he progress on Wings has spanned just over 18 months.
She is a part time project on the water which presents its own challenges but her location makes the work much more enjoyable.
Located in a less populated area of Middle Harbour she is surrounded by hills and bush land.
This was taken on the first day I visited the boat in December 07 before purchase when she was in Lake Macquarie, NSW.
At this point my eyes are too busy visualizing the dream.
No regrets, but I wish I knew about the 2.37 rule then.
(For every job multiply everything by 2.37) It helps get things into a realistic Perspective. Thanks Manfred for telling me that one.
No surprises under the paint thankfully just a nice layer of glass.. Any unused holes where plugged.
The repaint with a hard 2 pot white mixed with grip sand.
The forward hatch is varnished and the new teak tow rails are fitted.
Wings is slipped for a clean and and inspection of her sheathing.
The inspection went well and she gets a new red coat of antifouling.
While this is not an offer of my antifouling services I did find her relatively easy to clean up and antifoul due to the small amount of wetted area these yachts have.
With the cabin top made of four pieces of aged ply with 2 cracked structural beams and the the old winch mounts, I decided the cabin top had to go.
The bulk of the ply is removed. There would be some long hours spent chiseling the rest away...
Visualize the Dream... Visualize the Dreammmm...!
Every time I did this however I would open my eyes and the dream was whisked out of my thoughts..
The satisfying strip out. Surprisingly under all that muck only a handful of ribs and one cracked floor needed replacing.
Having removed the automatic bilge pump I was surprised to discover she is a dry boat.. Just a small amount of water comes down the mast when it rains.
It was a rough time of it with a mountain of dust and sanding before reaching this point.
Wings has had a few home made improvements.
2 tunnel which mounts were made to relocate the sheet winches from the cabin top too alongside the cockpit coamings.
2 new 3mtr long genoa car tracks were machined up on a table router and teak tow rails are shaped and attached.
The new sole is laminated and cut to fit the floors..
A new cabin top is glued and coated with resin.
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The new boom section is added. The new section was bare aluminum teardrop. It was painted with 2 pack white and modified to take the old fittings.
The final layers of white paint are added to rear cabin walls and hull.
In the bottom of the photo on the tarp are the new seats being painted.
2 new rope organizers are designed, manufactured and fitted.
Custom removable seats are fitted and the new seat covers are made with Velcro straps.
The internal seats are wide with a deep set sole for headroom with overnight trips taken into consideration. More finishing touches yet to come below decks.
