Our Biggest Ever Upgrade | Sailing Florence Refit Ep.179

Ripping out the old and installing a massive new upgrade to our sailboat. For years our power and electronics systems have been struggling on our 1980's boat. In this episode we bring Florence into 21st century with entirely new onboard electrical and electronic systems.
@BandG makes marine sailing instruments electronics which we look forward to using on our next adventure.
www.BandG.com
@mastervolttv makes marine and RV power systems for off-grid adventures. www.mastervolt.com
We have been sailing around the world for 8 years after setting off from England in 2016 on board our 37ft sail boat Florence. Now we are re-fitting her ready for the next adventure. Join us as we share the highs, lows, and challenges of travelling around the world by boat, Sailing offshore across the Oceans and exploring remote locations with our own little tiny house.
You can also follow us via our blog at www.sailwiththeflo.wordpress.com
#PoweredbyMastervolt #B&GSailing #Sailing #boatrepair #yachtrepair #circumnavigation #SailingYachtFlorence #BoatLife #boatlifestyle #yachtlifestyle #boatyard #SYFlorence
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Ripping out our old system
03:08 - Huge new parts delivery
10:21 - Re-wiring our sailboat
11:40 - Cutting a hole in Florence
13:26 - Transducer replacement
14:09 - New system reveal
18:56 - New Anchor for Florence
22:10 - Next Time
Music in order as played:
Secret Place - www.hooksounds.com - Licenced
Pantomime - www.hooksounds.com - Licenced
Woostock Times - www.hooksounds.com - Licenced
Funky Town - www.hooksounds.com - Licenced
Epic Trailer - www.hooksounds.com - Licenced

[@fafnorcal]

It's such a pleasure to watch your progress with Florence. I'm a retired Electrical Engineer and would not have done any better installation than you have just completed. It is good to see your pride in this work. Florence will be a safer vessel for you and, as one of the commenters notes, you know your installation in depth and be much better positioned to troubleshoot and solve the issues that inevitably arise. Very best to you both.

[@guiden15]

As an electrician, seeing that rats nest turn into that wonder made me feel rather happy.

[@SailingYachtFlorence]

Us too :-)

[@cullypettigrew]

Dont throw away the paper charts. From a long experience with marine electronics, the more complicated the electrics, the greater thechance something will go wrong. But well done with your diy effort...most impressive!

[@brionyhall4250]

And this is why I married an electrician…. Anything to do with electronics, I just can’t get to grips with. This video was practically in a foreign language for me 😂.

[@papajeff5486]

Matt, Amy, WELL DONE!!! Doing this work yourselves will yield way more benefit than saving money. You will also KNOW the systems; so, when things go wrong, you will have earned excellent repair credentials. Good on you both. I have watched you a long time. I truly wanted to be on dock to welcome you home. As long as you make these videos I will watch. My heart is with you. May God be with you and bless you. Thanks again…from East Tennessee. P.S. Careful to keep your touch screens dry.

[@Rouge_7]

All your re-fit videos have been edited very well and enjoyable to watch for being re-fit videos.

[@oaktadopbok665]

I hope you gave the kids next door that big box to play in.

[@carolinejohnsonartist5650]

givews me goosbumps seeing her coming out of the shed

[@william6526]

Watching the excitement on your faces and hearing it in your voices when showing off all your fancy upgrades makes my heart happy. This couldn't happen for a nicer more deserving couple. It's going to be wonderful being able to see you on the water sailing again making all the great videos of your adventures. God bless ,stay safe and never change who you are.

[@Stakman1]

This is very exciting! That power system is going to be amazing, and the installation looks fantastic!

[@gardgarland5293]

MASSIVE improvements with the batteries and instruments.

[@jamesburdett2644]

Nicely done to both of you. Saved a fortune in labour costs and work was done exactly how you wanted it done

[@stephenburnage7687]

It's the only way if you cruise to remote places.

[@danateel]

It's been great fun watching you guys renovate your home. I'm almost sorry to see it come to an end. I will keep watching as your adventures continue.

