Graham Cox wrote:Thanks for the detailed notes about your extensive refit/rebuild. What an enormous amount of work you have done. Looks like good quality work too. I sometimes dream of taking Arion out of the water and doing something similar (I have a few desired modifications) but am not sure if I will ever have the courage, energy or time to do it. Think I will just keep sailing and content myself with keeping the rust at bay. Well done, I look forward to seeing the rig on in due course. I could not open the photos in your link but accessed them via your member albums. I hope you enjoy some good sailing in 2013.
Graham, the notes do not cover half of it, only the major bits. Not mentioned is the totally new electrical installation, plumbing and countless other items that make a functioning cruising boat.
This only happened because I basically had to wreck the boat in order to repair the bottom. Then it was a case of "well while we are here we might as well..." and so repairing a few (well a bit more than a few) dents became a total rebuild.
I would never advise anyone to do what I have done, it's just too hard and there is always a real danger of giving up and then you have lost everything. Better to just fix as needed and carry on sailing.
I now have a new boat but it has come at tremendous cost, mentally, physically and financially. Not to think of all the hours spent being hot grimy and uncomfortable while I could have been sailing.
If I knew what I know now, I reckon I'd keep the dents.