The cult of Cerbo GX

Hello, and happy May 4th!

Another work-heavy week, but PROGRESS. In 7 days I move back onboard, and today dropped off the mattress foam for covering. I am actually excited to sleep on there, not camping, for the first time in 3 years. Sure there won't be a kitchen yet, but fresh linen sheets and a tiled bathroom?!

This week I did a bit more of the roof, including the sliver on the starboard side, leaving just enough space for a chimney rosette:

And then a good chunk of the topside panelling for the saloon:

I then ordered a 12V battery and inverter for powerrr, but that night lay awake thinking why not 48V? I'm already running 48V cables to the bathroom, and I could then support much higher power draws, plus it'll play better with the solar panels...

Cancellations confirmed, I ordered a 3.5kW Victron inverter/charger (the MultiPlus-II , 48V 5000VA option), and at about half the price of the 12V option! I was about to order a battery from Fogstar , but it sold out so I may need an alternative.

There's something funny about Victron, and by extension their dealers: there are so many products, and it's unclear how much they want to solve your problems vs how much they're merchants of paranoia and complexity. Some equipment I'm certain of needing, like an inverter and AC-DC battery charger, but then all the connection options, remote monitoring, yada yada. I was watching their product video for the Cerbo GX, a "flexible communication centre" (wtf?), and he mentioned something about digital inputs for e.g. bilge pumps, and that got my attention. I'm constantly paranoid about water ingress, and something-something-remote-bilge-pump-mobile-app? Sign me up. And it kept going: what if I could remotely monitor the battery, fridge or engine bay temperatures, and what about the water and fuel tank levels?!

You start down a path of what ifs, soon dreaming of how "configured" you could be if only you enter your card details. Now I'm not too bothered about fridge or battery temperatures from afar, but if water's getting in I want every alarm going off.

And by reader request saying the photos looked too good, here's the rest of the mess, featuring a wild Dad: