The search for the perfect boat....
Question: What do you do when you can't find the perfect boat?
Answer: You build it yourself. Or you tear out a few walls and rebuild. Or, better yet, teat our all the walls, ceilings, floors, wires and plumbing. Like we did.
If this sounds like fun to you, you probably understand what drives us. If it doesn't sound like fun to you, you'll never get past thinking we're just nuts. But we think there's a logic to our actions: we don't start any new project, large or small, unless it makes the boat more marketable (removes a barrier to resale), makes the boat safer, or makes the boat more liveable for us, either at dock or underway.
Consistent with this overall goal, we completed a major interior refit and refurbishment of the hull in 2004. That refit is discussed in detail on the
Refit 2004 page. We are still in the process of uploading photos, however, so don't expect too much at this point (March 5, 2007). Much work remains on the exterior (varnish, brightwork, fairing, painting, etc.), but we think we achieved a very liveable "home afloat."
We are now in the process of planning a major refit of the boat's electronics and pilot house. Plans in progress and some of our thoughts on changes will eventually be available on our
Refit 2009 page.
In between major refits, we engage in normal, run-of-the-mill projects just like any other homeowner (like completing the master stateroom closet and laundry room in the winter of 2006), and we'll probably add information on the more interesting aspects of those projects - including lessons learned - at some point in the future. Bear with us while we complete this current project: refitting the website.
~Dwight & Gail