sailing dawn treader

September 24, 2016

Shakedown

Our Atlantic crossing was a proper shakedown. We experienced a wide range of conditions, and we were able to put our refit modifications to the test. Some of the improvements have exceeded our expectations. We are pleased overall, and we kept a list of notable benefits and drawbacks:

September 14, 2016

Interior Paint 2

Since we made so many interior modifications, we had a great opportunity to paint the entire cabin. Painting all the old formica, and lots of dark teak trim, changed the cabin drastically. It is brighter, more cheerful, and easier to clean.

September 14, 2016

Cockpit Lockers

After removing the engine, we were left with a huge open space under the cockpit. No longer needing to access machinery, we are able partition the space into lockers for added structure and watertight integrity.

Finished footwell volume, reduced by half

September 14, 2016

Cockpit Footwell

Seawinds were designed with large cockpit footwells. If confronted with a survival storm, we plan to lay to a series drogue, exposing our stern to breaking waves. This makes a strong, small volume cockpit essential.

September 13, 2016

Boat Cushions

New cushions! We thought the project daunting, but instead, it was actually a small part of our refit commitment. The key was to have a large organized workspace. Thank you to Debbie’s parents and their ping pong table. The new cushions are more comfortable than the tired old versions, and the updated fabric makes the…

September 13, 2016

V-berth Insulation

A perfect job for last winter, the v-berth insulation project kept us working, and kept us warmer. Aside from cutting large sheets of material on the dock, we had an easy inside job. Once we decided on the materials, we finished in 2 days! After contemplating the options for too long, this was pleasant surprise!

September 13, 2016

Propeller Aperture

The last steps of removing our inboard diesel engine were removing the propeller and filling the aperture. Both created a substantial drag; filling the area has enhanced Dawn Treader’s ability to sail in light winds. We are quicker to accelerate, and consistently achieve faster speeds. We are amazed with how our sailing performance has improved,…

July 20, 2016

Nesting Dinghy, 9 Minute Assembly

After adding our new Lewmar hatches, our dinghy is even more useful. It covers a Lewmar Ocean 30 that we almost always kept open on our recent Atlantic crossing. We created a video to show how junior can go from stowed to assembled in under 9 minutes.

July 11, 2016

Atlantic Crossing 2016

Over the last 2 months, we have sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. We acclimated to living amongst the waves and wind during our two passages. The passage to Bermuda took 10 days, the passage to the Azores, 21. We sailed a total of roughly 3,000 miles (well more than that, if you count going backwards and zigzagging).…

July 3, 2016

New Chapter

Hello Everybody! It has been a while since our last post! Our major boat projects are completed and we have been sailing. We have crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Azores. As we travel, we are thinking about how to generate new website content going forward. We have a backlog of project posts that need to…