Are we done yet?

Unfortunately we have only just begun, and we were getting into a rhythm before we had to stop again and handle some of life's stuff. Some of what we have been working on is the teak decks as there are several spots we had leaking. Dirk sealed the chain plates on the aft deck which stopped several of the larger leaks but we still had some of those mystery leaks that appear and like others we are having trouble tracing them down.  One of the worse ones was in our aft head cabinet and we really didn't realize how bad till we started removing the shelf and carpet. We ended up tearing the inside of the cabinet out and we are letting it dry thoroughly before rebuilding it.

When Dirk rebuilds the cabinet I will post it

 To stop the other leaks we started the teak deck caulk removal and replacement along with scraping and sanding in the cockpit as it seemed the easiest place to start. Also since this is the first time for us trying this we figured if we were gonna practice it should be in an area that had cockpit cushions covering them most of the time in case it didn't look the greatest. I spent many hours scraping the finish off the teak, in some places it was so thick that it resembled molasses and was gummy, other places it just swiped right off.

The general condition of the entire deck

Once that was done, the task of scrapping out the old caulk began. Again in some places it was so gummy and seemed wet turning my skin black and sticky making it a real mess. Other places I could just vacuum it out as it was so dried out and crumbly. Someone in the past on this boat decided that it would be easier to just take a router and rout the joints out. I wish they hadn't, what a pain as the lines are not exactly straight and they made them so deep now which allows for more water intrusion.

The only reason we are spending so much time on the decks is we would like to get a couple seasons out of them before spending the time, energy and money to pull the teak up and have it replaced with a new fiberglass deck. I have pretty much been the destruction person and Dirk is doing the final sand and caulk replacement which has been the cause of much hate and discontent to the caulk. Usually he ends up wearing as much as went down on the decks. We thought about leaving the decks bare once the caulking was done and let them gray naturally so they would be less maintenance, but after talking to a couple people we decided to give TeakGuard a try. TeakGuard is not an oil, nor a sealer but it penetrates the teak and protects it from the black mold and mildew that likes to grow on teak and it keeps it with that wet look. Below is a shot I took of before, during and after.

On the far right of the photo is what the deck looked like when we purchased Renegade with several layers of something on her decks that was peeling and chipping with every step and gummy and gooey in the areas that didn't get any wear. To the left of that is the deck with the caulking removed and sanded, ready to have the caulking replaced, wood cleaned and guarded. On the far left is one of the cockpit seats that have been completed and TeakGuard applied. From what we understand if you reapply a coat about twice a year it will stay like this. No sanding when its time to apply again. About as maintenance free as you can get and still get this look. It goes on very easy with a foam pad or foam brush and cleans up easy. I will keep you posted on how it holds up. I'm wondering if I want to do my bright work with this or if I should varnish it. Varnish will look nice and shiny but there is a lot of it and it will need to be maintained. I have also been hearing a lot lately of people using epoxy and varnish on the bright work and I am doing some research to see if that would be a good route or not. 3 coats of epoxy and 3 coats of varnish sound a lot better than 12 coats of varnish. The jury is still out on what to do but once decided I will let you know. Any thoughts? Input would be appreciated.....On another note we have been doing a bit of work down below getting our new digs up to par. We have moved to the aft berth since the last posting and since we are the types to watch TV before heading to bed we decided to mount a television at the foot of the berth and took the extra DVD player from the salon and mounted it under the shelf.

shot from the galley looking into the aft berth, as you can see the covers on the seat need to be done over, hummm its been a while since I have sewn. Time to relearn.

The television mounted on a swivel arm so we can enter the closet behind it with the DVD player mounted under the cabinet to the right.

