After spending a season aboard in The Bahamas and the Pacific Northwest and becoming intimate with our 66′ Tollycraft, we were ready to embark on Phase One of a major retrofit. “Tolly” Tollefson built a great quality boat, however the galley and main salon had become dated as she was built in 1992. A massive media cabinet was no longer needed, neither was a designated desk area. The galley is always where the guests congregate, well, besides the aft or top deck, so why aren’t there bar stools? The venturi blew wind directly at your face, defeating the purpose of having a venturi. The bimini needed new canvas, but instead of replacing it why not install a hardtop?
Not only did we spend the season mentally re-configuring the galley and main salon, we also spent this time looking at other boats interior layouts – online and in person. We also paid attention to hard top styles and venturis. We snapped photos of things we liked, and made mental notes of things we definitely did not like. We wanted to honor “Tolly” Tollefson’s classic design, and make sure the hard top looked like it was built with the boat in 1992. No small feat for the boatyard we chose!
Tom used his amateur cad skills to draw a sketch of the galley and main salon layout, and we started interviewing boatyards. We knew Delta Marine was out of our budget, as we had done some work with them in 2018 once she was back in Pacific Northwest waters. Their work was fantastic, with a comparable price tag. So this left Platypus Marine, S3 Maritime, Yacht Performance Center and Philbrooks Boatyard. Platypus Marine required us to have a marine architect draw plans, adding $$$ to the cost of the project. We met with S3 and Yacht Performance Center aboard Docktails in Ballard, to get a feel of a working relationship and to hear how they would tackle our two projects. And finally we met with Philbrooks Boatyard in Roche Harbor at a Tollycraft Rendezvous.
At the beginning of our Pacific Northwest cruising season we began at Van Isle Marina for the Philbrooks Boatyard Team to physically step aboard Docktails and get a feel for the depth and scope of our projects. We were also able to tour their facility and a boat in process of undergoing a similar retrofit. Each employee was proud to show off their craftsmanship and current project, and they made us feel comfortable.
It ultimately came down to the synergy we felt with the employees we met, along with referrals and the exchange rate. Tom is also a hands-on owner, who likes to run and wire his own electrical. We, or more like he with me as his helper, installed and wired all new electronics tip to toe as well as a water maker in Florida. For many weeks were we very intimate with Marina Mile Ft Lauderdale, which also opened our eyes to what really is the boating capital of the states. But back to the point, we wanted to be involved the whole way. We felt comfortable with our choice in boatyards: Philbrooks. We were excited on embarking on Phase One of our Docktails retrofit!
After two years anticipation, we dropped Docktails off at Philbrooks Boatyard the Monday after New Year’s 2020. We were both excited and nervous to embark on this new chapter!