Tag Archives: norsand boatyard

Brrr….The Air Con is On

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We have “managed” through the hot tropics of French Polynesia, Fiji, and Tonga.  However, we really struggled through the intense heat in the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Kiribati.  So, we decided it was time for air con (air conditioning).

Our friend, Dan on Sel Citron told us about some very reasonable aircon units made in China.  These units are the same units provided to Mabru sold by Hopewell.

We were originally going to order the units direct from Hopewell (via Fanny Zhu). 

However, in talking with our electrician Matthew Duckett at Cleigh Ltd. we discovered we could order the same (2) units, (3) pumps, vents, and ducting through him for the same price.  

We ordered (2) 12V DC Air Conditioners from Matthew at Cleigh who then ordered them from Hopewell in China (Mabru). 

One unit is 12,000BTU and will cool the main salon.  The other unit is 7,000BTU and will cool the starboard master cabin.

We also ordered a variety of grills and ducting (which we heard were hard to source in NZ)

I will break down the two units by location:

12k Unit (Salon)

125mm:  2 outlet vents at corners of the settee (where existing fans are).  The main unit will live under the settee and the return air will be at feet level. 

Grills: wood square outlets. However, we ordered a white round and black round as a backup (f the ‘squares’ don’t fit).  

Matt and Matthew putting the salon AC in place under the settee.

AC Pedestal (stand)

Matt built a pedestal for the salon AC unit.  The floor was a little uneven and we needed the unit to be stable.  So, he used his carpentry skills to make the bench, then he sealed it, painted it, and secured it to the floor and sides of the settee.  This unit will not move!

7k Unit (master bedroom)

100mm: 2 outlets over the bed.  Need 100mm splitter to 100 vents (most likely ABS, but also ordered wood just in case install location has to change).

The return air most likely ABS (but ordered wood and aluminum). 

The actual unit will need to be mounted behind the ceiling false panels.  This requires a holding bracket.  

Holding Bracket in the Master Cabin

Matt created a mock up of the smaller aircon unit, true to size, to help design the holding bracket. 

We brought in Premik (from Norsand) to create the brackets out of fiberglass.

Everything was removed from the cabin so it could be properly protected.

Premik now has full access to sanding and fiber glassing in a contained space. 

We were kicked out of our bedroom for over a month as we finished this project.

Accessories for the Aircon

Matt spent the better part of the holiday break running hoses and cables for both units. 

Matt drilled three thru holes (holes in the boat)  for each unit for water intake, outtake, and exhaust.

Matthew Duckett helped Matt add a new “bus”, move our existing “bus” and run a lot of wires and cables. 

He did some excellent boat yoga to get into these very tight places.

Final Installation

Once the brackets were made the units were installed. 

Then we ran the wires and hoses and made the thru hulls.  The last part was connecting it all and adding freon. 

We had to wait until we splashed and were in the water to add the freon.

We hired Jock from Big Fridge to help us with the freon.  Jock added freon while we were berthed at Port Nikau. And we are up and running.

Now we are ready for the heat and humidity of Indonesia and Malaysia. 

Contacts:

  • Cleigh Ltd: Matthew Duckett, matthew.duckett@cleagh.com
  • Hopewell: http://hopewellchina.en.alibaba.com/, Fanny Zhu: hehebiz@163.com
  • Lusty Blundell: https://www.lusty-blundell.co.nz/ 

Pricing

As of November 2025 the pricing was as follows (USD):

  • 12V DC 12K BTU (Z12DC12) $1,380
  • Pump $95
  • 12V DC 7K BTU  (Z07DC12) $1,280
  • Pump $95
  • Various Grills/Vents in wood, metal, black, white ranges from $5-$20 each
  • 7m of air ducting ranges from $10.50-$12
  • Various hoses, connectors, clamps, elbows were purchased from Cleigh Ltd (Lusty Blundell)
  • Shipping for 2 units $895

Our blogs run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We worked on the Air Con from Nov. 2025-Jan.2026.

We will power our air con units with our new solar panels – check out the blog post.

Solar Arch Design & Fitting

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The dream of adding new solar panels just got so much bigger than anticipated.  

