Manihiki Magic - Meet Cofly

What a spot for drying in the sun!

When visiting Manihiki, you don't need much. And that's lucky because with 10kg baggage allowance on Air Rarotonga one can not bring much personal belongings.

Well, when we planned the trip, which was actually a last minute decision - not even 3 weeks before departure - there was one item that we couldn't come without. Its name is Cofly. Not sure whether it's a he or she, so we'll leave it as It. Cofly weighs probably 20kg for a volume of half a cubic meter. Poor thing didn't fit on the plane of course, so we needed to put it on Lady Moana to sail from Rarotonga to Manihiki.

This is Cofly, Heavy Duty Washing Machine Model XPB130-2011S.

Meet Cofly! The Washing Machine, not the baby!

Cofly has been part of the family for now 9 weeks and we couldn't do without it. It truly is working magic to get rid of all the Vene Vene from Yann's clothes, keep Charlie's reusable nappies super white and wash off linens and other sandy belongings.

We average probably 5 loads a week. That might sound like a lot considering that the kids barely wear clothes and we only put on shorts and t-shirts. But the ironic thing is that we swim in regular clothes! No bikini or boarder shorts. The island way is to jump in the water as you are, or eventually in a pareu. That already justifies a fair amount of washing!

Cofly is nothing like what we are used to. Cofly needs a bit of attention but will become your best companion it you follow his ways. There's no plugging the hot water hose on one side, the power on the other and push the button. Cofly is a double-tub washing machine with no automatic cycle, which means that each steps needs to be started manually. 

Step 1 - Fill up the washing tub

Cofly and its life support: garden hose on top for water, power plug on the floor for energy

Once all the clothes are loaded in the washing tub, it needs to be filled up with water to cover everything.

This is one of the best things about Cofly: one can wash a huge load, or just a few items at a time.

Garden hose attached to the kitchen water tab

Garden hose running from the kitchen to Cofly

Two options: bucket after bucket or directly with a hose. We use the garden hose that runs from the kitchen tab to the washing machine, running along the outside wall of the house.  

First tub full - dirt, get ready for a ride!

Step 2 - Washing cycle

Once the washing tub is full of dirty clothes, water and washing powder, chose your cycle - gentle, normal or strong - and turn the wash timer between 0 and 15 minutes.

As simple as that - Gentle, Normal or Strong. 0 to 15 minutes. Done

Of course Cofly needs energy. A simple power plug indeed, which is a bit of a mission in our case as we only have one plug available. There's no baking bread or boiling water while doing laundry, unless we unplug the fridge! Once again, Manihiki life demands organization skills.

The one and only power plug for downstairs. Left plug is for the water pump (pumping water from the 20,000L reservoir under the house to the 100L tank on the roof). Yellow cable is the extension cord that runs all the way to the kitchen. Left plug is for TV or phone charger or sewing machine or any other electrical device. One at a time.

Step 3 - Drain

Cofly waste water hose running directly outside, on the coral and sandy ground

Depending on the state of the clothes, we wash one or two 15min cycles. Once finished, we make sure the pipe runs outside (speaking by experience, when the pipe still hangs on the side of Cofly, water runs inside the house! Lucky we have concret floors that just soak up the water... Convenient.).

Wash. Drain. Full stop.

Turn the button from Wash to Drain and let all the water out.

Step 4 - Rinse cycle

Set back onto Wash.Repeat steps 1, 2, 3 and 4!

My little helper trying to keep busy while Cofly is in full action

 

Step 5 - Spin cycle
 

First lot of spinning

Second lot of spinning

This is the best feature about Cofly! The spin cycle is so efficient that in maximum 5 minutes clothes are nearly dry! So when the first tub is drained, clothes need to be moved from the first to the second tub.

1 to 5 minutes. Manihiki efficiency

The lid goes on top to make sure that the load is balanced and pressed tight together before spinning

Tada!

And there we go! Rince water runs outside, cycle stops and laundry is ready to be hung in the hot Manihiki sun and wind! 

Flying in the wind! An hour later, freshest sheets and nappies

Somehow doing laundry here is so satisfying! Yes it demands a bit more work than an automatic washing machine, but Cofly is so flexible in its cycles that we could do laundry everyday!!! 

Et voila!

Wish we could take it with us, wherever the next adventure will be! 

Check out our Instagram - Azure Coconut