Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Venusian Rum: Summer Boat Restoration Project Part 2

Remember the boat that I bought at scrap value from eBay recently? Here it is again:

Today I had a go at cleaning it. One of my neighbours generously helped create a little space around the boat, which is parked under some trees, with a hedge trimmer and chainsaw. The first thing I did was sweep out the cockpit:

, then opened the companionway hatch to the cabin and found:

Aaargh! Fearing that I would contract some hideous face eating fungus, I tried holding my breath while clearing out the cabin.

That big dark hatch thingy, above the centre plate, in the middle of the photograph is a posh looking and fully functional toilet! None of that Porta Potti crap here. Pardon the pun.

It turned out that there was also quite a bit of stored equipment in the cabin.  I washed the fitted cushions; split, but perhaps salvageable, and let them dry in the sun before sticking everything in the garage:

As you can see, I found what looked to be a complete set of rigging, sails, and some other equipment. The only thing seriously buggered was the mast step which was destroyed in Poole during that UK hurricane in the 1980s. That same hurricane also cracked the bottom of the mast. I’m guessing I’ll have to find some mast step similar in shape, then cut off the broken end of the mast and trim that stays to fit.

Some other things need replacing too, like the companionway hatches, and the frame/slider thingy too:

, though that looks an easy enough job. On the other hand, the port side rubbing strip, looks difficult. It’s a single piece of well seasoned Burma teak. It would be a pity to replace the whole thing because of a rotten two foot section:

The cockpit drains are blocked:

I tried brushing and washing the crud out, poking around them with a stick, picking at them with my fingers, staring angrily at them, but to no avail. It’s a problem because I still have to deal with the partially flooded cabin and aft lockers and it’s been raining a lot recently.

What else? Oh yes, I did have a go at cleaning the exterior too:

, but I actually just made the boat dirtier.

P.S. That’s our lovely car, a 2.4 litre auto PT Cruiser Pacific Coast Highway Edition in the foreground. Yes, it’s no beamer or Jag, but it was cheap. It reminds me of my recent life in Vancouver and also an ill-fated US road-trip years ago.

Next week the hosepipe ban is lifted here and I should be able to borrow my neighbour, a keen motor-caravaner’s, power washer.

That was it for the day. I hung some old rope and a chair on the hitch to prevent any near sighted idiots (like myself) from running into the damn thing:

Any suggestions for names? I thought of perhaps calling it the Eon Hawk instead of Millennial Falcon, given my Star Wars obsession, but perhaps that’s a little on the nose. Please don’t suggest Titanic.

You can read part one of this saga here. Stay tuned for updates.