Over the next two years, we continued to gradually work through our work list. Every purchase or re-fit was proceeded by the usual rigorous research and many changes to our plans as we learnt more about our boat and the systems on her.
Escapade was to be our home, hopefully for many years to come and we wanted to make sure that we would be reasonably comfortable on our travels. Some of the plans we had involved re-furbishing or renewing old equipment or systems, but there were several things we knew we wanted to buy.
As with any of the changes we were making, we did as much preparation as we could, but we still wanted the team at Fox’s Boatyard to do the more specialist work.
New Generator
One of the reasons we chose an Oyster 47 was the walk-in workshop with access to the engine. This was a space perfectly suited for a generator; as long as we could find one to fit through the companion way and the workshop doorway!
Martin didn’t want what he calls a ‘squealer’, so this limited our choice further. After much deliberation, we bought an Onan 4kVA. Even that was a tight squeeze and would only fit if we completely dismantled the housing and removed the steps down into the saloon!
Yet again, the preparation was done by us: removing the steps, protecting the interior with hardboard and pipe insulation and building a platform to slide the genset from the saloon into the workshop.
Specialist work was by Fox’s (fabricating the new shelving, fitting new skin fittings, plumbing and of course hoisting it in) and Seapower Marine Ltd (installation and advice).
Writing about it now in a summary makes it all sound soooo easy… it wasn’t! The shelf had to have several modifications, there was much deliberation about where all the extra bits needed to go and once everything was in place, we could no longer reach some of the other skin fittings. All needed thinking and re-thinking.
New Windows
Another big job was replacing the windows. We did consider not changing them. However, most of them were showing signs of corrosion and some were starting to leak just on a rainy day. This didn’t give us much confidence in their ability to stand up to waves and storms while crossing an ocean. Also our thinking was that it is much easier to fix/replace things while in the UK, than in some remote island in the South Pacific.
One option that we looked into was to have them refurbished. This was not much cheaper and research showed that it was highly likely that the corrosion would return. So replacement it was. We visited two window companies and discussed the pros and cons of each one. Eventually, we decided on Seaglaze. Not the cheapest option, but as they made the original windows, they had the patterns for them. Also, the deciding factor was that they could still provide exactly the same profile for the frames. This meant that the new windows would fit into the same holes, saving time (and money) on the fitting.
We did talk about removing the windows ourselves (again to save some money), but, as we were both still working, time was against us. So Escapade went into the workshop for Fox’s Boatyard to remove and fit the new ones. We had always intended for Fox’s to fit them. This was a simple risk assessment process – if they leaked, Fox’s would have to sort the problem!
As with all the jobs, things did not go to plan. The templates sent by Seaglaze did not all fit, the windows were more difficult to remove and the time scales ran away. Even when fitted, there were still issues: some damage to the vinyl headlining around one of the windows and three different sets of gas struts until we got ones that were okay for the windows.
And New Freezer
One issue on any boat is where do you put the things that you would like. We knew that we would like a freezer to help with food storage when provisioning for longer passages, but where would it go?
In the rear cabin, there was a set of drawers and above this was a large open space. This was of limited use for storage as things would fall out of it when sailing, so this seemed like a great place to put a small freezer. We found one that fitted perfectly (35 litres, front opening from Penguin) and Fox’s then built us a cupboard and shelves.
These were three of the bigger (more expensive) jobs that we felt needed more specialist workers so they formed part of our job list for Fox’s Boatyard. We did however do many jobs ourselves…honest!!
An Onan generator – we had several 3.5kVA variants of these in my Royal Signals Troop. Reliable, repairable and quiet enough not to attract the enemy from miles away. Rather larger than your 4kVA, trailer mounted….. I don’t think yours would work quite as well if trailed behind”Escapade”. Hope you have your carbon monoxide detectors positioned well.
Of course we have….safety first. It will even speak to us to alert us of a problem!