Instead of just buying and installing new panels we decide to build a new solar arch spanning the width of the boat (over 7 meters wide and 3 meters tall).

We circle back to our friend Dan on Sel Citron (Catana 52) as he had his solar arch built at Norsand in Whangarei, NZ.  He hired a stainless fabricator named Phil Waddell.  So, we contacted Phil, explained what we were looking for and hired him.

Matt created a design plan of what we were looking for which was similar to Sel Citron but a smidge wider.  

I wrote up a full 10 page document identifying our design process, specifications, must haves and like to haves.  Comment below if you are interested in seeing this.

We want our solar panels to be inset and not sticking out or above the solar arch.  In order to get this look we plan to have the arch go from the outside of each hull.  Sel Citron went on the inside of each hull making his arch narrower.

The solar panels will also run perpendicular to the boat with the longest length of the panel running from port to starboard.  This will maintain our boat length of 14.5m (47′).

Measurements

Our fabricator, Phil Waddell came and took extensive measurements as he and Matt talked through the design.

Big decisions were made about the thickness of the tubes, the angle of the poles, the connecting, points, the conduit entry/exit points, weight, size, and location of each piece going on the arch, and attachment points.

Design imperatives:

  • The poles (tubes) had to match the angle of the bimini supports (same trajectory)
  • Dimensions of the arch could not extend beyond our davits as we did not want to increase the length of the boat.
  • The width of the arch would extend from the outside of each hull making it about 7 meters long.
  • The solar panels had to sit flush inside the arch supports.  We did not want the solar panels to sit on top or overhang on any of the edges.
  • We wanted the entire arch to be electropolished.
  • Each of the four corners and center points have to have entry/exit points for cables and wires.

Phil and Matt decided that the diameter of the poles would be 75mm.

The Fitting

Phil had to buy an extendable trailer hitch to transport our arch from Kerikeri to Whangarei (1hr20min). 

There was a lot of noodling over how to test fit the arch. 

We decided a forklift might work but we quickly realized the yard’s forklift could not lift the arch high enough.

So, we hired Culham Engineering to bring a crane.

It took five of us to gently fly this arch into place.

Matt and Phil attached lines to help guide the arch as she was raised above the boat masts.

We raised the arch above our neighbors mast, and over our mast before slowly lowering it behind our boat.

Phil used “handcuffs” between the forward and aft legs for support (they will not be there permanently. However, because the handcuffs were temporary it negatively impacted the fit.

Phil had to do some adjustments and mark the bottom of the legs for placement.

It took us about 2 hours to do the fitting and at least 8 hours of preparation.

Stay tuned for the installation of the solar arch in our next blog post.

Contacts

Stainless Fabricator: Phil Waddell hardout98@icloud.com and his wife Joy Waddell joyw2@icloud.com. 

Phil is NOT interested in building another solar arch like ours (it was too big).  However, he is open to smaller arches and other stainless fabrication.

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

We started working with Phil in early November and had the fitting on 16 December 2025.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We worked on the solar arch from Nov.2025-February 2026.

Don’t miss our massive project updating our fresh water tanks in our last blog post.

Tainted Fresh Water Tank

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We make another attempt to fix the port fresh water tank.  Our boat has (2) 400 liter fresh water tanks (one on port and one on starboard).  Catana built the painted fiberglass water tanks into the boat back in 2001. 

A few years ago we repainted our built in fresh water tank on the port side. If you recall.  See this blog post “Disgusting Water Tank” we scraped clean and repainted the tank.  Unfortunately, the tank continued to have a slight odor and odd taste despite us following the rigorous potable water paint data sheet. 

We are not sure if it was the paint that did not cure properly or if it was the glue that did not get covered by the paint. 

But either way, something had to be done.

It was time to try again. 

Creating a Larger Access Point

Last time we created a new access point in the center of the tank.  However, we cut it too small which made it very difficult to access the far corners of the tank.

So, this time, we decided to cut a much bigger access point. 

Premik, pictured below, had the honor of cutting the hole, then fiber glassing the edges to hold the new lid. 

It took him about a week to cut the hole, build the edges, and fiberglass them into place. 

