Outfitting a Lagoon in La Rochelle

[Twixter]

Drew,

We had our boat wired with 220 throughout. We have 220 plugs in all the cabins and the salon. Pochon installed a 220/50hertz shore power plug on the transom, with all the needed equipment to tie it into our system. It has worked seamlessly since it was installed in May/June 2006. I would highly suggest arranging any install for May/June as soon as possible. Pochon (and most marine service shops) get swamped this time of year. I would tell them it needs to be finished at least a week before you really need it, just to give yourself some cushion. One month should be enough time for extra installs, just stay on top of the schedule.

You also need to have a close relationship with your broker/dealer. It took us 2 months to get the boat systems repaired and fixed. We ended up leaving with a few issues not fixed - we were tired of waiting. Are you going to have any support from Lagoon while you are in La Rochelle? If you don't mind me asking - who is your dealer?

We have a 110v/60 hertz microwave that we bought off another cruiser. I wish that we just would have bought a 220v one while in La Rochelle. We only run the microwave while on shore power or generator and still sometimes pop the circuit breaker. Microwave popcorn can take over 8 minutes The Lagoon factory states that our 2000 watt inverter doesn't support it.

We had a 220v plug installed in the owners cabin in one of the clothes cabinets for a washer/dryer (the one that Lagoon uses for their install). We haven't purchased one yet, and really only have had a need for one in the past month or so. When it is warm out, I just wash small loads by hand and hang dry. Now that it is cold, it doesn’t dry as fast, so I have been using more laundomats. One city on Sardinia quoted me 50 Euros for 3 bags of laundry (I just couldn't pay that!). A cruiser I know that has a washer/dryer only uses the washer part and hangs the clothes to dry. It sounds like the dryer isn't that efficient.

As for the watermaker, we got a 12v, 60 liter an hour Schenker (http://www.schenker.it/eng/home.php). Pochon installed it in the port forward locker. It is not as fancy as the Lagoon $20K watermaker, but for less than 1/3 the cost, it works just fine. In hindsight, after install and testing, I should have pickled it for storage immediately. A watermaker should be ran every few days to keep it happy and I have been neglectful. We have only every needed it once, while anchored for 8-9 days in Portugal. Even then, I am sure we could have made it without it.
If you are going to La Rochelle in May, I would suggest putting in your order with a chandlery then, to give them time to order anything you need. You will need your MMSI number to get your EBIRB programmed through the chandlery. You should try to handle as much of this as you can in May. And remeber, if you are a non-EU boat, get the items without VAT.

The only item that we did not get that we needed once in the Med. is a gang plank for the Mediterranean style mooring (bow or stern to the dock). Once we got in the Med., we were finding prices like 600 to 800 Euros for a 3 meter plank. We ended up with a cheap 100 Euro ladder and wood solution that my husband made. It was supposed to be temporary, but it has worked fine, so we kept it.

I hope that you find some useful information in my ramblings J I could go on and on. Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Cathy

[jonathanmills00]

I bought a Lagoon from the La Rochelle Boat Centre and they fitted stuff for me Very nice to deal with

[mdl]

Drew:
You might tryNAVIGATLANTIQUE. Responsable : Monsieur PHELIPON Guy Coordonnées : Z.A. des Minimes 17000 La Rochelle Tel : +33 (0) 5.46.44.53.77 ...
I thought that they were the best chandlery in La Rochelle as they actually had items of good quality in stock.

M. Phelipon speaks good English and he knows his business. Enjoy La Rochelle, I'll be there again myself in July.
MDL