We’re back from the beautiful shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s officially spring – never mind the snow that stubbornly keeps falling and the freezing northerly wind that blows your hat off and makes your limbs stiff. It’s spring, and like I said in my last post, time to get our hands dirty. And dirty they are!

I’m going to make a series of neat before & after picture pairs to demonstrate our progress as we install the new head also known as the toilet (if you’d like to read more about luxuries aboard a sailboat, read my earlier post about them) and other projects, but decided to publish a photo that shows the starting point. Yes, our boat refit has started with a big bang, a real explosion, and this is what it looks like now. Not much hope, is there..?

I started the project by eagerly stripping the head area from old vinyl lining that seemed to come off almost by itself. I soon found out that some parts were indeed easy to remove, but the rest of the lining is glued on so tightly that there’s no way it can be removed without some gadget that comes with a power cord. Time to go shopping… Another proof of how easily and ever so quickly a boat owner can get rid of their money – no effort at all!

Then there are certain engine related projects, which I will not discuss in detail as they don’t interest me as much as they probably should, but also because my vocabulary is rather limited when it comes to engines and other techy stuff like that. I’ve just recently taught myself the basic sailing words, both in English and in my native language, as I had very few of either, so the techy stuff will have to wait. 

Looks like it’s going to be a busy Easter with a lot of boat yoga. I’ve only just started but I have a feeling I will know a large number of tight space asanas by the time I’m through with removing the lining. After that, some plumbing poses in equally cramped areas of the boat – which is pretty much the only variety of space aboard our pocket cruiser. But this is the sort of pastime I’ve been longing for – it takes my mind off work and other such trivial matters, and propels me right into next summer’s sailing trips. My head is just full of plans for places to sail to! And sail we will – with a real toilet belowdecks!

• Sailboat bottom renovation | Part 3: Thru hulls

August 15, 2020

• Sailboat project | Saloon Rebuild and Upholstery

April 30, 2020

• Sailboat Projects – Well Begun is Half Done!

February 12, 2017