We flew back to Faro on the 18th of August with a list of jobs to do before we relaunched. Kirstin and Robert are coming out on the 9th of September, so we have to be back in the water and somewhere sensible (Olhao marina?) before then.
Jobs to do included fitting the new propeller we had brought out on the flight, mending the dinghy, antifouling the boat (last done in Cascais Jan 2021) and building the fridge.
The Fridge
We had received the Isotherm compressor, control unit and plate from Force4 back in June – it had been delivered to Portimao marina without issue except for an unexpected charge.. I had got as far as deciding on a space for the fridge – the storage area underneath the old chart table seat forward of the starboard quarter berth – and had bought some expanded polystyrene to insulate it. The compressor was going to go behind the cooker in what was otherwise dead space. However, before I started I decided I wanted to use mostly celotex instead, as it has a considerably higher insulation value than expanded polystyrene and the insulation was only 50mm in the tightest spots.
To make the box I had ordered and flown back with a total of ten sheets of ready-cut white acrylic – six for the sides of the cube and four to make the lip in the lid, which was designed to just drop on, no hinges or other complexity.
I started by removing the internal partition from the box space, and then re-routed the various wires that passed through it. That done, I used some of the polystyrene and expanding foam to make the box square, then added 50mm minimum of celotex. Once I had my box space ready I assembled the lidless cube ‘in situ’ using white acrylic-compatible CT1 adhesive/sealant. (CT-1 is 100% food-safe). The in-situ cube now stuck up about 40mm from the top of the Celotex (see pictures). I then assembled the lid from the top square of acrylic and the four smaller pieces that allowed it to slot over the upstanding bit of the box. I covered the exposed celotex with camping mat insulation and a silvery insulating mat from a local Chinese emporium, which seemed to work well.
The evaporator had to be bent to fit in the box, and I am afraid I failed to RTFM accurately. I bent the plate round a piece of wood which had a diameter of around 2″, or a radius of 1″. The channels in the plate looked a bit kinked and I subsequently read that the plate should be bent round a radius of minimum 2″. The evaporator was attached on its upstands with screws and CT1, and with some trepidation and wailing and gnashing of teeth about having to buy a replacement evaporator plate I switched it on.
It worked, no issues at all, and as of April 2024 is still working perfectly, and is making a huge difference compared to pre-fridge life on board. It is only a litle over one cubic foot, but we were surprised to find we could get most of a week’s fresh food in it plus a couple of beers.
A Quick Trip Back to Cascais
Just before we flew back I had got an email from the SEF saying we needed to go to Cascais on the 28th of August to get our biometric residency cards. As we only had Cascais marina as our address I went up to CTT (the post office) in Faro and paid for 6 months mail redirection from there to John’s flat in Olhao. I also discovered that paying for the cards was very difficult unless you had a Portuguese bank account. John convinced me that opening one would be easy, and said he would come with me, so we went to the Millenium Bank in Olhao and an hour later I had an account and a temporary debit card.
On the 28th we got the early fast train direct from Faro to Lisbon (tilting train, aircon, super quiet and 250kph on the straighter bits). Return fares were less than € 70 booking online for the two of us. From Lisbon we got the suburban train to Cascais and checked in to the Kavia Hotel Do Largo in Cascais before making our way to the Loja do Cidadão de Cascais (‘Citizen Shop’) where we had obtained our temporary residency in October 2020 (pre final Brexit exit)
We arrived early and were taken early. The whole process was very pleasant and straightforward, and there was no issue with Catherine having a new passport.
After our appointment, we went down to the marine and to the beach at Santa Marta for a paddle. It was great to be back in Cascais, albeit only briefly. We went to the marina and met Harris Hammer, a yoga instructor and general guru who was living on Daydreamer, our old friend Luis Oliveira’s boat. Sadly Luis was away, but we had a meal and drinks later with Harris, and I agreed to create a website for his business for a modest sum which covered most of the cost of our trip.
After a very pleasant night in the hotel it was time to check out and head back to Lisbon for the fast train back to Faro. We were a little sad to be leaving Cascais for the second time, but pleased to have made a lovely new friend again here.
Back On Board
Bureaucracy satisfied, we set about getting the boat ready for launch. I bought some Portuguese antifoul (Titan) and got absolutely filthy giving the hull below the waterline a cursory dry sanding before application. I was moderately pleased with the post-application result. The propellor was successfully installed and we even managed to get the locking bolt through the same hole Joao had originally made in the shaft.
We launched on the 6th of September.