Getting the audio visual kit working properly and more doglet sitting

For those of you with good memories (and for those who bothered to read earlier blog posts), you might remember that the audio / visual system update got a bit messed up by the old B&O speakers. They refused to behave, giving a permanent background buzz when powered up. So, they were disconnected and left as useless adornments for the summer cruising season and we listened to the nice new TVs through the less than nice TV speakers.

To rectify this, we arranged with the Maricom guys to replace all the original speakers with some neat new KEF kit. How to get it done? Well, Paul and Dave from Maricom smoked their van down the M4 to Penarth and once more, dismembered the boat,  to run new speaker cables this time:

This picture gives you an idea but doesn't show where the overhead panels were stashed whilst the work was underway. You can work out that as they needed to remove all the panels from the saloon, then the pilothouse, then the main cabin there was not too much free space on board. So, the crew stayed in Toddlerville and the captain was ultra-fortunate to get a berth on Malaspina - the other N47 moored in Penarth. The only downside was that the owners, Martin and Inge, were away so the captain was "billy no-mates". However, he was kept busy sorting things out for the Maricom team and generally pottering around.

Our boat is pretty warm in the winter by the way - you can see the insulation placed above the headlining panels which helps a lot. The windows are double glazed (the only N47 built that way) and we have a big 12Kw diesel boiler to keep things toasty:

Whilst the crew was camping out and shuttling between the two boats during the day, the crew was being fed and watered in Toddlerville. Izzy the dog was in residence too and decided that Mr Toddler's lap looked good:

Naturally when she saw the camera, she wanted to hog (or should that be dog?) the limelight so she moved strategically:

The Maricom team fitted the new speakers (4 in the main cabin, two in the pilothouse, 6 in the saloon, 4 for surround sound, a centre speaker and a sub-woofer). The sound quality via the amplifier was impressive as was the available volume. It was quite fortunate that the crew was not around when we were trying out the amplifier's capabilities. It is also a good job that Nordhavn cabinetry is ultra-solid as the sub-woofer really gave us some good vibrations. The smaller speakers fitted in well:

Once the work was completed  (speakers, new signal splitter, and rewiring the flybridge follow-up lever), the Maricomers escaped back to the Hamble and the captain headed off to collect the crew. Izzy looked unimpressed at having been abandoned by him:

but she soon thawed out. We then headed back to Penarth, ready to introduce the crew to the new technology, a different remote control for getting some sound out of the system that is huge:

with a load of buttons that need a degree in Yamaha amplifiers to operate. We are still at GCSE level and will probably remain there. 

Maintenance News:

Not a lot really. The captain's sore shoulder prevented any heavy duty stuff from happening. So, we just acquired some filters for stock and some coolant ready for the main engine swap that is due when we lift out in the spring.