Pandorak, AKA « the Yellow Boat » is sitting outside my shop as of yesterday. Her hull is filthy after five or more years of neglect. Her main hatch is cracked — the point that brought her to sorrow in the first place. All her running rigging was stolen, as well as her winches and various other pieces. Pandorak will live again.
My friend Mischa over at Chipman Point Marina is an elder of our First Nations. He has taught me a great deal. My first experience with him was regarding a « bad boat. » The boat in question kept breaking moorings and wandering off. He took me to the vessel in question and had me place my hand on her. I’ve never felt such a complete sense of abandonment. We fixed that boat and welcomed her.
Pandorak just wants to sail. It’s her job, and she’s been waiting to do it.
Serious work began today on Pandorak Ii. Her hull has been sitting by my shop for over a year. This summer, I met up with a person with the skills and energy to push the refit along. The wet, diesel saturated cabin sole is coming out. There are electric lights, tools, vacuum cleaners, saws, and other implements all over. Pando is glad for the sympathy, I think. Everyone that sees her and knows she needs to sail Gain.
Yeah Tim! You made my day! I can’t imagine how the inside of the hull must look like…! I cross my finger for you on this EPIC « refit » (although at this stage we probably can speak of a complete « reconstruction »…) Wish you a great deal of luck and keep me posted!
My friend Tessa is not an expert sailor. She is, however, a tremendously gifted photographer and is skilled and energetic. Another sailing friend suggested we take Tess down Champlain on the 7.4 meter Canadian sloop I bought on a whim in August. I’ve rarely seen someone so happy on the water. On the strength of that, I offered her a 22′ sloop I had, which she spent most of the autumn on, running up and down Champlain.
It was apparent we found a water person.
Later, Tess explained that she wanted a boat that could voyage, and serve as a home. I said, « Well, I have a great hull, but it needs a lot of work. . . »
Our mutual impression of Pando Ii was identical. We both saw her as something too wonderful to die. So with saws, crowbars, and a lot of difficult and dirty work, the old interior came out, stinking of diesel and black mould. We had a funeral pyre the other day, burning all the rotten old wood and making a new beginning. We’ve rigged hoses and washed the bilges out. Pando Ii has some corrosion, which is to be expected, but her bones are strong.
I wish you and Tessa lots of courage for this project… it’s so strange for me to know that Pando will one day come back to life again. She’s a wonderful design which could have taken me anywhere. Now that I am dreaming about arctic sailing, a steel hull would have perfectly fit this dream. For you guys, her swing keel will also make her perfect for the ICW, because of her shallow draft. We often came aground, without any damage: the leading edge of her keel is an ice-breaker! There was no need for a BoatUS-membership for us 😉
It’s almost like knowing that someone dead will come back to life. It takes courage to start this kind of massive rebuild. Good luck and keep me posted!
It’s amazing what could be saved. Many of the very expensive parts were dirty, but in good condition. Two stainless water tanks, worth thousands if you wanted them fabricated, simply need cleaning The hot water heater – a real marine stainless tank that probably cost as much as my car came through. Tess was able to salvage almost all the teak trim, which will clean up as well. As a woodworker, I was concerned about that trim., It’s extremely expensive to buy, and takes a lot of effort to make up in the shop. Much of the damage was to the plywood parts. While they are costly enough, they are a fraction of the cost of the other stuff.
The Webasto heater – a very expensive part indeed is showing signs of life. Tess got it running using a garden sprayer as a fuel tank.. It appears the fuel pump is shot, but after a lot of cleaning, the basic system is OK. We have had snow the past few days, so heat is necessary to keep Pando warm enough to work on through the winter.
Pandorak, AKA « the Yellow Boat » is sitting outside my shop as of yesterday. Her hull is filthy after five or more years of neglect. Her main hatch is cracked — the point that brought her to sorrow in the first place. All her running rigging was stolen, as well as her winches and various other pieces. Pandorak will live again.
My friend Mischa over at Chipman Point Marina is an elder of our First Nations. He has taught me a great deal. My first experience with him was regarding a « bad boat. » The boat in question kept breaking moorings and wandering off. He took me to the vessel in question and had me place my hand on her. I’ve never felt such a complete sense of abandonment. We fixed that boat and welcomed her.
Pandorak just wants to sail. It’s her job, and she’s been waiting to do it.
Serious work began today on Pandorak Ii. Her hull has been sitting by my shop for over a year. This summer, I met up with a person with the skills and energy to push the refit along. The wet, diesel saturated cabin sole is coming out. There are electric lights, tools, vacuum cleaners, saws, and other implements all over. Pando is glad for the sympathy, I think. Everyone that sees her and knows she needs to sail Gain.
Yeah Tim! You made my day! I can’t imagine how the inside of the hull must look like…! I cross my finger for you on this EPIC « refit » (although at this stage we probably can speak of a complete « reconstruction »…) Wish you a great deal of luck and keep me posted!
My friend Tessa is not an expert sailor. She is, however, a tremendously gifted photographer and is skilled and energetic. Another sailing friend suggested we take Tess down Champlain on the 7.4 meter Canadian sloop I bought on a whim in August. I’ve rarely seen someone so happy on the water. On the strength of that, I offered her a 22′ sloop I had, which she spent most of the autumn on, running up and down Champlain.
It was apparent we found a water person.
Later, Tess explained that she wanted a boat that could voyage, and serve as a home. I said, « Well, I have a great hull, but it needs a lot of work. . . »
Our mutual impression of Pando Ii was identical. We both saw her as something too wonderful to die. So with saws, crowbars, and a lot of difficult and dirty work, the old interior came out, stinking of diesel and black mould. We had a funeral pyre the other day, burning all the rotten old wood and making a new beginning. We’ve rigged hoses and washed the bilges out. Pando Ii has some corrosion, which is to be expected, but her bones are strong.
I wish you and Tessa lots of courage for this project… it’s so strange for me to know that Pando will one day come back to life again. She’s a wonderful design which could have taken me anywhere. Now that I am dreaming about arctic sailing, a steel hull would have perfectly fit this dream. For you guys, her swing keel will also make her perfect for the ICW, because of her shallow draft. We often came aground, without any damage: the leading edge of her keel is an ice-breaker! There was no need for a BoatUS-membership for us 😉
It’s almost like knowing that someone dead will come back to life. It takes courage to start this kind of massive rebuild. Good luck and keep me posted!
It’s amazing what could be saved. Many of the very expensive parts were dirty, but in good condition. Two stainless water tanks, worth thousands if you wanted them fabricated, simply need cleaning The hot water heater – a real marine stainless tank that probably cost as much as my car came through. Tess was able to salvage almost all the teak trim, which will clean up as well. As a woodworker, I was concerned about that trim., It’s extremely expensive to buy, and takes a lot of effort to make up in the shop. Much of the damage was to the plywood parts. While they are costly enough, they are a fraction of the cost of the other stuff.
Those are good news Tim!
The Webasto heater – a very expensive part indeed is showing signs of life. Tess got it running using a garden sprayer as a fuel tank.. It appears the fuel pump is shot, but after a lot of cleaning, the basic system is OK. We have had snow the past few days, so heat is necessary to keep Pando warm enough to work on through the winter.
Good news! Yes a heater is always useful!