Making a New Lid

We took our measurements of the lid and flange to Absolute Stainless. 

They took our precise measurements and instructions and one week later provided us with (2) beautiful lids and flanges.

We ordered our gasket material from Shuk Engineering (SQM 3mm Thick Blue EPDM Rubber Sheet – Potable Water AS/NZ 4020 – 1200mm Wide x 600mm). 

It took about a week to receive the material.

Matt cut the gasket material to match the lid, ordered the screws, and fitted it all together. 

The lid screwed into the flange which was glued and screwed into the top of the water tank.

Preparing the Tank

We decided to try a new paint and went with Jotun Tankguard 412, which is a two-component solvent free tank lining designed for potable water. 

This paint will stick to the International Interline 850 paint that we put on a few years ago. 

However, we do have to scratch up the surface to make it adhere better.  It took about 1.5 days to scratch up all the surfaces in the tank (sides, top, bottom, baffles).  Then the yard did a wax/grease wash to remove all particles prior to painting.

The next big project was completely covering our entire port hallway with plastic lining and pvc. 

Our painter, Damian started to paint the tank by hand and within 30 minutes decided it would be much easier to use the spray gun. 

It took way longer to cover and protect the hallway than it did to paint the tank.  But we really appreciated his efforts to protect our home.

It took about 8 hours spread over 3 days to spray paint the tank.

Now we had to maintain a 23c (74F) temperature while it out-gassed for a week. We ran a dehumidifier (which emits heat) to ensure the hallway had low humidity and stayed warm.  

Preparing for Fresh Water

The tank has to be actively flushed with hot water (100F) and an alkaline cleaner.  I had no idea what an alkaline cleaner was so I had to research what to use for portable water.

We found Five Star PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) at UBrew4U.  Five Star specifically made PBW for breweries and suitable cleaners for potable water tanks.

We bought (8) of the 1lb tubs which cost about $18USD ($35NZD) each.  We used 4 tubs for each tank 

The process was easy, albeit cumbersome. We carried a 2 gallon bucket to the Norsand Boatyards kitchen and filled it with very hot water. 

We took turns carrying the bucket back to the boat, adding 2.5 tablespoons of PBW, and pouring it into the tank.  Matt and I repeated this process 12+ times. 

Matt used the hose to fill the rest of the tank to the lid.

Matt used our emergency bilge pump to agitate the water and create movement for 1 hour. 

We drained and dried the tank.   Next, we flushed the tank through the pipes and flushed the water tank one more time.  Matt was ready to put it all back together.

The hoses and lines were reattached, the lids all screwed in, the water gauge installed and a new “nipple” or elbow was installed.  Matt then repainted the entire top of the tank to finish off this project.

The Conclusion

We filled the tank with high hopes, fingers crossed and prayers in our hearts. 

Matt and I were pleased with the outcome.  The water tasted and smelled like …. water.  

Repeat the entire process 

Now that we know what works, we repeated the entire process on the starboard water tank. 

We were much better prepared. 

We already had the stainless lid and flange so cutting the new access hole was much easier. 

Since Premik did the port side he was more efficient with starboard.  The fiberglass flange was installed in 2 days.

The next step was the difficult process of removing the old paint.  For the first tank it took a laborer one full week to remove the paint.

Matt borrowed an air needle scaler for the 2nd tank which made the removal process so much easier. 

He started with the old bubbled and flaky paint (top left), then used the gun to remove the paint (top right).  

It took Matt 2 full 8-hour days with the air needle and various scrapers to get it all removed (bottom photos).

We brought Premik in to fill some small cracks. 

Then a laborer came in to sand and prep the surface for paint. 

Damian, the lead painter had the lucky role of spray painting the tank. 

We let it off-gas for a week, cleaned it with PBW, flushed it twice, and had fresh water again!

Our rockstar “glasser” 

The feature image is Premik our premier fiberglass expert provided by Norsand boatyard.

This is Premik contorting his body to fiberglass a potential crack.  He was upside down, backwards, and vertical with Matt holding his legs.

We hike to two different waterfalls and Kauri trees in the AH Reed Memorial Park.  Check out the blog post.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We worked on the port water tank in Nov-Dec 2025.