Renovation 2017 - 2019

At the time of writing, February 2018, the boat is still under a tarpaulin, experience has taught me to wait to put up the tent until the winter storms are over. Most of the hatches and deck equipment has been removed, only the front emblem and pulpit is still there, and I am in the process of removing the varnish from the hatches and railings inside the garage.

We have used the boat a lot since the major renovation almost 8 years ago, and I must say that the Epifanes varnish have held up quite well. By and large, it is intact and looks quite well on the vertical surfaces, but on the horizontal surfaces, cracks have started to appear and there is a tendency for peeling. In addition, the wood has become so light, in some places almost yellow, that it does not look so nice anymore, and it is impossible to repair the varnish without major color differences. So the varnish needs to come off.

I have chosen to abandon the traditional varnish this time, I am tired of the repairing the varnish each and every year, not so much because of the work, more because of the ugly stains and color differences it leaves. So this time I'll use Coelan, and it will at the same time solve another reoccurring problem, namely leaks in the fore and aft decks. Coelan, which is a highly flexible polyurethane coating, can solve these problems permanently. I'm excited about getting to work with it, I plan to use a spray gun as much as possible this time, and my plan is that the entire superstructure will get a cohesive layer - it will be wrapped in an unbroken layer of plastic. The roofs on the fore and aft cabins will be finished with a colored layer and a layer of anti-slip powder.

Inside, the renovation needs to be completed, which means that the galley, toilet, and aft cabin, which I skipped last time, needs attention. I also want to redo the dashboard and clean up the power installation - although it has worked perfectly since I renovated it in 2007, it has become a bit of a mess over time because of additions, and there is too little space in the cabinet where it is mounted. There are a number of other loose ends and small things that need to be fixed here and there, and the idea is that everything needs to be done completely this time.

The old Volvo engine has a leaky exhaust manifold, so it needs a new gasket. Other than that, there are no mechanical defects, the engine has run absolutely impeccably - quite impressive for a 65 years old engine.

It is also time to clean the outside bottom of the boat. It has a thick layer of antifouling, so everything needs to be scraped off and the bottom must be inspected for bad screws and other defects.

So a lot of work is waiting to be done, but it's all part of having a wooden boat, and I honestly enjoy it.