Makai' Equipment and Comments: We have been out for 3 years and have been tracking the changes in Makai and the work required above the general maintenance.  As we travel we will try to update what works, what is not, and what we like or would change.  Check back regularly and let us know anything that you would like to see.

Makai is a Voyage 380 by Maxim.  These were originally built exclusively for Voyage Yachts, but they decided that a 38 foot was to small for the charter fleet.  We purchased one of the last Voyages 380's and one of the first Maxim 380's.  It was badged both ways and they made no changes as the boat was successful.  2005 Maxim 380 was nominated by Cruising World as one of the 3 best blue water cruising cats under 40 feet.  Our boat didn't win but it was close and it came down to personal choices and preferences rather than a deficiency in the boat.  We made the right choice as the when we purchased Makai it was $130,000 less than the others.  The builder has now brought the price up to match it competitors.  Even at the new price the boat is worth the money.

http://www.maximyachts.com  Makai is featured on the builders website.

Makai has 15,000 nm as of 31/12/05.

Makai's Equipment and Additions:  Makai's basic equipment list allowed the delivery captain (Captain Ron) to add food, fuel, and life raft and the boat was equipped to sail halfway around the world from Durban, SA.  One the things we liked about the boat was after you got it you didn't have to spend another fortune getting it ready to use.  All of the boat's equipment is name brand, Harken, Anderson...

Screecher w/4' retractable bow sprit.

2.5kw Heart inverter with Link 2000 panel

currently not working for 110 volts output June-04 Puerto Rico, Charger problems cooked our house bank PLC, Venezuela Jan-05.  Dockyard Electric in Trinidad was able to repair the invertors under warranty.  These people are good and enjoyed doing business with them.  Also thanks to Wombat of Sydney for carrying our inverter to Trinidad

11/9: Invertors failed again.  Decided to add a Prosine 1750 watt invertors rather than spend the money to repair the Heart.  After the cost of shipping and repairs we still would have an old invertors and it would cost about the same. 

680AMP hour battery banks

 Junk see above.  Due to the incredible cost of replacing our batteries we will be changing the house bank over to 6 Trojan 6volt which will provide about 675 amps.  Cost around $650 US in Venezuela, Ouch!

2*160 AMP alternators for the house bank (starting batteries have 2*55amp) Ample Power 3 stage regulator

Raymarine Tridata (standard)

Raymarine 6000 linear drive autopilot (factory option)

2 CQR type anchors. One all Chain and one rope & chain rode

 Got rid CQR's of in favor of a 44lb Spade and a 35lb Delta. 

11/11: Have been using the Spade for a year and a half and it is great.  It has never failed to set on the first try and it sets hard.  Short scope, long, rough or calm weather it hooks quickly. It has not pulled out no matter what we  set it in.  I love this anchor.

31/12/05:  2 years with the Spade and it is even better than I can imagine or relate.  Mystic Adventure and Calico Clam each purchased one and love it.  They were  surprised how fast it set vs. his CQR. More converts.  I should sell these!

Lofrans Electric windlass with ability to raise and lower the anchor from the helm or forward.

26/6/06:  The windlass realy had given us trouble previously, but I had been able to repair it.  Well it finally failed.  I was unable to get a Lofrans replacement.  We did locate a West Marine  model and replaced it.  It works great and had a higher rating with a lower price.  No brainer

Adler-Barber 12 volt Fridge and deep well Freezer.

Fridge failed in Bequia.  We changed over to just a freezer and repaired it back in Venezuela.  Slow leak which was found by Milano and his guys.  Recharged and purged a few times works like new, not like the US they just open the valve to the air and let it drop as they pump more Freon.  Total cost 50,000 Bs about 20 bucks.

Safety harnesses and tethers, jacklines, Flare and emergency kit, repair and maintenance kit, tools, bolt cable cutters, life vests, and docklines and fenders, nice form fitted woven mats.  Very complete outfit as part of the base boat. (added Mustang inflatable harness life jackets)

Equipment we have added:  We ordered Makai without a lot of voyaging equipment a s we planned on doing the first voyage about 4-5years after getting the boat.  Not 9 months!  Since we had a short time to get prepared for departure we prioritized additions and went about hunting down the best possible deals for stuff.

KISS Wind generator.

11/8:  Finally decided to add this generator due to cost, quality, noise, and factory support.  We imported it into Bonaire and bought the stainless steel tube local.  BCB made some SS clamps and with the help of Altair we mounted and got it working. 

So far it is great more to follow.

ICOM M802 ICOM M700 with AT130 antenna tuner and 390 Shakespeare whip.

M700: installed in PLC, Venezuela, still waiting for the antenna tuner which is being imported from West Marine by Jaime. 6 weeks wait. We have now used this setup for 7 months and it has worked like a dream.

9/9: The 700 failed.  Order new 802 that Sharon's brother Paul will carry down for us.  Big unplanned expense.

3/12:  Completed the installation of the M802.  Did a test call to Second Lady and made contact.  Of course they are only 100 feet away.  Next morning heard Steve on NoneSuch up in St Johns and made a call to him on 8104 USB.  Move to 8155 and chatted for 30 minutes.  He reported good sound and good signal quality.  I could hear him very well with good quality.  That is amazing as we are inside and surrounded by sailboats with invertors/chargers running.  The old radio almost never got out of the marina.  Definite improvement.  We will see how it holds up out there.

2 Laptops. Dell & HP 

6/05: Catastrophe the keyboard in the Dell failed. The tab key stuck and we could not stop it without discounting the internal keyboard.  We have a temporary USB board borrowed from Calico Clam.  We have some friends coming to meet us in Bonaire and we will have them carry a replacement.  8/05: even more disasters have occurred.  Our 2nd Computer the HP hard drive just failed.  IT needs to be replaced and it can't be found in Venezuela.  More stuff to be carried down. 

