Well you can now say that I am no longer a minimalist.  Yes with the addition of this Lofrans Windlas and 150 ft. of 5/16 chain and 2 Group 27 batteries my anchoring needs are set (no pun intended).  I can assure you I sleep better at night.  Besides if you have to weigh anchor in rough seas, a windlass makes the job possible besides safer.  It is overkill no doubt but I rather have to much than not enough.

 Oh yea at the end of the chain is a new and absolutely quick setting anchor, the Mantus 35 lb.  Its new on the market.  The you tube is a must see for this amazing anchor.  I can testify that it does work as advertised.  An added bonus is you can disassemble the anchor flat with the bolts it comes with.  I keep mine assembled on a bow roller.  The anchor is extremely tough and well built.  I was initially skeptical but now have become a believer in the Mantus anchors.  Try one, you wont be disappointed. 

The latest addition to Carmela is digital cabin lights.  I added 4 of them.  The brightest and lease power hungry light is the one from Dr. Led dome light.  That sucker is really bright (like a 60 watt bulb) and barely reads on my amp gauge.  I would not believe it unless you saw it. Also two of the interior lights can be switched to red for night operation.  I tried them and they really work well.  You can read by the red light and not be blinded when looking at a dark horizon. 

I also added a second outboard bracket (overkill) but I don't want to have to man-handle my heavy 4 hp 4 stroke dinghy outboard when transferring it from the boat to the dinghy.  Now i just unbolt it from the outboard bracket and install it on the dinghy when I'm tied up to the stern of the boat.  An added bonus is I can run the 4 hp outboard as a secondary engine in case my primary 9.9hp outboard quits.  Just lower the bracket and use it.  

Updates completed on 03-01-13

Painted hull red

Replaced wood hatch with aluminum one

Security hatch

Raised rudder post and reinforced

Added solar panel and spreader bar for rear stays.

With the rear stays spread apart, access to the stern is great. 

My e-mail

If anyone has any questions you can e-mail me at jmmondeau@aol.com. You can also see some videos under Jean Mondeau in you tube.  Thanks for looking at my post. Jean

Building a pocket cruiser on a budget

I purchased this boat for $500.00 US and spent about $4,000.00 to completely strip the interior and build a comfortable cruiser. It is a 1975 Cal 2-27, It has over 6 feet headroom below, a full head, a v-berth and a large living area with a full dinning table. And a complete (small) apartment size galley (my personal favorite). I removed the inboard engine and all related wiring and stuff to make an already large interior even larger. A lot of overbuilt construction techniques went into this boat to make it very blue water capable. I quadrupled stayed the mast on the port & stbd. sides, triple stayed the stern. Double stayed on the bow. There is no one wire failure that can bring the mast down. Added grab rails inside and topside threw bolted to each other. I built a water tight bulkhead sealing off the rudder from the rest of the boat, in case the rudder is broken off. It carries 50 gallons of water all below deck. And yep.. I got that ugly cooler holder hanging over the stern.  But that 150 quart cooler is full of booze & food and easy to access.  I can feed an army of party-goers.