Boat repairs – for real

Boat repairs – for real

17. March 2019 Off By Søren

We are heading the wrong way…“. The feeling has hit us as we came further north in our journey home from Torrevieja in Spain to Denmark. Not least because the other long-distance cruisers we have met typically have been heading south – and that usually means that they have been at the start of their great adventure, whether it was a trip to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean or perhaps even the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. However – we are in the beginning of our great adventures too.

Boat maintenance in exotic places

There was a reason to sail Carpe Diem home, and a decision (see here) we still think is right, now where we have the boat home. Because it wasn’t just a boat we bought, it was a project.

As some say, “long-distance sailing is just boat-maintenance at exotic places”. This is how it has been so far, but the maintenance we have been able to do with the boat far from home, and with the premise to do most work ourselves, has been of the temporary or light kind – just what was necessary to safely sail the places and distances required. Of course, when possible, things were made as permanent as possible, like for example changing sea cocks to Trudesign composite.

Carpe Diem under a rainbow in Carlingford

So now it’s serious. Now the many and bigger things must be made – and they must not only be made to last during the summer, but properly so they form the basis for a healthy, safe and comfortable boat that can come out sailing far again.

Where to begin…

What is the work that needs to be done? Quite a lot, and we look forward to this part too. And we try to plan so we will be able to go sailing this summer as well. We have made a list of everything that needs to be done on the boat (look right or down), a bit in random order, but in Excel we can sort by location on the boat, price, whether the boat should be on land, under a roof, etc.

We start with the mast. This work is possible in the weather we have at the moment. Changes to the mast – including the frightening possibility that we may need to replace the mast with a new – can also have consequences for new sails, deck equipment, sprayhood, etc. So this must be clarified first.

After the mast we hope to get the boat up on the hard for sanding and repainting the deck. This also involves replacing the hatches, port lights etc. They are leaky and not so pretty anymore. We must do something to avoid moisture settles in the core of the deck, as well as water getting into the cabin and interior.

And then what? well, we do not know for sure. But we are convinced that it will probably be clear as we go along, and we will change plans as we work our way through, with all the unforeseen things that emerge, finances, time, etc.

Our very first trip in the boat, from La Manga to Torrevieja


Work on the boat
Service liferaft
New cabin sole
Clean the bilge
Inverter
Rewire all electricity
new larger battery bank
New charger
Full engine service
Bigger water tanks 
Bigger fuel tank
Easy acces to storage under berths
Sand and varnish bulkheads
New port lights
New hatches
Replace deck hardware
Repaint deck
repair gelcoat/fibreglass damages
Repair cracks in the deck
New sheaves in the mast
New stays and shrouds
Remove instruments in cockpit
Move MFD to wheel pedestal
Close holes after instruments in cockpit
New windlass
New arch
New lifelines with pelican hooks
New or repaired pulpit
New water pressure pump and tubes
New pump for salt water tap
unmount rudder and repair
Replace last two seacocks
Paint hull above waterline
New compressor for fridge
New electrical control panel
New cockpit table
New sails
New mattresses
New mattress cover
Service mast
VHF bad signal
Replace moist wood in cabin
Repair hatch for anchor compartment
Oven ignition
Wind vane
Autopilot?
Watermaker
Sinks in aft cabins into closets
Repair hatch for anchor
Sun protection for dinghy
Sprayhood
Bimini
Jacklines in cockpit
Batten down hatches inside
Batten down hatches outside
Fire extinguish hole to engine compartment

We did not know the Furia Brisa model before we bought it. The survey of the boat reported good things, even though quite a lot had to be done. But of course it did involve a risk. The 2811 nautical miles we have sailed to get the boat home has made us familiar with the boat, and we are very happy about it. That is quite fortunate, when so much time and economy is invested in it before we are ready to start cruising for real.