[@lilricky2515]

Very well done! If I might chime in with a suggestion, I would label as many of the cables going in and out of your fuse hub. It makes diagnosing problems a bit easier in the future. Love from the US!

[@blazerboy9216]

So clever and confident. A pleasure to watch how you manage to sort everything out yourselves.

[@KeithCarmichaelInFL]

It doesn't feel like it's been six months (to me), I am sure it feels like it's been ages for you! Well done on getting this refit done in a timely manner!

[@mobileplayers5008]

Bravo to this man he did everything without hired a trained technician. Thumbs up bruuuh.

[@mikelowres4425]

You can never have enough toys, especially shiny ones.

[@chavezcastro00]

Thanks for your fantastic videos, I have watched them all. All the best with Florence on your new adventure! Excellent work Matt and Amy

[@peterbryan3295]

I'm so excited to see you guys head off again.👍😁⚓⛵🇦🇺

[@ksc743]

If you guys ever stop sailing you could start your own boat building company!🏆Really looking fwd to seeing you out on the water again💙

[@stephenburnage7687]

I know that you are planning on visiting the Arctic. Did you examine the operating temperature range of your new batteries? I gather that the BMS will shut down many lithium batteries if you seek to charge them at temperatures around or below freezing. Some overcome this by adding a heater circuit, but that is, of course, an additional load.

[@sailingmarilynkaye]

Congratulations to you both, fantastic refit, and awesome upgrade. All the best for your launch

[@bobcapen1682]

The only difference between men and boys are the price of their toys. Well done you two!

[@FrankEhrsam]

It is an amazing path the 2 of you accomplished. While waiting for our boatyard to finish our 50year old girl, sitting in an airbnb for 8 month and working instead of grinding makes me a little sad but (!!!!) my back is aching at the same time. I would not have had the bones to DIY all the great work you did. C.o.n.g.r.a.t.u.l.a.t.i.o.n.s. All the best for the three of you ⛵

[@paulstephens5229]

What a beautiful boat she is again.

[@tomst9417]

Aside from your expert navigation and sailing skills you two are quite accomplished at DIY boat projects. Very impressed with the skill needed to install the power system and complex wiring. Can't wait to see Florence back in the water!

[@iainhunneybell]

That is quite beautiful work on the battery and new electrical panel installations, and the gel coat repair was … well, invisible, which it the ultimate indication of a lovely job.

[@first25kendalch44]

I just discovered your channel and I love it... I have watched many different sailing channels and I found interest in only a few of them, including yours ! Simple, clear, technical stuff, and your english is perfectly understandable for a french guy like me ! Feel free to stop by in south Brittany when setting sail again :)

[@TomTremayne]

Amy is so amazing, a total force of nature, a star in fact!

[@fabiogodoy6722]

Congrats guys, Matt seemed pretty proud of himself with the neated batteries installation. Well done and fair winds.

[@streaky689]

a very intesting episode regarding electronics etc'

[@tomsteggles4489]

Wow. Christmas came early. Fantastic and good for you doing the install yourself. You guys rock.

[@jimsargent7288]

OMG, I'm so happy for you two. Love the passion you show while working on Florence. Can't wait for you to show us when it splashes in the water, and you get to really use the new upgrades. Gods Speed you guys.

[@enriquelaroche5370]

Make sure you have insulated mechanical protection over all those buss bars and terminals. so that if anything like a wrench or screwdriver falls onto the buss it does not short. some plexiglass sheet is good.

[@colettedagny-4972]

Excellent work that will serve you well 👍

[@sailingsvmutiny1762]

Great job guys!

[@podger36]

We brought a 48 swift trawler alongside you and Florence's decks look really good ,nice and grippy.

[@billycosta3203]

Great video guys! Happy to see the upgrade!

[@morecowbell20]

Excellent update! Enjoy your new instrumentation.

