We are now the proud owners of a 66′ Tollycraft!

The boat we have admired season after season while cruising and dining at waterfront restaurants, we now officially own. But since she is located in Ft Lauderdale, and we are based on Bainbridge Island, Washington, we will not see her for another week.

The layout of our boat

Before she is ready to cruise, we will need to give her a lot of TLC. Fortunately the Seattle Boat Show occurred while we were in the process of closing, and we were able to score a deal or two, and ideas. She will need all new electronics, top to bottom. Tom is a nerd who also loves all things electrical. He was excited to do the installation himself.

The survey we did in January did not bring to our attention anything we did not already know. The major stuff: the keel had a ten inch section that was damaged, the bottom had some blistering and also needed new bottom paint, the cutlass bearings needed replaced, the props may need alignment, the water maker did not work, the stabilizers need serviced. The fun stuff: new radar, AIS, two new transducers, new autopilot, new touchscreens on the flybridge and the bridge. The minor stuff: some (ok, a lot) lights do not work, ice maker, washer/dryer, deep freeze all non functional, A/C units need serviced (yes, our boat has not one, but five A/C units), the gauges on the helm don’t work. Ok, that last one maybe should go in the first category…

Tom inspecting the keel damage

Leading up to our departure for Ft Lauderdale, Tom spent multiple upon multiple of hours studying the installation manuals of all the electronics, and drawing wiring diagrams. His stored knowledge became critical as we had a finite period of time to do the install. Because he had prepared so thoroughly, we also had two suitcases in tow full of tools for our work.

The best day of boat ownership finally came March 6th. We stepped aboard for the first time as her owners. And immediately got to work. We became intimate with a handful of businesses along “Marina Mile.” Specifically McDonald’s Hardware (family owned and arguably one of the best hardware store’s in the states), Wood Chip (everything wood! They cut our new dashboard for our helm), Boat Owner’s Warehouse, Sailorman (a consignment type store for used marine goods), Watermakers Inc, and of course West Marine.

For ten days we worked from sun up, until after sun down. We whittled away at the palette and a half of boxes that contained everything we needed to install. Projects on a boat are always simpler in theory. Install the radar on the radar arch. Simple enough, right? In reality, reach your arm in a four inch tall cavity in the radar arch to the point you can’t reach any further, using only one hand locating where the four bolts need to be pushed up through the holes Tom drilled in the fiberglass, get them into these holes, and then screw them into the radar unit with two fingers. Easier said, than done.

Another scenario. Running a NEMA cable from a transducer in the engine room to the central vacuum closet (also non-functional) in the master stateroom. This required Tessa on the outside of the starboard engine, Tom contorted in the kitchen sink cabinet, and then feeding it on into the central vacuum closet. Through holes that are already packed full with wires, and trying to figure out how to make space for not just the circumference of the cable, but the size of the NEMA connector on the end. And this is just one cable. We probably ran about thirty.

Before photo of the helm

During…

…. and after!

We thought the Sea Recovery water maker would be serviceable, but it turned out it was cheaper to install a new one. We chose Watermakers Inc. because the units are simple, use generic filters and membranes (easy to find and not as expensive as proprietary) and we liked the company. It all began because the owner of Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Exumas wanted to figure out how to get fresh water on the island. Thirty plus years later they are making reverse osmosis water makers not only for islands, but also boats of many sizes.

Water maker installed by Tom; membranes and pumps still to go.

By March 15th when it was time for us to fly back to Seattle, we had accomplished what he had set out to do, and then some. We were sad to hit pause on our work, as it was far from finished, but it was time for us to host our last winemaker’s dinner series with Harbinger Winery at our restaurants.