This morning I awoke thinking about that favorite time all sailors know. It is that moment when the sails are raised, the helmsman bears off and the command to kill the engine is given. The clattering of the engine is gone and you feel the sails power up from the breeze you can now feel on your cheek. You hear the water as it rushes by your hull gurgling your cares away. This is one of my favorite times on the water. But alas, for in sailing, like anything worthwhile, there is much to do before you reap the rewards.

So, as spring lethargically approaches, my mind turns to the list of chores to do before launch day and as we have a new boat, it is all the more exciting. And by new boat, I mean new to us, she is 35 years old this year. Fortunately for us, the previous owners, there were two, did a good job maintaining her, so there are only but a few issues warranting attention at this time. Our inspector came up with three deficiencies which need to be addressed for Aurion to come up to ABYC standards. The first, the fire extinguishers have no inspection tags, second, a carbon monoxide detector should be installed as we have a gasoline engine. And finally, the original owner at some point converted the alcohol stove to a non-compliant propane stove using 1 pound, single use canisters. To be compliant, 8 ounces is the maximum allowable size propane canister without going to a ventilated containment system.

The first two issues are easy to address and mostly only require the spending of some money, it is the third project which will not only require money, but also, some retro fitting as well. As you can see by the picture, the Islander 28’s originally came with a drop in, gimbaled stove made by Kenyon. Unfortunately for us, the stoves Kenyon offers nowadays are combination electric-alcohol units which we are not that interested in at this time. For one, they are too small in size to fill the hole in the counter top, the other is that they list for about $1000, ouch.

Old coverted Kenyon stove.

Kenyon still has parts available for their discontinued stoves, but the pricing is about the same as a new Origo two burner, plus the Kenyon stove is of the old pump-up, pressure canister type, whereas the Origo system uses non-pressurized canisters and is typical of Swedish design, simple and eloquent.

We became familiar with Origo stoves on our last sailboat. Only this time, instead of a surface mounted single burner, it will be a flush mount double burner. We found one on sale from Defender Marine for a substantial savings. Now, of course, the tricky part will be the installation. I did some research on the the Internet and found that it appears the Origo will sit in the same space as the old Kenyon. Anyway, that is what we are going for. When the weather turns more favorable I intend on detailing the project here.

For now, it is back to daydreaming of gurgling water and the sounds of summer  blowing through our rigging.