Hints and Tips

 

 

Le Grand bleu

- the total refurbishment of a Jeanneau Sun Legende 41

 

Sun Legende 41 Before and After

 

So here is the deal!

 

Owner Eric describes the project...

So I bought a boat shell with new fiberglass deck and a half of the hull painted and some of the interior re-done, step of the mast reinforced and most of the parts in a tent. All I had to do is: Had to remove bottom paint was half done but finished the rest, recoated bottom with mix of epoxy and fiberglass, Re-install the keel, installed new electric actuator to pull up swing keel, put in all new thru-hulls, refurb and re-install the heads, a new holding tank, all the plumbing to be done, took out the engine for full clean up and repair, done new instrument panel for engine, re-done bathrooms and kitchen counters in SS, built new icebox/fridge with peltier plate unit, new head liner, new rails in SS, and a year later I am so close to water I can smell the waves!

 

One year after purchase

Well working alone over weekends, days off, vacation can only take you so far(did 90% of the work myself). All rigging was inspected and good to go, all sails were also inspected with a couple of stitches are good to go, engine re-installed remain to be final tested, all plumbing to be tested, electrical to be tested, some interior work, varnishing, cupboard doors, flooring remain to be installed, all new cushions are done, new radio cables and antenna installed, instruments in thru-hull installed and wired, ABS headliner installed, Still needs a coat of fresh bottom paint before it goes in water this summer (I hope this summer!)

 

The 120 images below taken at various stages of the build provide a real insight to the complexity of the project, but also highlight the fantastic achievement.

 

The previous owner Devin Dilley details the boats initial condition

I purchased "Azul" in Annapolis, MD in late summer 2005, knowing full well that she needed a lot of love. The interior smelled so horrid that she earned the name "Stinkboat" and "The Floater" (use your imagination) immediately. The previous owner had allowed diesel from the ruptured tank, hydraulic oil from the ruptured centerboard cylinder, and rainwater to sit stagnant in the bilge for years. After a thorough inspection of the hull, I decided that she was structurally sound (except for some rotted bulkheads, and proceeded to bargain down another 15,000 dollars. At this point I was really starting to wonder what I was getting myself into, and the boatyard was happy to see her go. I lived in Norfolk, VA at the time, and planned to sail her the 100 miles or so down the Chesapeake and have her promptly hauled out. Quick preparations included a new main from Bacon's, welding a bracket on the keel to hold the centerboard up (I knew we had a shallow entry at our destination), priming the diesel and a new impeller, bracing the compression post which was so rotted I had stuck a screwdriver through it, cleaning out the forward head to make it useable, and closing the door on the aft head which had some foulness from the previous owner that would not pump out. My companions seemed to enjoy the trip, although I cannot recall any boat I have sailed on whose cabin was in such foul disarray. At least the weather was in our favor. As is usually the case, work and life distracted me from the boat such that she only received the afternoon here and there. Nevertheless, rotten bulkheads have been replaced, the furniture completely removed, and much of it framed back in in teak ply. The outside of the boat seemed to be sound, except for the fact that I could not tell what horrors awaited underneath the teak that sat silently taunting me from underfoot. Someone had "repaired" the teak by using a router to scour the caulking, and then sunk thousands of unsealed #8 screws into the balsa-cored deck to hold trim pieces down to fill the gaps. During a hard rain, black goo would ooze from the undersides and was visible once the overhead panels were removed. Eventually I removed the teak, piece by piece, and the decks have been decored of the old balsa, recored with structural foam, and vacuum bagged back into place. The filling and fairing is now coming along nicely and Awlgrip should be going down in a few weeks. In the meantime I have vowed war upon the Cast Iron keel, and plan to sheath the bottom in copper foil to prevent future osmosis altogether (yes I did find evidence of hydrolysis). We'll see how it goes.