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Our Sailing Hideaway Blog and YouTube videos will remain active. Join the HideAways as we tell, through blog stories and videos, what life really is like on a small, 23' Com Pac sailboat. We'll show the joys, thrills and chills of the sailing life, but also what it takes to maintain a boat, trailer and truck. You are just as likely to learn how not to do something correctly as to do it right. That's important too! New! The Hideaways take to the road! Follow Traveling Hideaway: Winds of Wanderlust Transitioning from Sailing Hideaway to Traveling Hideaways as sailors learn to travel without heeling, well, not much, anyway. The Paint Wasters Society unlocks the art of paint squandering with sheer delight, free from the shackles of remorse or guilt. Trust me, a century down the line, nobody's going to bat an eyelash, so why not indulge in some paint splattering shenanigans today? Let's turn those pricey pigments into a canvas of laughter and joy.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Sailing's Other Side: The Refit!

Secret Anchorage Dunedin, Fl


Settling in for another night at anchor.  The boat gently rocks.  The full moon, framed by two empty wine glasses on the bridge deck, dances across the cool night sky.  A fish jumps from its prey.  A no-see-em calls to its’ mate.  Soft jazz wafts from the stereo.  The snoring begins.

 A Shriek!

“Something fell on my head!” she panics knowing well the HideAway’s reputation concerning reptilian creatures of the night.

“Is it moving?” Queried the sleepy capts mind.  “How many legs does it have?”

 “I don’t know --- I don’t care --- Where is it?!!!” 

“Here it is --- Right here” 

“Where??”

“There! “

“It’s only a paint flake”

“Whadaya mean ONLY?”

“THAT flake fell flat on my forehead!”

“It just fell from the cabin top…”

“You mean the cabin that top looks like a chart of the islands?

“It’s not THAT bad is it?”

“Then why don’t you try having an island fall on your flat head?”


Islands of the Green Fiberglass Sea



And that, my friends is the precise moment when the “To Do” list emerges from its chrysalis to become a full-fledged REFIT 

Refitting is a Voyage of Discovery


SV HideAway's Rudder with Acne




The rudder casing developed a serious case of salt water acne. 
Certainly not a major project, however, on both sides of the rudder lurk the cockpit drains.  





Unprotected by scupper valve baffles, they have long been the source of flooding in the cockpit when HideAway sails with a bone in her teeth.  

Baffle Me Please

And what about that pieced together boarding ladder to starboard and the motor mount to port, the one with the broken springs?  Where do you start? What do you do? It’s really simple; you just…

Bust Your Nuts

Did you know that unlike most boats of this size, a Com- Pac 23 has eight separate stays? Each of them are held in place by two or more hardened stainless steel bolts with personal oxidation issues.  

Rusted Nuts



Hearing stories of chain plate bolts rusting through from the inside, then finding the malady on your boat adds some urgency to the project.     
                                               
     Living Below the Deck

 The biggest part of the refit is overhauling our below deck living space, if it can be called that on a 23 foot boat, and we do.  Humans are a lot like gold fish when it comes to adapting to living spaces.  We are both happy in the smallest spaces if we don’t think about it too much.  Ignorance, or at least inattention to detail, is bliss.

Below Decks SV HideAway


The aforementioned falling paint flakes take center salon at first. Then we will build some storage, a hanging closet, maybe a chart table with chart storage.  New lights and maybe a quieter fan.

The Usual Suspects

 Repainting the non-skid area of the deck, a general clean-up, a new boarding ladder, sole, replacement of a cleat or two, and a host of yet to be discovered joys fit to be refitted.


So join in the fun of sailing’s other side - Here’s the latest video update


The North Coast Of Imagination


SMALL BOATS ROCK!



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