I spoke with John Pratt, head of service at Hinckley in Southwest Harbor, Maine, about doing a refit on Song. I’ve known John since I bought the boat in 1999, so he was my first call. He was interested in taking on the project but wanted the boat for the entire winter. Given the cold Maine climate, he planned to remove the masts and store the boat inside a shed for the duration. That timeline didn’t work for me, so he recommended the Hinckley yard in Stuart, Florida.

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I reached out to Patrick Bishoff, the service manager in Stuart, and we started discussing options for the engine and generator. We considered Beta, Nanni, and Yanmar engines, eventually settling on the Yanmar 4JH57. It checked all the right boxes: all the service points, filters, impeller, oil, and coolant fills, are located on the front, making maintenance straightforward. Plus, it’s fully mechanical, which means easier repairs underway.

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I’ve always preferred DC electrical systems on a mid-sized cruising yacht. Aside from shore power, I’ve never seen the appeal of bringing AC aboard. I chose the Fischer Panda AGT 5000, a marinized Kubota two-cylinder engine that produces 280 amps DC.

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I arrived in Stuart on February 15, 2025, to begin the refit. In addition to the engine and generator, we installed a new Ultraflex throttle/shifter, a Watt & Sea hydro-generator (rated at 40 amps while sailing at 8 knots—we’ll see), and a new battery bank of six AGM 6-volt, 240 amp-hour batteries wired in a parallel/series configuration for a total of 720 amp hours.

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We also added a Starlink satellite internet system and a PredictWind DataHub to broadcast my position. On top of the dodger, we adhered two BougeRV 100W compact CIGS thin-film solar panels. Other additions included an Isotemp hot water heater, Tides dripless shaft seal, new cutlass bearing, strainers, hoses, and a Racor fuel filter.​