Chicane... A Full Rebuild! (Warning Image Intensive)
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:48 am
Well I decided I'd better get my progress up to date, and since I'm waiting for it to stop raining so I can work on the boat, I may as well start from the beginning!
My previous boat 'Aloha' was a Jaguar 21 (You don't have them in the states), which was a relatively minor restoration, mainly cosmetic work, the worst we had to do was drop the lifting keel completely when it decided to fall out when sailing! (Still attached by the strap though)
Despite making the system better than new, It was a flawed lifting system and I lost confidence in the boat, so I sold it to someone to sail on a reservoir!
Here are some before and after pictures:



To:


So with the profits (there won't be any this time round!) I began the search for the next boat, I'd set my heart on an Eygthene 24 Quarter Tonner, a very seaworthy and well built (apart from the interior) yacht, with a 55% ballast ration and very good upwind performance.
The problem... Good examples go for £8,000, I had £5500 and that included getting it back.
So, time to search for a 'project boat'!
After extensive searching I found one advertised on a back corner of the web for £3000, after calling the owner who declared it 'Not a bad little boat, coupl'a scratches here and there!', we decided to drive the 200 miles to go and see it.
Here are some photos I took at that time:













A good inspection revealed the boat to be structurally sound, but in need of a lot of work, systems upgrading, smartening up etc.
I offered the bloke £2000 and got it for £2200. The next week we went down with a borrowed trailer which we measured up before hand and met the seller and his dad down their, fantastic people! They even shared their pack lunch with us as we had to sleep in the 4x4 overnight as we took the trailer down the previous night.
Photos:


The drive back was awful, the 4x4 wasn't really man enough for the hills round there with 1.5 tonnes of trailer, and 2 tonnes of boat, (metric tonnes) still we made it back and the work could begin!
On a slightly unrelated note, the bugger kept that beautiful kettle! :(
(As this will take a while to right i'll posting it in sections. Feel free to comment and offer advice... In fact I'd prefer it if you did! :) )
My previous boat 'Aloha' was a Jaguar 21 (You don't have them in the states), which was a relatively minor restoration, mainly cosmetic work, the worst we had to do was drop the lifting keel completely when it decided to fall out when sailing! (Still attached by the strap though)
Despite making the system better than new, It was a flawed lifting system and I lost confidence in the boat, so I sold it to someone to sail on a reservoir!
Here are some before and after pictures:



To:


So with the profits (there won't be any this time round!) I began the search for the next boat, I'd set my heart on an Eygthene 24 Quarter Tonner, a very seaworthy and well built (apart from the interior) yacht, with a 55% ballast ration and very good upwind performance.
The problem... Good examples go for £8,000, I had £5500 and that included getting it back.
So, time to search for a 'project boat'!
After extensive searching I found one advertised on a back corner of the web for £3000, after calling the owner who declared it 'Not a bad little boat, coupl'a scratches here and there!', we decided to drive the 200 miles to go and see it.
Here are some photos I took at that time:













A good inspection revealed the boat to be structurally sound, but in need of a lot of work, systems upgrading, smartening up etc.
I offered the bloke £2000 and got it for £2200. The next week we went down with a borrowed trailer which we measured up before hand and met the seller and his dad down their, fantastic people! They even shared their pack lunch with us as we had to sleep in the 4x4 overnight as we took the trailer down the previous night.
Photos:


The drive back was awful, the 4x4 wasn't really man enough for the hills round there with 1.5 tonnes of trailer, and 2 tonnes of boat, (metric tonnes) still we made it back and the work could begin!
On a slightly unrelated note, the bugger kept that beautiful kettle! :(
(As this will take a while to right i'll posting it in sections. Feel free to comment and offer advice... In fact I'd prefer it if you did! :) )