Nedriness Qoutient: 4/10 Over the winter, a good deal of the equipment has been stored at home. Now it must find its place aboard again, and John (Wind)Waine is being refitted. Wind wanes are the preserve of long-distance sailors, since they are designed for use on the open sea. We have had nothing but good experiences with this clever and reliable device for many years. This means that we would rather not be without it, even though Moon has two separate electric autopilots. The great strength of the wind rudder is that it does not use any electricity and is completely silent. The latter is very important when the person off-duty is trying to rest and sleep during a multi-day voyage. Once set, it keeps the boat on course according to the relative wind angle. However, it does restrict our manoeuvrability in narrow harbours, as it has an auxilliary rudder hanging at the very back of the boat and impedes movement when we need to manoeuvre carefully. That is why we do not mount the auxilia

Much of the maintenance work in the harbour relies on volunteers. When the harbormaster called for volunteers, 40 men and women showed up. The team I joined built a new bridge connecting two guest piers. With so many volunteers, the work was completed in no time and almost all tasks were finished. We were also treated to delicious cakes and coffee along the way.

Nerdiness Qoutient: 4/10 Originally, there was only one module positioned by the companionway, which was impractical since we had to leave the helm rushing forward to answer a call. Ever since we bought the boat, we have been trying to find a second control module for the VHF radio. The radio can handle up to four wired modules. The SIMRAD NRS-1 radio is no longer in production, so new modules are impossible to find, and we haven't found any on the second-hand market either. However, last winter we came across a good deal on a new B&G V-100 VHF radio that can connect both wired and wireless units, very practical. We now have three control units: one by the navigation station, one in the hard dodger, and one by the wheel. The cradle that the wireless units sit in charges them via induction, so there's no need to remember to charge them separately.

Koopman boats are renowned for being excellent long-distance sailing vessels, yet surprisingly, there aren’t many of them in Norway. A special gathering recently took place at Moon’s home port in Elnesvågen when Hans Valderhaug’s ‘Anna’ paid a visit. Anna and Moon have clear similarities in terms of their design and rigging. Both boats have classic lines and a cutter rig. Anna is 39-foot buildt in aluminium, and based in the Oslo area. Over the years, the boat has proven its sturdiness as Hans and his wife Eli, have sailed it up and down the Norwegian coast several times, to Svalbard, and even crossed the Atlantic on their voyage to the Caribbean.

Nerdiness Qoutient: 4/10 It’s been two years since the boat was last out of the water, so it was time to lift it out. In our home port, the port side is most prone to fouling as it faces the sun. The hull was coated with Jotun's Supreme antifouling paint in 2024. Last summer, I dived under the boat and gave the hull a light brush, so I was prepared for heavy fouling this time. However, that was not the case. The propeller has been coated with silicone-based PropSpeed antifouling paint and was last painted in 2023. We found it quite effective, so even though it's expensive, we´ll try it again. The same applies to the antifouling paint on the hull, although Jotun Supreme is more expensive than other brands. Jotun claims that it will last for two years with just one coat, so all in all it will not be more expensive after all. Experience has shown this to be the case, and the saying certainly applies here: Never change a winning team.

Nerdiness Qoutient: 3/10 Our aim is to use as little fossil fuel as possible. On one hand, there is the environmental impact and pollution caused by fossil fuels, while on the other there is the cost. Diesel has become much more expensive over time. We have had entirely positive experiences with the solar panels installed a couple of years ago. They efficiently charge the batteries, and since we have plenty of space for more panels along the rail, we opted to install two additional 215 W panels, one on each side. This has increased the maximum charging capacity, enabling us to charge the battery by up to 1 kWh on sunny days. This means that we can remain at anchor for several days without worrying about our onboard power consumption, and when we’re in port, we don’t need to connect to shore power. The Victron 40V 215W solar panels are effective and robust. They can very easily be placed on the railing using the Noa panel stays. Each panel on the railing got its own 75/10 MPPT charger w