We Did It.

Well, I haven’t had the time to update this for a bit. We have been working incredibly hard to finish the refit, and I am so happy to say that as I write this, I am sitting on the port side of Sirocco, enjoying a cup of coffee while surrounded by what feels like a new boat. Sirocco is very special in that she is 40 years old but was built so remarkably well, that all it took was some serious TLC and she is like new once again. I know to some it might sound odd, but I am grateful we don’t own a new boat. I love that our little boat has so much history. That she was built by a couple (that we happen to now know), rather than a factory. That we have met most of the previous owners and know their stories. I love that when I look at the burn mark on the teak floor, I know that a previous owner had an incident with a flare gun (thankfully a funny one) and I am glad that the mark is still there because it makes me smile. When I was crouched down for days sanding, taping, and varnishing the trim, I felt a sense of support knowing that previous owners had done the same thing. We have made her our own, but really she is much more than just ours. She is part of a bigger picture and I am filled with gratitude to all the people who have made Sirocco who she is today.

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I thought about going into details about the refit. But for now, I’ll just say that Kyle and I worked 7 days a week, 14-16 hours a day for 40 days straight and here is some of what we accomplished. It was the most demanding thing I have ever done physically and emotionally. But I am happy to say that I have become quite handy and can now start and finish a very wide variety of projects on my own 🙂

We pulled her out of the water and in 30 days we:

-sanded through about 6 layers or paint on her entire entire bottom

-sanded and then painted all her top sides

-repaired the rudder

-built and installed custom parts for a wind vane and trim tab

-closed up a few thru holes

-faired her rudder joints, gudgeons, and all her remaining thru holes

-rudder repair

-did a capper coat bottom job

-installed all stanchion bases

-at the very last minute built new stern pulpits

-painted and varnished the entire interior of the boat

-sanded, ground, and applied 8 coats on all 3 water tanks

-installed a composting head

-installed a new propellor

-fixed some leaks

-repaired and rebuilt parts of the cockpit floor

-installed lights, fans, and solar panels

-finished out the interior

-and lots of other little projects I can’t think of right now 🙂

Overall my point is, the last couple months have been a blur of boat work, but we made it. This week we will install our shiny new sails, do a final rig tune, and next weekend we will go sailing. 2.5 months until we head south for the Bahamas! Here are the photos from the last couple months somewhat in order. Click on the photo to make it larger. Enjoy!