Commissioning "Last Resort" and outfitting her as both a live-aboard and long range cruising yacht turned out to be a huge project, taking over a year.  We had to refit the boat from the ground up to make it both "live-aboard" and cruise-ready.  The biggest jobs were to install the 3-zone diesel heating system, two reverse-cycle air-conditioning units, the 6kw generator, watermaker and 3rd fuel tank.   But we also initiated a number of other major improvements including adding a bow thruster, an entirely new rig to accommodate a boom-furling main, a washer dryer and lots of electronic upgrades, including a Raymarine E-120 chartplotter/radar that repeats to a 42 inch Plasma HDTV with HD satellite dish and DVR, a Single Side Band radio and a WiFi network.  

Since we've all but mortgaged our souls to West Marine, I thought I'd give them a plug here.  But seriously, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE A COMPLETE LIST OF UPGRADES AND IMPROVEMENTS, JUST DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE WEST MARINE CATALOG TO THE RIGHT.  Since that list was prepared we've added a Spectra Newport 400 Watermaker, an additional 60 gallon fuel tank, solar panels and a Raymarine Sirius Weather Satellite Receiver.  But for the need for diesel fuel, Last Resort is almost be totally "off the grid."

One of the more interesting challanges was to design a WiFi network that would integrate a Vonage voice over IP phone system, two computers, and a WiFi-enabled printer/fax/scanner.  Here's a picture of the antenna array that we designed to, in part, support the network.

If you're interested in a few of the details, here's a photo gallery of some work as it was in progress:

CLICK ON THE CAMERA ICON TO VIEW SOME PHOTOS OF LAST RESORT BEING COMMISSIONED.