[@nooneanybodyknows7912]

The ABYC standard for Lithium batteries is E-13. If you are planning to do a lithium installation yourself, you may nullify the insurance coverage. So, if this is the case, contact your insurance company and ask them what their rules are. I loved the camera shot through the through-hole. I am happy to see all of Florence's upgrades. Thanks for sharing.

[@stephenburnage7687]

I very much doubt that they have insurance. Insurance for remote cruising and/or older boats has become virtually impossible to procure.

[@fritsified5952]

ABYC… you know the whole world is not the US right?

[@brianwatson8312]

what can we say What a brilliant job very very well done

[@vaughansamuelson6552]

Thank you. Can't wait to see you under sail again.

[@artsmith103]

Great video for boat shoppers to see how things fit in a cruiser. 37ft is a tight fit. 39-42' works great. Hard to say if more than 44ft is a benefit or not. Too deep or tall can be a problem plus weight of sails and everything else.

[@jonathanmillen1991]

Add another battery if you can. You won't regret it. Especially in the north.

[@marlings]

Brilliant effort, progress and video guys 🙌🏻

[@johnnyjoe0515]

is there anything you guys can't do? very impressive.

[@humblestever24]

Matt is one bright spark! And an electrical engineer. You understated Brits, never mentioned in 179 episodes. Me, I might have just casually segued to it once or twice. Hope you guys don't spend all your time in the Artic on a console shooting bad people and stealing cars.

[@brassring5524]

BRAVO !!!...WELL DONE.

[@sthtemp2]

You guys are having too much fun.

[@rob3942]

Top job guys, she is truly staunch now and ready for the next adventures. All the best. Go well

[@wow.sailor.]

I am looking forward to seeing you on the water again ❤

[@SailingYachtFlorence]

Us too!

[@IceglacierArnar]

lot of improvements... congrats!

[@sailingsheriff3349]

Love the new upgrade. Do you need to upgrade your alternator when you switch to the new batteries? Whole boat is looking super smooth now well done

[@jeffweeks901]

Love your videos. I do have a concern about your installation of your lithium bank. Are you sure it's a good idea to run your windless off your lithium. Lithium doesn't like sudden high amp loads. That's why starter batteries are still led. I think you would enjoy watching some video's from" Emily and Clarks Adventures". Clark is an Engineer. He talks about mixing led and lithium. He really knows his stuff.

[@artsmith103]

Florence, I've done quite a bit solar vs boat load calculations. 125W panel is good estimate for daily fridge. But you're going further north. Your 250W solar is good minimum but more would be practical. Have you considered a turbine? The first 25W 24/7 is extremely valuable, the rest is gravy. Consider solar is typically 4 peak equivalent hrs per day. So a turbine can run 6x more day. That makes the 1st 25W = 150W solar panel. Turbines usually only stop anchored during high pressure. But that's when your load is lowest and solar doing well. If no turbine, wth your current install, maybe wire existing panels in series to one charge controller, and add another panel to the 2nd charge controller.

[@stephenburnage7687]

In the tropics, my 400W of solar cannot keep up with my fridge load.

[@artsmith103]

@@stephenburnage7687 Interesting. Typical bigger 6amp fridge has 33% duty factor. At 12.3V = 585Wh per day. 4 peak equivalent hrs per day = 146W panel. Many fridge installs are less than 500Wh per day. My 16qt trailer sailer cooler is 200Wh per day after I added an inch of insulation. Could your solar be shaded, battery bank too small, poor fridge insulation, inadequate compressor cooling, fridge set too cold?

