From the Beginning

So the whole boat idea started after a conversation we had about sailing. I told Joe I had always wanted a sailboat and to sail the Pacific. The next thing I know Joe is bidding on a sailboat on Ebay. He looked at me and asked if I wanted to go in on it with him and I agreed. We set the limit at $3000. The next thing I know we own a boat together.

I know I know it sounds like a really good deal. And the boats name was Serendipity. Could this be more perfect? In a word yes.The first time we looked at her we thought, not bad but old. We were really inexperienced about looking at boats. We were also really wrong. There are so many things that need to be replaced or refit on the boat it gets to be a little overwhelming.

We initially thought we would quickly turn the boat. Then the lipstick and rouge started getting expensive and we thought, well, we might as well make it The boat. So the serious journey begins.

The boat wasn't running when we got it. The former owner had it moved to the Edmonds marina close by us. We stayed on the guest dock for a couple of days before we went on the hard. 

Joe left town and I took over part of the work. A friend helped me sand the bottom. Boy I will never do that job again, I will hire it out. There was bumps and such that I wasn't sure about but some guys in the yard said all but 1 was fine and I had that one professionally repaired.

Every do it yourself yard is different. This one had no ladders and a very picky port inspector. I got a citation for not being clean enough in my work area around the boat. Now keep in mind there is a tarp under and a tarp going around the boat. That being said they wanted the entire area very well vacuumed each night. My vacuum didn't have a brush attachment so I spent the evening on my hands and knees wiping all the dust up off of the tarp.

All of this sanding and what not took over a week and we were sick as dogs. Although we used masks, we did not use respirators and suits, which is what you should use. A big note of caution here, ablative paint contains copper and sanding it off can seriously poison you so BE careful.