Our Journey to Today

To start off our S/V Double Deuce blog lets talk about the history of how we got to this point today.

We started out like most fellow boaters, a smaller boat with dreams of something larger. We believe they refer to this as 4 foot-itis. We have progressed from a 27, to a 34, to a 40, to our current boat.  We had a 40 ft X-yacht, also called Double Deuce, that we raced and cruised extensively around the BC coast.  In 2004 we raced the boat to Maui in the Victoria to Maui yacht race. After the Vic-Maui we made a number of alterations to the boat in hopes of making it the offshore boat of our dreams. The one in which we needed to cruise in tropical places and scuba dive the beautiful oceans we had always dreamed of exploring.  

I believe it was 2007 when we decided the X-yacht was not going to work for us.  This triggered our search for the elusive dream boat, one which had everything we needed to go off shore but also had a dollar amount that fit our wallet.

In the fall of 2008 we (I) stumbled onto a boat that I thought would work. I always toyed around with the idea that re-building a boat would be a fun project. The one I found just needed some love to help breathe life back into her sails again.

      I called my first mate, Karen (who holds the purse strings tight) at work and said, “I think I found the boat for us, come have a look.” Her answer (I will never let her forget) was, “ I’m at work. I am busy. Do whatever you think is best”.

That was a green light! Offer made, a bit of haggling and the deal was done. I called Karen back and informed her of our new boat aka project. Those who know me, know how I love projects to keep me busy, and they tend to be bigger than I originally plan for.

She drove to the marina after work to have a look at our exciting new adventure. When she arrived I told her to keep an open mind, it’s a “diamond in the rough”. As we walk down the dock, several times she asked “Is that it?”. “Nope, keep walking.” As we approached the end of the dock she looked and said “tell me that’s not it” “That’s her, a C&C landfall 48.” I said beaming. I think at that point she said something to the effect of “more like a Landfill 48.”

When we stepped onboard she looked in the cockpit and gasped in horror. Then she opened the back propane locker which contained a rusted propane bottle, fully submerged in water. “Remember, it is a diamond in the rough.” She then checked the other side and found the same, maybe even worse. The propane solenoid was submerged, almost unrecognizable as it was completely rusted, with a green copper propane line extending from it. She looked at me with eyes wide open . We went below deck, welcomed by the stench of mildew and stagnant water. All the port lights leaked and all the hatches leaked, 19 in total. The engine was seized, the batteries were shot,  the wiring looked like fire hazard waiting to happen. …. I’m sure you are getting the picture. Karen asked again, “is it sea worthy?” I replied, “yes.” I knew it could be our off shore dream with some work.

Before we left the marina we filled the garbage bins with everything that wasn’t bolted down and even some stuff that we unbolted, all the cushions, dishes, speakers, old wiring, etc.. we emptied as much as we could. We managed to tow the boat back to her new home at BYC in North Vancouver, where many people thought I was completely nuts.

We started with batteries, and went straight at the engine room where we removed the blown 80 hp Perkins engine, all the running gear, wiring and basically everything else that was in the engine room. We cleaned the bilge areas with small garden shovels, yes we shovelled the sludge from the bilge, which was full of bits of wood and wire. Following that we scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. Next we installed a new Yanmar 100 hp motor, new shaft and Max Prop. (Now we could use the boat on weekends – laugh of loud)

      We went on to replace every single piece of deck hardware. Removing all the teak from the outside areas, I love the look of teak on boats, just not on my boat.

     We then removed the mast and changed the configuration to a double spreader rig. We kept the mast extrusion, cut everything off it, filled all the holes with aluminum welding and started again. Below the deck we continued to work on straightening out all the wiring and plumbing. Cosmetically speaking we are still working away on finishing our floors and a few other details here and there.

     As we prepare to travel offshore we will continue to work on the boat, but the rule is, we only work in the morning. The afternoons will be for fun, scuba diving, snorkelling, paddle boarding, a few cold ones and whatever else we can find to explore.

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~Fairwinds and Calm Seas ~

~The Ocean is the Anchor of Our Souls~