24/11:  Dell let me down big time. After talking with the rep and ordering the keyboard, having it carried down to Venezuela, it was the wrong one.  Still typing on a remote keyboard.  Will probably not get replaced this year.

I want to switch over to a 12 volt built in desktop.  Parts will be easier to get and the power draw will be decreased.  Next paycheck.

Nobeltec 7.0 navigation

added a cracked version of Maxsea and Tsunami the Russian military program.  It has vector charts and reported to be very accurate.  Can't wait to try it out

Charts: paper & electronic--Lots

added maptech electronic charts for the Caribe.  Mostly in Spanish but work well and were free.  Most accurate are the Doyle guides.  The charts have not been surveyed in years, in some cases since the late 1800's.

Raymarine 72plus Radar/chart plotter (thanks 'Side by Side' for the chart chip)

Lowrance LMS-160 GPS Plotter (also have a hand backup Garmin 315)

ICOM Command mike for the cockpit

Scientific American Weather station

Grundig All Bands receiver (want to get SSB!)

1/29:  Bought a ICOM 700 SSB from 'Grumbia III' for $280 US.  They upgraded to the ICOM 802.  'None Such' tested the radio and it work very well.  We are now waiting for an automatic antenna tuner to be shipped in from the states 

27/7:  We have been using our ssb almost everyday and it has great reception and excellent transmission.  We love it and it was worth the money.  This shows you don't need to buy the latest and greats to be effective.

11/8:  Our SSB has bit the dust.  We have no trans/receive on 6-9meg.  This is where we spend most of time.  Due to the price we paid we decided on the new 802 to replace.  This 700 could be as old as 20 years.

Mermaid 6500BTU A/C for our cabin( on sale from Defender $550) *absolute necessity before Admiral Sharon would leave the docks.

We bought this from Defender on sale before leaving.  Didn't use it much until we got to Venezuela.  It works great,  is very compact, and quiet, bought a 110volt house unit from another cruiser.  We would die here without it, HOT.

4*120watt Kyocera solar panels with a RV Power product MPPT 50 amp controller (more in the future)

MPPT controller works like advertised. We should be seeing a peak of 28.4 amps from the combined output of the panels.  From about 10:30am to about 2:00pm we will see more than 32 amps of charge going to the batteries.

SK 160 Water Maker

-Awesome addition.  Runs on 12 volt and was simple to install and we have had no problems.  We like being able to take showers even during passages without the worry of water rationing. (2/8: a year of running and it works as advertised and the output per amp is great).  27/7:  Still works great but since we added the washing machine we decide on next paycheck to upgrade to the 20GPH. 

Dinghy is a Water Tender 9.4 with a Nissan 5hp 4-stroke. 

We haven't seen many hard tenders.  We like it as it is light, rows well, fairly dry, and cheap.  We can lose 5 of these before the cost of one Caribe.

1/29: The cost of a Caribe in the US is about $3,500 at discount for the C10X.  Here in Venezuela where the factory is and where prices and the exchange rate is favorable we decided we would buy a new one.  We paid $1,400 for the C10x full v-hull bottom with a built in storage compartment.  Linda at the Dinghy Doctors in Bahia Redonda marina put on the lettering for bs50,000 or $20 US (could even buy the lettering much less get a professional install)

We needed the extra carry capacity for diving.  The Water Tender worked but was slow due to the limited size of the engine.  The Caribe can carry all of our equipment and a 20HP engine.  This will allow us to get various dive sites with a reasonable speed and comfort.

The Water Tender was a great boat and we sold it the first day we had it for sale for $200 (only paid $350 a year and a half and 3,000 miles ago.

Anchors-Changed out the anchors that came with the boat. 

 I have always had problems with setting a CQR type anchor.  Delta 35 was added initially and it works great.  After some research we added a 45 pound Spade (gift from Family and Friends.)

The Spade is awesome.  IT set quick, digs deep (even on short scope), holds well and can be taken apart.  We used the Spade as the primary on an all chain rode.  We used these anchors through hurricane Charlie and Ivan. 

9/30:  We found on the bottom a 45 lbs West Marine Fluke anchor.  Had to dig it up.

Follow-Me-TV.  DirecTV satellite tracking system

works as advertised.  We stopped using it in Puerto Rico.  Didn't want to sign up another DirecTV service down here.  Our TIVO bit the dust.

11/8: The unit rusted solid and no longer works.  We have contacted the maker and he was quick and helpful.  unfortunately it means shipping it back to the US.  Way to costly.  No sat on the water now.

More docklines and fenders/fender boards, (fender board was a gift from Hurricane Isabel.  The 4x4x8' plastic timber was washed up on shore and we cut it down to make 2 -4' fender boards).

Need more lines

2Kw Honda generator. Didn't have time to install a diesel generator.  Will some day!

after a year it runs great, sips fuel, and provides compact quiet backup power.  8/05: Vacuum leak in the carb.  Need to pull it apart and run it down.  31/12/05:  Overall it has continued to put out power  but has problems with various fuels and gums up regularly.  Keep STP onboard to put a bit in the fuel.  The salt air is wreaking havoc on the metal parts.  Some pieces have had to cut to get them apart.  Great backup and short term cruising genset solution.

4 fishing poles, tackle, and hand lines

CDI Genaker. 

Rigged up with a sock and a block and tackle at the tack.  Use it for 4 days solid up to 17 knots down wind and then up to a beam reach and it performed and handle well.  No issues.

Added my tools, enough to build a boat, just incase of work or new projects.