I love our aft windows, waking up to scenes like this

and if we are really tired seeing the sunset before heading to sleep

When we first got Renegade we noticed there was a TV antenna mounted on the mizzen mast but when Dirk followed the wires he noted they had been cut and left to dangle. Hummm guess it doesn't work anymore. Since we are in a marina that doesn't provide cable that meant the only television we were watching were shows and movies that we had on DVD. After tracing a few wires around and re-connecting them Dirk found that we indeed did have a working antenna. Yippie, 40 channels to watch and nothing notable on. Oh well, we have a choice now at least and I get to watch my home make over shows I love so much when I have a moment that I'm not so tired that I fall into bed as my eyes are closing. I'm still cleaning a lot, wiping down headliners, walls and everything else while Dirk has been taking care of maintenance issues and in general getting to know the boat. What switch turns this on, what does this switch do? Whats that noise when I flip this switch? So many things to learn when you purchase a different boat. One item Dirk has marked off his list was to clean the fuel filters as they seemed to have a bit of crud in the bottom of them. Once he got it drained, and taken off to clean it was amazing how much gunk there was.

That doesn't look good

Wondering how long it had been since it had last been looked at. So after cleaning it up he got it reinstalled and moved on to the next project which will be covered a bit in the next post hopefully if I remember to cover it. One project we knew we wanted to get done when we bought the boat was to have the canvas redone on her. I don't think what is on there now is too old but the zippers are are pulling out and when you zip or unzip it the teeth fall out left and right. Besides that, it is an unattractive gray color and we want to match the cockpit cushions and the back deck cushions that are Burgundy. So were looking at having a full cockpit enclosure done with strata glass enclosure for those cold dreary days and 3 new sail covers done plus the UV lining of the Gib done all to match. We have a quote given to us that is expensive but I think about what others would charge so to put our minds at ease Dirk requested a 2nd quote from someone else. Hopefully this project will get started soon as the weather is slowly beginning to change. We did find out that we have just about a full sun cover for the boat. Sweet.....We had the main section up and it gave lots of shade to relax under and will help to keep the boat cool in the dead of summer. We also found other assorted canvas items that even we aren't sure of where they go. As I said at the beginning of the blog about taking care of life's "stuff". Well when we first started cruising several years ago we put all our "stuff" into storage units in Alabama. We wanted to make sure that we enjoyed the lifestyle and if not we had all our "stuff" to start over on land. Well as you have guessed we love this life and cant imagine moving back on land any time soon. Once one retires from the military you are given up to 5 years to make your final move that the military will do for you. Well our time is up this year so we took the opportunity to drive up and empty the units out. We sold some furniture while there and now our "stuff" is on a truck and on its way down to Florida here to deal with. I see garage sales, donations, and garbage days in our future. Its amazing what we hold on to thinking we need it all and once you live a life with minimal items you realize that all this "stuff" is just distracting and you can really do without it. Oh sure we will hold on to our sentimental objects that have a place near and dear to us but the longer we did without all that other stuff the easier it is to part with it. Hopefully soon I will have a new post talking about redoing the rigging, batteries that need attention very soon and new toys for the boat. Till then.....

Here is Capt. Butters enjoying some time on deck. I think he spotted a fishing bird on a rope here.

Introducing "Renegade"

