When buying a boat, there will always be boat projects. When buying an older boat, the list of projects can be almost overwhelming. We purchased Ddraig while we were both still working full time jobs and she was kept in a marina two and a half hours from our home. While we were able to get a lot of jobs completed on periodic weekend visits, we didn’t really get a handle on some of these larger projects until we retired and moved aboard. We did the majority of the work ourselves. For one, we are frugal (cheap) but finding contractors who are willing to show up for these smaller jobs is not always easy especially if you are not always at your boat. The only jobs we hired out are indicated with an asterisk on the list below. This list is probably not complete but does pretty well represent the amount of work done preparing Ddraig for a liveaboard and cruising life.
This has been a great learning experience and we feel we know our boat much better now.
| Fuel filtering system |
| Salon table |
| Build bar over salon cabinets |
| Wine rack |
| Air conditioning |
| Shower install |
| Haul out/blister repair* |
| new thru hulls/new prop shaft/new centerboard chain* |
| stove and refrigeration install |
| refinish galley counter |
| Mizzen mast footer |
| Companionway door |
| New hard cover |
| Solor panel frame |
| Bimini canvas extension |
| Install new windless |
| New deck furniture |
| Fresh water flush tank and new toilet in master |
| Cut access panels in fuel tanks |
| New alternator and water pump |
| Drogue and bag |
| Haul out/bottom job* |
| Cut access panels in water tanks |
| build out work shop in V berth |
| Cut and install hatches in saloon/new ceiling |
| Guest bath-rebuild wall, install toilet, paint and new ceiling |
| paint guest bedroom |
| Clean and coat insides of water tanks |
| Install solor panels |
| Install two new winches and service others |
| New jib roller furling* |
| Up the mast for first time |
| Begin electronics install |
| put on the main sail |
| change out chain plates |
| install wind instruments and antenna on main mast |
| windsheild and cockpit enclosure |
| storage box on deck |
| Solid top rail on lifelines |
| Replace lower life lines |
| Pump out old diesel and clean fuel tanks |
| Sync instruments |
Dragon Tales 