Category Archives: Upgrades

Solar Arch: Added Equipment Benefits

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Since we were putting a monstrosity on the back of our boat we decided to add a few more upgrades.  We added several new pieces of equipment and moved other equipment on to the arch rails.

  • Nemesis Gauge
  • (2) Security Cameras
  • Courtesy (Deck) Light
  • Navigation Stern Light
  • Starlink
  • IridiumGo Antennae
  • Fishing Rod Holders

Most of the items can easily be accessed by climbing the rails on the side of the arch.  

However, Matt had to use a scissor lift to reach the center of the arch.  The center is 8 meters off the ground.

The center of the arch is the entry point for the solar panels, 2 lights, and Nemesis wires.  Once the cables were wired we installed the equipment.

We had a friend come over to assist and learn how to wire the solar panels.  

Matt was on the scissor lift while Mick was in the engine room.

Nemesis Navigation Gauge

For years we have wanted a forward facing gauge in the cockpit.  However, it has always been one of those “nice to have” things.  

We often sit in the cockpit facing aft (behind the boat) when we are not at the helm.  It is shaded and comfortable.  However, from this position you cannot see any of the gauges.  You have to turn around and lean forward.  Not terrible, but not convenient.

Now that we have the new arch we have a place to mount a new gauge.  Matt selected the 9″ B&G Nemesis which can be mounted vertical or horizontal.

Matthew Duckett (Cleigh Ltd) purchased the Nemesis from Navico for about $1400 which is a huge savings!

Matt had pre-installed the Nemesis to the stainless frame as it required very, very small screws, washers, and bolts.  Unfortunately, we realized it was upside down after it was installed!  

We disconnected the panel, took the entire unit off, turned it right side up and reinstalled everything.  

Security Cameras

We purchased (2) Reolink outdoor surveillance cameras that have motion detection, night vision and two way talk mode.

Purchased from Amazon for $129 USD each.  

These cameras are in addition to the security camera we have in the cockpit.  We are well protected.

Aft Lights 

Courtesy Deck Light (NARVA LED Blue /White Deck Light – Black 72443B) was purchased at All Marine for $87. 

The cool feature about this courtesy light is that it can either be white or blue.

We also moved our stern navigation light to the back of the arch.

Existing Equipment

We moved several pieces of equipment that were located on the stern of the boat to the arch. 

Matt moved Starlink from the port dinghy davit to the port side of the arch. 

The IridiumGo antennae was located at the starboard helm and frankly in the way.

And just because we could, we added a few more fishing rod holders.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  

We installed the above equipment in January 2026.

Of course the main purpose of the arch is to hold our 4 new solar panels.  You can read about these new panels in “Power Up: New Solar Panels” blog post.

Comfort Upgrades

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There were a few more upgrades that we wanted to do this year including adding “rain flashing” over our 4 large window hatches and adding a back rest in our cockpit.

These might seem like “small” upgrades but they add a lot of comfort value to the boat.

Quick Upgrade Summary:

  • Rain Flashing for windows
  • Back Rest in Cockpit
  • Inflatable Fenders
  • Forward Scan Transducer
  • VHF Microphone at the Helm

Rain Flashing

Sugar Shack has (4) large hatches and (3) small hatches on each side of the boat. The large hatches let in a lovely breeze and are open as often as possible.

However, when it rains, we have to run around closing all of the hatches to prevent water from getting inside the boat.  

As you can imagine, it gets very hot in the tropics.  When it rains and the large hatches are closed it becomes unbearable on the boat. 

The water drips into the cut out which then drops behind the hinge and into the boat.

We had to do something that would allow us to leave the windows open during the rain without soaking the interior.

Ian on Tavake (a Catana 431) had made rain flashing that inspired us to do something similar.  Unfortunately he no longer had the mold so we had to start from scratch.

Scott our fiberglass fabricator was able to make a pattern to build the mold.  

We were able to make 4 rain flashings for our large windows once the mold was completed.

Matt scratched the back of the carbon pieces, adhered 3M VHB tape and we were done!

Shortly after install we had our first rain and they worked perfectly.

Back Rest in Cockpit

A small yet irritating issue with the cockpit is the lack of back support. 

Many Catana owners added a back rest that sits between the salon main window and the cockpit main seating.

Our friend Eric, on El Gato (Catana 472) had drawn up these design specs.  We used this as a guideline and made our own modifications. 

However, we did not want it as tall so we made it shorter than the 10 3/8″ height. 

In addition, we wanted a round, not square mounting bracket.

Once the back rest was manufactured we had it electro-polished at Spiralweld in Auckland.  This will protect it and keep it shiny with minimal polishing effort on my part.

New Inflatable Fenders

Sugar Shack came with (4) A4 large, round fenders and (8) F4 pencil fenders.  We later added fender covers to protect the fenders and the boat.  These fenders have served us very well.  However, they do take up a lot of space in the forward bow peak.

So, we decided to purchase new inflatable fenders.  We went to Hauraki Fenders and purchased (8) Medium 350x1100mm (1’x3.6′) fenders and fender covers.