Introducing Renegade, known before as Cassaway

So let me start by saying if you have followed us from our previous blog site that we appreciate your coming along to join us in a new endeavor. Dirk & I have spent the last 4 years refitting and traveling on our 40 foot O'Day. The last two we spent living on board and cruising the Bahamas with our sights always set for points further south. We decided that since we have come to enjoy cruising so much that we wanted to upgrade to a larger blue water vessel. Tybee Time (our previous boat) was a great live aboard boat with much more room than people first suspected when looking at her from the topside. Our vee berth was converted into the "garage" holding our engel freezer, extra food, cat supplies and the general overflow one has from living on board. When guest came to visit Dirk & I gave up our berth and slept on the settees in the salon. Not a big deal but we thought it would be wonderful if we had the room to have a "guest room". After many years of scanning boats on yacht world, sailboat listings and various other sites we thought we had it narrowed down. We have always loved the lines of the Vagabonds and Formosas so we were always on the lookout while we were cruising so we might have the chance to climb on board a few. We fell in love with the space and room that can be described more as a home than a boat down below. This June when we returned from the Bahamas we decided that if we wanted to move up to the next adventure we would have to at least sell Tybee Time first in order for us to begin the process. At the same time we began looking on line once again to see if any of the boats on the market had been reduced. Usually if you watch them long enough you will eventually see a price reduction. It's a buyers market which in our case was good and bad. Bad for selling Tybee, good for searching for a new boat. Many of these types of boats are in the Annapolis area but we were hoping to find one within driving distance. I knew there were two Vagabonds on the west coast of Florida from last year but the prices had not dropped. Oh well it wouldn't hurt to take a look at them as they were close enough and had the layout we were looking for. We made an appointment to see a boat in Palmetto. The owner was out of state so he had his mechanic show us on board and he allowed us to poke around for a while, take some photos to see if it warranted further inspection. There were a few items we spotted from the start that looked like problem areas so we headed back to Tybee Time to sit and do some research. After researching about as much as we could as there doesn't seem to be a wealth of information on these boats we called the owner and made an offer. As we paced for several days gathering information, crunching numbers we began to think all was lost. Imagine our surprise when he called back accepting the offer. He lives up north and it would be several weeks before he could come down in order to do a survey. Ahhh the agony of waiting but we had enough to keep us busy for the time being. It was time to pack up Tybee Time and get her whipped into shape to be shown. Lucky for us my sister lives in the middle of the state and has a wonderful mother in law apartment behind her home. Her and her husband have agreed to let us stay there till what ever needs to happen happens. We rented a small u-haul trailer and loaded up as much as we could for one trip. Amazing how much "stuff" one can cram into a 40 foot boat. We still had several car loads in the following days but we soon got settled into the apartment. We had a couple of showings which wasn't bad for only having it on the market for 2 weeks and selling it by owner. As cleanings and showings were happening on one coast, the survey on the vagabond began on the other coast. Lucky for us we could lay our head down midway between the two. So basically to keep a long story from getting much longer I will try to sum it up to the point we are at now. We had a great couple come to Wilmington last summer where we were staying for the summer to look at the boat as we had it on the market for a short time there. They seemed to like the boat and we liked them which is important to any boat owner selling their vessel. Unfortunately things didn't work out and we were forced to make a decision, do we hang around and try to sell? or say the heck with it and head back to the Bahamas for yet another cruising season. Bahamas beckoned so we headed out and spent 5 wonderful months before heading back in June. We knew we would be putting her on the market once we got back so we e-mailed anyone that expressed interest in her before, that she was once again on the market. The short of it is, the couple that had looked at her the previous year decided to have her surveyed. So here we were driving from one coast to the other, us surveying one and ours being surveyed. We didn't know whether we we coming or going, and things were to say the least, hectic and crazy. If you have ever tried buying or selling a boat try doing both in the same week. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh In the end it all worked out though as we were able to work a deal on the Vagabond and ended up keeping her in the yard once we hauled for the survey so that we could have some big items that needed to be repaired begun. These were items that Dirk and I couldn't tackle ourselves so we are leaving it up to the professionals. The same week after doing negotiations on Tybee Time we ended up selling her to the couple in North Carolina. Yes, it was over and it couldn't have worked out better for us. So now the work begins on the Vagabond and she will be in the boatyard for about a month having all the work completed. Obviously since we are not doing the work ourselves I cant document the process as much as I would like, but will do the best I can. Once we get the boat back in the water there are a couple major things to take care of that Dirk and I will tackle ourselves in order to save some money. Once we begin on those I will start documenting what it is were doing. So let the introductions begin.....
Let’s start with the name Renegade. To explain the meaning behind it, here is Dirk. When you look up the word Renegade you will find numerous meanings. Some of those do not apply to us, others do, like "An individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior" or "A person who is rebellious". In the end it all comes down to is this, I have spent almost 23 years in the US Army, and the Army retirement is what is allowing us to fulfill our dream of seeing the world on a boat without having to worry too much about anything. For the longest time I (we) have been trying to find a name with a meaning, something that has a connection with the military. I want this to be a dedication to all of those that will never be able to do what we are doing, because they gave their all while serving in, or for our Military. Corey Goodnature and Terrance Geer, two good friends from flight school, Dan Hunter, a C-12 pilot and good friend from Germany, John Bolling, an extraordinary civilian IP that I had the privilege of working with, and Brandon Silk, who was an exceptional crew chief, stationed with me in Korea. These are just a few individuals that never got to retire and live their dream. When I was stationed in Iraq, my call sign was “Renegade” I thought it would be very fitting. That deployment was one of the most memorable times that I had in my Army career.  It was real and everything that we had trained for stateside. If it was good enough for a call sign for a Cavalry Troop, then it is most definitely good enough for our boat.I am giving the controls back to NancyI am sure her writing style is much more enjoyable and easier to read. Nancy here, so a little photo tour and description of the new girl...>Stepping into the salon we have the starboard and port side settees with the roll top nav station on the starboard side.



