When we started out back in the first week of September, we had only intended to get the water out of the bilge. What actually happened though was a different story. Starting early on a Saturday morning, we took everything out of the cabin, packed it away inside the shop and then removed all of the sails and canvas. It took the first weekend to get everything unloaded, hull washed, motor flushed, rails and lifelines off and get her backed in the shop. You never really know how much gear you really have until you take all of it off the boat and try to store it properly. We were careful with the gear, taking time to wash all the sails, cushions and canvas and packing all of the cabin/galley gear in to Rubbermaid storage bins. This also allowed us an opportunity to trash all of the stuff we never really needed. Since we will be adding weight during this refit, dropping what we do not need will offset that somewhat.
The mast, which had been completely reworked back in June, was stored outside although it will be coming into the shop later in the refit to install some new antenna wire for a Garmin Marine Network device.
Once safely tucked away inside the shop the teardown began. The hatches, anchor locker door and cockpit and stern seats were taken off. All of the deck hardware, cleats, winches, Bimini connectors, slide rails, hinges etc. etc. were removed. We didn’t try to mark all of the screws as they came out; instead we opted to put them in one Rubbermaid container. They will be cleaned and reorganized back into our normal stainless hardware storage bins. When the rebuild begins we will pull from there and then use it as our hardware box after the refit. We plan on one afternoon to sit at an 8 foot table and pour out all of the hardware to clean and organize it. All of the hardware, screws, washers, nuts, bolts etc. fill two 12 qt. Rubbermaid bins and weigh 34 pounds!
The motor and steering systems were removed, as well as the steering pedestal. We were careful to take pictures of everything prior to removal. We used an engine life to remove the motor and built an extension onto our workbench to store both it and the dinghy motor. There were no major difficulties tearing it all down, however it is definitely a two person job. We kept the boat and work areas as clean as possible during this time. Taking the time upfront to properly clean and store all of the hardware and gear is going to simplify the rebuild also. As you can see in the photos, the entire interior has been stripped. We plan on installing a new fresh water system and perform some electrical upgrades as well. A new galley will be built and the head will be upgraded as well. The forward berth is going to be modified to provide a better sleeping area and additional enclosed storage areas will also be built. I can see that much of this project will be “making it up as you go”. So here we go. Our boat is totally trashed and it is time to start the rebuild/pimping.
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