A Good Day.

by Riley

I'm lying here in the cabin of my boat after a very satisfying day of care giving. Sailboats are a lot of upkeep, and even more work to bring back after neglect. It can also be a really rewarding experience. Today is what would register as a good day for me and Winbrandt. The old electronics are gone and the new installed. The hull is polished and waxed. We wanted to change the bootstripe at the waterline from a dark blue to largo blue, which matches the canvas on the boat; this task was accomplished also. My friend James was a lot of help. He also showed me how to move the stands that support the boat in order to paint the rest of the bottom. To top it all off, I had some fine Carolina BBQ for dinner. 

Winbrandt is now ready to put back in the water.

Electrical 101.

by Riley

So, it's time to put my trade skills to work. Being an electrician, I felt more than capable to rewire the boat. The 120volt wiring was unsafe and really needed to be redone. I decided to install a breaker panel, something the boat didn't have before, in order to give it more capabilities. I chose a Blue Sea panel with a polarity indicator. The polarity indicator detects if the dock wiring is backwards for safety purposes. I also replaced the cables with boat wire. The previous DIY owners had used Romex and what appeared to be an extension cord with the ends cut off. Being as there’s water everywhere, I installed GFCI protection. To do so, I had to replace a few of the factory receptacle boxes because they weren't large enough to accommodate the new GFCI receptacles. The time consuming part was tracing out the nonfactory wiring. Everything went pretty well and I made good time on the project. Now, she has an up to date AC system, and I have one less thing to worry about.

Last Weekend.

by Allison

Last weekend, Riley and I spent time on the boat sanding and oiling the interior. So far, Riley has made most of the trips to the boat alone, and this was the first time I had been when it wasn’t bitter cold outside. Nice weather makes a huge difference in my productivity (and positivity…). I should also mention that it takes us about 4.5 hours to get to the marina from our house.  It is quite a time investment to make a weekend trip, so it’s crucial that we have a well organized game plan and weather that cooperates. Most of the boat projects so far have been beyond my expertise. Fortunately, Riley is more than capable, and willing, to complete them by himself. When it comes to sanding and oiling, however, four hands are always better than two. We made a lot of progress, and left at the end of the weekend feeling satisfied with the results. Maybe one more coat of oil on the walls, and a few coats of polyurethane on the floor and we should be finished. Since the weather was so nice, we did allow ourselves a little bit of a break to have a picnic at the city docks and catch up on a little American Pickers back at the hotel (a temporary luxury while the boat is an inch deep in dust). Not a bad weekend.

The Problem with Buying an Old Boat.

by Riley

The problem with buying an old boat is that you never truly know what you’re getting until you already have it. Fortunately for us, I was able to find Winbrandt at a good bargain, so hopefully it will offset the cost of repair.

The Good

• The boat has solid bones. C&C yachts are known for being quality built boats. 
• All the running rigging is new.
• She sails well.
• She has a diesel engine, so fuel economy and safety are much higher.
• She has a good amount of storage for a boat her size.

The Bad

• The head needs to be redone and modernized.
• The electrical AC is out dated and unsafe.
• The DC is just a mess.
• The bottoms of some of the cabinets have collected moisture over the years, causing some rot.

The Ugly
While not really a problem per say, Allison and I feel that the boat (and us) would benefit from:

• Refinishing the interior wood trim and floors
• Re-laminating the countertops
• Reupholstering the interior cushions

Perhaps the problem in buying an old boat really isn't a problem.

I feel like I will be a lot better off for buying a boat with problems. That may sound crazy to most, so let me explain. I would rather have an entire system needing replacing now, and learn about it, than to have a small problem go unattended and break in an inconvenient place. At the end of all of our hard work, I will not only know what kind of boat I have, I will know how to fix it again when it counts.