[@stephenburnage7687]

@@artsmith103 I started in Vancouver (49 degrees N) and am now in Panama (7 degrees N). As I headed south, and particularly south of 30 degrees, the one thing i really noticed was fridge load. The fridge, which had performed admirably in Canada, began to struggle. The first thing I did was check refrigerant, fan cooling, program/controller, etc. Then i insulated inside the box, then outside. Probably have a minimum of 2 to 3 inches of insulation all round (and considerably more in places). Have also played with different fridge loadings (some argue a 2/3's full fridge is the most efficient). Also rewired the fridge with bigger cables (to limit volt drop). Current draw is typically 5A and the best cycling i get is around 50:50 (maybe a little better at night). Worse case it will run close to 100% on a hot day, or if you put room temperature foods inside.. So - somewhere between 50ah and (say) 80ah load over a 24 hour period. The other thing you notice, when full time cruising, is that useful battery life reduces and have been averaging 3 years to replace the house bank each time. Started with 200W solar bank and with that was getting 9A max (after the PMW controller), given cloud cover, etc so probably only 40 to 60ah of net input over daylight hours. So - like most cruisers, bought a portable gen set. With new house batteries I might have two days after a passage (alternator charging) before needing that, but then you get into a cycle of running it an hour a day. As the batteries approach the end of their life, that might go to 2 hrs a day. Next step has just been to increase solar capacity (to 400W) and have been getting max readings up to 15A on a cloudless midday and the step after that is swap to a MMPT controller. With that, i might get to the point where solar is capable of matching fridge (and other daily) load, over an extended period.

[@artsmith103]

@@stephenburnage7687 Lots of great info. I'm between 35-46 N latitude and water rarely above 75F. You've covered all the bases and more. All of my solar chargers are mppt. In theory it's 18/14=30% better but I typically see +15%. I also have a 3.3kW gridtie array so more experience from that. Your extensive list didn't mention compressor ventilation (actually did). Maybe room for improvement. My warmest experience was Hawaii to PNW. We expected to have to shut off fridge on cloudy days but we never did.

[@laurapitre5797]

​@@stephenburnage7687get lithium batteries it will help considerably.

[@fransboddeke]

Great job and Welldone . You need always some upgrade also your Navigation . Good Luck 🎉🎉🎉😊

[@MrMichaelcurran]

I am amazed that you decided to up grade a 40 yr old boat as aposed to a newer one. But watching what you have been able to these past 6 months it is understandable why you stayed with Florence. All the best to you both.

[@stephenburnage7687]

Older boats are much better built.

[@mattw785]

This is great to watch. Something with tangible results!

[@bmorrison0070]

So exciting to see all the new gear on Florence! I really love seeing these older boats get a refit. Cheers from Pennsylvania USA.

[@cgeorge6250]

Going from lead acid to lithium is a game changer ! We love our lithium on sailboat and motorhome.

[@marktahu2932]

Its interesting to see how we all learn from one another - watching Matt and his templates, fittings and wiring you see different techniques that are often on show from other sailing DIYers. Things are progressing nicely - Well done the pair of you.

[@nevillesaunders1916]

Hey Matt. Are you an electrical engineer? You made the electrical/instrument upgrade look easy. Well done.

[@SailingYachtFlorence]

Yes, although that was a long time ago!

[@davidferguson9213]

Looks great! Thank you!!

[@dennismatthews6660]

Thank you

[@royballantine6788]

How exciting to have all those new gadgets!

[@kimphilley621]

Amazing transformation. A tribute to a amazing couple who personify team work. Awwwww to have a sailing partner likely. A true gemstone she is. You guys are the real thing. More Sotheby's most channels by far. Nice to see you are keeping it real. Big cudos from another real cruiser

[@Osprey6m]

Brilliant episode team. Very smart to do it yourself.

[@simoncaselton9020]

Formidable.

[@artsmith103]

Postponed my morning start to watch Florence. Taking the cover off, installing slightly larger battery bank, additional solar charge controller and solar panel plus some new wiring into a junction box I added in the stern lazerette. So similar but 20% the scale of Florence.

[@Iblis666ful]

Love your uploads! Keep up the good work you're doing!

[@adamroodog1718]

cool

[@steveburton5825]

I think you'll really like the B&G instruments... they do a really good job for sailboats. Very smart and nice to have one single system for your electronics and another for your Lithium power so you shouldn't have any interfacing issues.

[@atakd]

"I think you'll really like the B&G instruments... they do a really good job for sailboats." Apart from daily "It appears there are updates available" message, splashed across the display 10 mins after power up, when you're most likely to be dependent on the chart whilst squeezing down a narrow channel.

