The refit that nearly changed everything

Vanhouten

When you start a boat project, one thing can lead to another. You only intended to replace a mainsheet block and before you know it you have a brand new rig. Ocean Navigator reader Peter Van Houten had his Bristol 47.7 sloop, Innisfree, hauled in Annapolis and put in an enclosure. Van Houten's intent was for a small refit. One thing led to another, however:    

"Innisfree was pulled in October 2013, dismasted, placed in a hangar for the winter so that work could be done. The mission: re-rig, paint the mast and boom. While we're there, should we paint the deck? Ever heard about "feature creep" on a project? I fell into that  head first. 

"End result: painted the mast, boom, deck, hull, bottom, new rigging, new sails, new hatches, new heads and assorted plumbing with a holding tank as there was none needed in 1985. New radar, B&G instruments, wifi for navigation, wifi with a bullet antenna for internet, Ham radio SSB, 2 meter & 440 frequency antennas, new stereo & TV, new VHF w AIS, moved two winches on the deck, new boom vang and topping lift control. Rebuilt windlass, Hood furl for main sail rebuilt, new jib furler, mast head modified for a top down spinnaker for later. 

"In short, I rebuilt the boat for 1/10 th the cost of a new one." 

By Ocean Navigator