Since early October, we have been in Nouméa. Currently confined, we are finally taking the time to update our blog.
Libertaire is dry-docked at the Neptune shipyard, well strapped down to stay put during the cyclone season. We rented an apartment to make life on land and work on board easier.
The crew has grown, Ernest was born on January 21st!
We are quite busy between work on the boat, the kids, and our jobs.
The girls, who were thrilled to go to school for once, are now confined at home like the rest of us, waiting for Perrine to return to work.
For Libertaire, we decided to completely redo the front half of the boat to accommodate the 3 children.
First, we tore everything out to get back to the steel on the front half and the keel box. After mechanically removing scattered rust spots, 5 layers of Jotamastic were applied to the entire hull, followed by new insulation. The old styrodur was replaced with 5 cm thick polyurethane. The insulation was optimized with the idea of wintering in cold countries, and the rudimentary frame insulation was reinforced. We lost some volume but gained in insulation.
We also had to move the toilet, which meant cutting through the hull, welding plates over the holes, and rewelding on the other side.
La menuiserie est finie, il reste la peinture.
The hardest part is knowing where to stop once you've started, because the further you go, the more you think everything should be redone from scratch... We're currently redoing the kitchen.
There are only minor exterior jobs left, mostly painting, which we'll do before relaunching.
The relaunch is planned for November, but with the current situation, we're not entirely sure what our plans will be.
We had planned to spend a year in Australia/Tasmania/New Zealand, but these countries have closed their borders for now...
We'll adjust as we go.