April 4th 2019
Again no time for boat chores today. While we still have a car we need to buy the last big things for our trip.
Apart from stocking up on food and diesel we still needed to buy stuff for the boat, and since we’re going on an extensive trip our insurance insisted on a lot of additional safety measures. Things like EPIRB’s (emergency position-indicating radio beacons), extra anchor chain, and lots of fire works for distress signaling. So first stop the marine store.
One of the issues we were trying to solve was how to deal with the gas tanks we need for cooking. We now use 4,5 kilo propane tanks with a deposit. The tank itself costs about €15,-. which will be refunded when you return the tank and you pay about €13,-. per refill. Propane works better in colder climates, butane doesn’t work properly anymore when the temperature starts to drop below 5 degrees Celsius. But you can’t get that tank just anywhere. The lack of standardization in gas tanks causes a wonderful variety in all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes, which is not very convenient. Butane and propane tanks are not the same size an shape here, let alone in other countries. They have different pressure meters and fittings and not every tank fits in our gas locker. The only kind or brand of butane tank you can buy practically anywhere is Campingaz.
In comparison to the tanks we use now, Campingaz costs about €35,-. per refill, and that is without the €50,-. you have to pay for the bottle without refund. You can see why this is not a profitable option. For us that is, for Campingaz it’s very profitable. Since we use about 4 to 5 kg gas per month we need to stock up regularly. We were pondering for a while how to deal with all the different bottles, until suddenly we realized that in most marinas in the northern countries, you pay an all-in price for the slip, water wifi and electricity. So it might be a good idea to cook electric when we’re on shore power anyway. Saves gas and money.
Added to the shopping cart: a water cooker, rice cooker and an electric burner.
We also bought a drone and spent the whole evening to get it to fly.