one chance to get it right else .... Well. They did the job though. Don't know if someone makes the kit for your boat but??

@@sherrycoady2491 so true!

@@sherrycoady2491 we coulnt find a kit or replacement windows. We did manage to remove, cleanup and reinstall successfully...itll be in an upcoming episode :)

We're actually from the Twin Cities area, Forest Lake, MN. 2020 was our first year with our boat at Pikes Bay in Bayfied, WI, and we're up there as much as possible as soon as Saros is in the water. Are you on Superior? Thanks for the subscribe!

Living the Middle I don’t know if my last reply went thru. We are in Lake Michigan, Muskegon. We harbor hop all summer and hope to go thru the locks this summer. Are you newbies or experienced?

@@danerlandson5596 we have done some charter sailing, my husband more than me, including some in BVI and Antigua. But, we are still on the newbie side of things, if you watch our videos, that will be quite apparent :) We want to learn as much as possible before we transition to live-aboard in 2025. We also want to head thru the locks some time, not sure if we'll get there this season, but it's on the list :)

I think it's par for the course :) We are definately learning a lot!

Thanks!

OMG! So cool! We liked it a lot, but for us Racine, WI was so much closer for moving...plus, worked out for you :) How are you liking it?

@@LivingtheMiddle Oh I don’t blame you. Cost of moving a boat is expensive. I love the boat. I purchased the boat on June 28th. From that day on it was “Project Overhaul”. The entire boat was thoroughly cleaned, new upholstery through out, new windows, all new lines and sheets, replaced all faucets, all new plumbing fittings, new hot water tank, new batteries, new charger, all new light fixtures, switched everything to LED, added on board heat and air, buffed and polished the hull, all new vinyl stripes and graphics and will be starting the bottom job the first week of January.

@Jarrett Henderson wow! I bet she's looking amazing...you gotta share some pics!

We were at F, which is my husband's 3rd fav. J is first, E is second. Its beautiful...hope you get nice weather when you visit!

Thank you SO MUCH! This has been super helpful! And the food recommendation too as I’m vegan also! Looking forward to our stay!!

@@LivingtheMiddle Cart-in site J was AMAZING! We had such a great time! Thank you for your video and advice!! Amber

@@amberforanimals3 Great to hear it!

Thanks for letting us know...we'll have to check that out...we love henna!

I got henna from festival of nations yesterday and it works pretty good

SpillTheTea of course it’s going to “work” it’s just not as beautiful as the culturally authentic designs and they rip you off for it.