[@Robert-cg2bj]

Flat out best video of a technology transfer I seen yet!!! Good on yer' mates.

[@pm4563]

Torque wrench !

[@patriciathorp4911]

Best of luck with all your new electronic equipment ....I, for one won't be so worried for you out there in the deep blue. ❤❤

[@GuidanceFS]

Congrats guys. A sailor's Xmas - new boat toys!

[@johnrode7109]

Good video

[@peterostrom6271]

Brilliant video!

[@Tomm9y]

Thank you for succint explanations of what some of the new equipment is. A challenge to fit but spared eons of viewing, of sawing, measuring, drilling, fitting. Clearly all that took alot of patient careful work in awkward spaces, and probably chilly. It looks like a well designed system from reputable brands. That should be a bonus if you have issues in the future. Choosing B&G instrumentation is an excellent choice, look forward to hearing more about the wizardry now available..

[@stuartbrown5783]

Terrific. I'm pleased for you.

[@rasco81]

Yes!!!

[@sailingopheliacompass2997]

I had a lot of trouble with Raymarine touch screen CP when my fingers had moisture on them or if moisture got on the screen. The map ended up showing Papua New Guinea instead of southern Australia where I was. Perhaps CP's have evolved the last 3yrs so be careful. My CP could also turn the touch screen off, which I did at night, rainy days or waves around.

[@andrebelanger7798]

It was Christmas in advance for you. Thank you for your video

[@jamesmaloney6096]

oooh! Fancy! I love it!

[@gatecrasher1970]

jealousy level 200% 🤗

[@peterasacker5948]

looking great kids.....

[@SailingSteelSapphire]

Shiny!!!

[@SkylinersYeti]

Florence is looking good. Soon in the water and heading north?

[@janetmessman95]

Nice job! You two should be so proud of all your hard work!

[@thomasthornton5737]

😀😀👍👍❤❤ Great "thumbnail".

[@IIAShadowII]

Painter's tape helps with tye chipping. Awesome work!

[@andysaunders9483]

Actually, best is to run the drill backwards to start with. It will go through the gelcoat without chipping then you can switch to the right drilling direction and finish the hole

[@SailingYachtFlorence]

Thanks, will try that next time

[@AlexJohnson-nf1lh]

Nicely done! I'd recommend insulating your heater pipes if possible, they look quite close to some of those cables and can get quite warm. Makes the heating much more efficient aswell!

[@SailingYachtFlorence]

Thanks, we have actually added the insulation on those parts since recording this video, lots of jobs all happening in parallel on board!

[@adrianchristopher5867]

Congrats on all the work done on your boat. Wow, it really came out well. How much did you want for it? ;-) Been watching this channel for a long time, I think since 2020, and it has been strengthening to see you cope with all the needed repairs and upgrades. Very encouraging. :Adrian, Durban, South Africa.

[@bchost]

Well done video, except not enough of beautiful Amy, nice job on the installation and setup!

[@charlesdobrovolny7059]

Dremel tool with a small grinding stone will avoid chipping.

[@carltontweedle5724]

Great upgrades much needed or turn into a how it was back in the day boat. But the stuff still worked will the new stuff last as long this is the question. So if it screws up please keep us in the loop.

[@neverendingrefit759]

liFePo4 batteries are such a huge game changer on a cruising boat!! 😎😎No more constantly trying to get the batts back to 100%. Lots voltage for the fridge & windlass. Lead's Dead baby!

[@stephenburnage7687]

Even for the start battery? Also for bowthruster or similar loads?

[@Paul-nr5kg]

They didn't use liFePo batteries, they used lithium ion, there's a big difference. Main concern for me would be lithium ion are more volatile, ie. these are the type of lithium batteries that are self combusting. Big concern IMO.

[@fritsified5952]

@@Paul-nr5kgNo, these are LFP.

[@janaferreira8882]

❤

[@zmtrading1491]

Nice job😂.