- The Cleaning – Part One
The Previous Owner left us an unfathomable amount of stuff. 
There is good stuff and bad stuff, useful stuff and not so useful stuff. Smelly stuff, dirty stuff, new stuff, oily stuff, stuff to remove oil, and to remove smells, and stuff to clean other stuff and as you have probably figured out by now, just a hell of a lot of stuff. 
So the very first thing to do is to find all of the treasures, identify all of it, sort it into several piles, and discard that which we do not think will be useful or is beyond saving.
2. The Deck
Akapura’s deck has seen better days. She has been left in the hot sun too long and suffers from a very bad sunburn. In other words, there is extensive crazing on just about every part of her deck. The crazing
is cosmetic in nature and from all of the research we have done, is nothing more than just that and as you can see in the picture, her decks have been repainted before. However, since this is our long term boat, we decided prior to purchasing her that we would undertake a complete sand, seal, prime and paint job. Did I mention that she is also very very dirty? 
As well, there is a softspot on the foredeck in the area of the windlass that will need to be completely recored.
3. The Hull
Akupara is hull #74 made in 1976. According to the previous owner, and receipts found in her box of records, her hull has previously been completely epoxy coated below the waterline. We are unsure if there were blisters prior, but there definitely are none now.
4. The V-Berth
The V berth in Akupara is gigantic. With the center board in the v-berth, there is still standing room to get dressed or gain entry to the closet, or the separate door to the forward head. The turtle picture was kept by the previous owner as it had sentimental value to them.
5. The Forward Head
The forward head has been converted to a Nature’s head composting toilet. I am not exactly sure how I feel about this. I think they are a fantastic idea for some applications, but let’s be honest, whales and fish crap in the ocean as well. There, I said it. Shocking isn’t it? My apologies if I have offended anyone. In my opinion, the only reason you should not discharge directly overboard is if you are within the legal limits to shore or if you put any type of chemical whatsoever into the head. We are leaning towards returning this head to a typical marine head and holding tank system that can be discharged overboard, pumped out at the appropriate facilities, or stored until such a time as you can fulfil one of the other 2 options.
6. The Main Salon
The main salon is cavernous. To us anyway. The table folds up to close off the bookshelf, and the L shaped settee pulls out to form another double berth. Theoretically Akupara could sleep 7 people.
7. The Galley
Well, we must be getting old. We always feared having propane on a boat, but as time went by, and we have learnt more, and to be honest gotten a lot lazier, propane seems like a fantastic idea. Instant, hot, simple, no flare-ups. What could be easier? Of course before we even think about turning this on, every inch of hose, fittings, and everything else in this system will be inspected and replaced if need be. One of the other great features is that for the first time in many years of boating, we will have refrigeration and a freezer! The admiral has been talking non stop about ice cream and frozen pizza’s. She doesn’t even like ice cream, but I totally understand as I have already begun calculating how many cans of beer I can fit into the fridge! I think it is capable of about 50.
8. The Navigation Station
The nav station is the biggest one we have had. It is located to starboard of the main companionway and has a lot of nice features. We will be changing it completely of course, as the captain is rather particular about his nav station.
9. The Workshop
I am referring to it as the workshop as it is right beside the engine room and currently contains a ton of spare parts, tools, and what have you. From the reading we have done, it’s original purpose may have been to store charts, and eventually may do the same but for now, it is the workshop.
10. The Engine Room
What else can I say. Dirty, smelly, wires and cables everywhere, old batteries, and mixed in amongst all of it the water maker. Major renovation coming soon. The engine is a Ford Lehman 80hp diesel with 250 gallons of fuel capacity in 3 different tanks.
11. The Master Suite
12. The Master Head
13. The Bilge
Every nook, cranny, hole, or spare square inch seems to be plugged with stuff. That being said, what we have been able to see of the bilge so far is actually very clean.
14. The Electrical
We have not started thinking about the electrical yet. The solar panels are currently charging the batteries and the house lights work. Beyond that we have no idea. We will probably do a complete rewire as the majority of it is 40 years old.
15. The Plumbing
250 gallons of fresh water in 3 tanks and 4832 feet of hose, the majority of which is all hidden under the sole and in lockers not connected to anything. That’s is absolutely ok, it means we do not have to remove it all. The plan will be to replace every piece of hose aboard.
16. The Masts
The masts have both been painted at some point and appear to be in decent shape. The main mast has a separate track for the storm try sail which is nice to have. Both booms can be seen close to Akupara in the background.
17. The Rigging
The standing rigging is all coiled neatly below the boat slowly getting rust stained. Our plan is to completely replace it.
18. The Electronics
2 old GPS units and another brand new one found in a locker. If they work we will keep them. An Icom M710 ssb marine radio opened up to all of the ham bands, a pactor modem for connecting to a laptop and receiving email, an old vhf. A lot of this will replaced and if not, at least re-organized.
19. The Watermaker
http://www.spectrawatermakers.com/
20. The Windvane
A Saye’s Rig self steering windvane. Not too sure about this make, but it will do for now. If it works then it will stay.
http://www.selfsteer.com/products/sayes/
21. The Cushions
We decided before we even purchased Akupara that we would throw out all interior cushions and replace them as one of the final phases of the project. If we had a comfortable place to sit, inevitably that comfort would lead to Rum, and then nothing would get done! The final job was to cut up and throw out the mattress that was in the master suite. Due to the leaks around the deck fittings, the mattress had to weigh at least 400 lbs and the only way we could get it out in all of its soaking glory, was to cut it into pieces small enough to be able to lift. 
We ended up just dragging these to the dumpster.