Port Side Settee

Starboard side settee

Roll top navigation table

There are nice details such as the brass railing on the open shelving and the Fleur DE Les pattern on the glass front of the cabinets.

Also on the port side is the walk through galley with the over under separate fridge & freezer. Love it.....

Galley looking forward

Other side of galley looking aft

Fridge on right freezer on left, opens top and front

As you continue through the galley you enter into the master stateroom with a queen size bed with a very comfy custom made mattress, not cushions, but a real mattress, really loving it. Or I will when we get to sleep on it.

The aft cabin with queen bed

The big hanging locker with drawers below

It has a really large hanging closet with drawer space under. There are also two other smaller closets next to the head/bathroom. In addition there are numerous cubby holes and cabinets that surround the walls and 4 beautiful large windows that we love so much on the Vagabonds. There is also a head with a small separate shower attached. On the starboard walk through is the crews quarters which consist of a single bunk, plenty of storage cubbies and this is where the generator is installed under the bunk. This we will turn into a work room/garage. If you go forward from the salon you have another head/bathroom to port with its own separate larger shower and on the starboard side there is another large hanging locker and bank of drawers. Forward is the vee berth with a large lower bunk and a single bunk over on the port side. The filler cushion can be removed and it can be converted to a small desk area with tons of storage all around.

The vee berth showing large berth plus single above

On deck she has wide decks which make it easy to get around. Her decks are teak and are in need of some TLC and eventually they will be pulled and replaced with fiberglass. Anyone who has teak decks knows the work they require and they tend to leak. That will have to be a project for down the road but there are some leaks that will need to be addressed soon.

Since she is a center cockpit she has a nice back deck that is nice for entertaining. There is a filler that connects the two storage boxes and cushions to make for a nice comfy bench.

There are several nice features that give her nice character such as the butterfly hatch in the main salon and the nice wooden deck boxes beside the main mast. There are also seven light prisms throughout the boat which lighten up those unlit areas.

On the top is the butterfly hatch and on the bottom is one of two wooden deck boxes

There are four large brass windows in the back cabin surrounding the berth which allow for lots of light and the opportunity to roll over and look down into the water without leaving your bed. There are numerous opening round and rectangle brass ports that will allow for much needed ventilation when away from the docks.

One of the 4 brass windows in the aft cabin

One of many round ports

A shot of the stern showing that traditional Vagabond look

Some of the detailed wood work that I'm sure will keep me busy many hours

She is a beautiful boat in our eyes and although she needs some TLC, a little elbow grease, and lots of blood sweat and tears, we know that she will be worth it in the end. She is currently in the boatyard having a new bow sprit put on, her compression post under the main mast redone, and her bob stay redone for now. A few new through hulls put in and a couple other odds and ends is all our wallet can take right now. She will go back in the water sometime the first week in Sept and then Dirk and I will begin the task of giving her a good cleaning and moving on board. Until then we will try to update you on the boatyard progress as it happens.

Dirk and I in the boatyard with Renegade

So please feel free to comment leaving any input or information you may have. After hunting and looking on the Internet there just doesn't seem to be a wealth of information regarding the Vagabonds.