Our Glacier Bay refrigeration system -- all five boxes and 200 pounds of it -- was delivered to my parents' house on 7/14. We picked it up the following day, somehow managing to get everything from the van to the dinghy to the boat in a single trip.
Then came the fun part. You know you're in trouble when the installation manual reads, "Many owners are surprised at how easy the system is to install...." But it turned out not to be so bad, although we had to make multiple trips to marine parts stores, plumbing stores, electrical supply stores, and the hardware store. We also had to buy a $20 flaring kit in order to make exactly two flare connections, and buy a propane torch for soldering, just like the one we'd sold at our yard sale since we didn't think we'd need one on a boat. The size of wire that was appropriate for the current load and the distance from the battery turned out not to fit in the terminals of the wiring box, necessitating a couple of exotic (and, of course, expensive) connectors, and the 60-amp breaker we needed had to be special ordered. The instructions were confusing and the circuit diagrams were rudimentary, but we finally got all the holes drilled, the pipes soldered, and the wires connected.
We were going to get the system finished and charged by the nearest Glacier Bay representative, on the Eastern Shore, but he couldn't fit us into his schedule soon enough for us, so we got Wayne Beck of Beck Environmental Services to come out and leak-test our installation (no leaks, yay!) and charge it with refrigerant.
The next day we installed various baskets and shelves in the fridge to make the space more useable. Beer and soda near the top where we can just reach in and grab, veggies and eggs up high, milk and meats down low. We also added bungie cords to hold baggies of water against the holding plate in order to make ice. Now our boat is a little more of a home!
We needed to be at a marina to get the refrigeration system charged, so we moved back to Petrini's for one overnight. While there, we took advantage of being at a marina: we charged all our batteries (boat batteries, computer batteries, and our little rechargeable AA utility batteries), flushed and filled our water tanks, washed the boat, and dumped trash. Finally we moved out to anchor again, for a few last days of running around spending money while we still had the car.
Today we're at my parents' house, leaving the van with them. We'll be coming back to Annapolis for some more outfitting in late September, but until then, our agenda is open and our sights are set north: the northern Bay, the C and D canal, Cape May, Long Island Sound. We'll try to post updates here when we can.