Plan, what plan? We are just winging it.
What is that old saying? The best made plans pave the way to hell or something like that?
Okay so what is the plan? Well in a condensed, consolidated manner it is like every other sailing, cruising, boat restoration website you have ever read. Buy boat. Fix Boat, Sail off into the sunset. End of story.
Not so fast there skippy! We are not independently wealthy, nor do we have a large trust fund to enable all of this to happen. This is going to be a process, and it might just take 20 years, who knows. We, like everyone out there reading these types of sites, are average everyday working people who have commitments other than restoring an old boat! We have dogs to look after, car payments, and everything that you have. But we, like you probably, have a dream. And if nothing else, we are going to do everything we can to work towards fulfilling that dream!
So if we look only at the plans for Akupara they are a little easier to digest at this point. As Mike Holmes says, if your roof leaks, what is the point of fixing the inside? So we will start there, as our roof leaks.
We plan on completely stripping everything off of the decks, sanding down as far as needed, repairing any soft spots that we might discover, priming, painting, and eventually putting everything back on.
Stage 2 will be the interior. All wood will be removed if at all possible, sanded and varnished, all electrical removed and replaced, all plumbing removed and replaced, all bilges, hull sides and liner, sanded, primed and painted, and finally all wood re-installed. We are also planning on replacing all of the counter tops.
Stage 3 will be the standing and running rigging. This one is easy. Just replace it all.
Stage 4 will be the engine room and all associated bits and pieces. This may involve a complete replacement, or it may involve a rebuild, at this point it is too soon to decide.
Step 5 will be the interior cushions and exterior canvas. This is the staging part of all those home renovation shows, as when this is complete, we will launch Akupara, and take a much needed break.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? Our best guess right now is 1-2 years of dedicated, hard work, all the while putting every spare cent we have to cover the costs involved.
This is our biggest undertaking personally ever! Are we up to the challenge? Fingers crossed!