We are super excited to try out our new fenders!  For safety reasons, we kept the (4) A4 round fenders so that we always had fenders at the ready.

I did not want to unpack the tightly packed fenders for a photo op so you get a generic photo. 

Forward Scan Transducer

We decided it was time to purchase a forward scan transducer which will allow us to see the gradient ground levels in front of us.  

This forward-looking sonar provides a clear two-dimensional image of the bottom in front of us, allowing us to navigate shallow or poorly-charted waters with confidence. With real-time updates and a forward-looking view of up to eight times our current depth.

This will be a useful tool while anchoring.  We bought it from B&G for roughly $1200.

VHF Handheld at the Helm

We have our “big” VHF at the navigation station and (2) small hand held VHF units.  However, we have never had a VHF Microphone at the helm station.

A rather small inconvenience, but one that has irked us for awhile.  So, it was time to install one.  Matt ordered a white ICOM IC-HM 195S Command Mic IV from Amazon for $241.

Purchasing and Contact Info:

  • Scott Banks, Fabricator, Whangarei, NZ +64.22.380.3972.  Fabricated the helm pedestal extensions and the window rain flashing
  • Stainless Fabricator: Phil Waddell, hardout98@icloud.com, and his wife Joy Waddell, joyw2@icloud.com. +64.21.280.6356
  • Spiraweld, www.spiraweld.co.nz, +64.09.576.1199 

Be sure to check out our other upgrades on “Impactful Upgrades” blog post.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

We worked on these two projects for several months over November 2025 through January 2026.

Impactful Upgrades

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New Zealand means great friends, beautiful country, delicious food, amazing activities, and lots of boat work.  This third trip is no different – did a lot of little upgrades and lot of big upgrades that will have a huge impact to our daily lives.

This blog post will focus on the “little but powerful upgrades.”

Chart plotters at each Helm

Over the past 15 years we’ve sailed 70,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  We’ve visited over 35 countries and truly love our boat/home. 

However, we have never had a chart plotter at the helm.  We’ve had a handheld Garmin 73 (with satellite and tracks), but no chart plotter.  We’ve had to either zip into the salon to see the multitude of charts on the navigation station or rely on Navionics on the iPad.  Not ideal, but it worked for us.

Finally, it was time to upgrade the helms.  The first thing we did was fabricate a new pedestal extension at each helm.  Each helm station has a pedestal and an additional small extension where our Garmin holder, Raymarine gauge, stereo remote, (2) anchor controls, a small control panel, and the IridumGo antenna lived.

Matt disconnected all of the gauges and instruments first. Then with loads of patience he removed the 5200 holding the back extension.

We cleaned up the front and back and removed the 5200 excess.  

Our friend, Ian on Tavake (a Catana 431) told us to use fabricator Scott Banks.  Super nice guy! 

Scott came out, took a bunch of measurements, gave us a reasonable quote, collected the pedestal extensions, and told us he’d be back in 2 weeks. 

Unfortunately it took way longer than 2 weeks, but we are very pleased with the final product (see below).

Chart Plotters

We purchased (2) B&G Zeus 9 Chart plotters from Marine Deals.  It took 6 weeks to get delivered and cost approximately $1400 USD each.

The other controls (small control panel allows us to turn on/off 6 items, stereo remote control, and (2) anchor controls will go on the new pedestal extension.

We had to move the existing Raymarine P70 gauge to a new Marine Pod mount which will sit to the side of each helm. 

Marine Pods for Raymarine Gauge

We could have made the pedestal extension large enough to accommodate all of our equipment.  However that would block the view from the helm seat. 

In order to keep the view we went with a smaller pedestal extension and a marine pod mount for the gauge.

We purchased (2) marine pod mounts to move the Raymarine Autopilot (ST60) gauges to the sides of the pedestals. 

The pods are called Seaview SP1BOX Marine Pod Kit . We bought them on ebay for $95 USD each

LC Hydraulics (Phillip) fabricated two mounting holders for the new PODs.  It took about 2 days and cost $855NZD.

The white square is the pod and the two holders are for each helm.

The new upgraded helm stations are amazing! 

With the new helm extension holding our chart plotters and our new pod’s holding our gauge!  

Purchasing and Contact Info:

  • Scott Banks, Fabricator, Whangarei, NZ +64.22.380.3972.  Fabricated the helm pedestal extensions and the window rain flashing
  • Chart plotters purchased from Marine Deals, www.marine-deals.co.nz
  • Raymarine gauge mount : Seaview SP1BOX Marine Pod Kit New Open Box Accessory Mount for GPS VHF Display purchased from eBay
  • Marine Deals +64 09 281 3150, www.marine-deals.co.nz, Auckland, NZ
  • LC Hydraulics, www.lchydraulics.co.nz/, +64.21.0285.5072

Design specs of the chart plotter that we used as a base for the helm pedestal extension.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  

We started working on these little upgrades as soon as we arrived in New Zealand (Oct.2025-Jan.2026).

These are just a few of the massive projects we completed. 

See our full list on our “Hauling out at Norsand Boatyard” blog post.