Come into my office. Yes, we have an office, albeit a bit noisy and breezy. It was a frustrating week for some (me) but the rest of the team has been cracking along. Liz’s Study, complete with a new, curved all, is almost complete. Meanwhile the painters have started filling the topsides and have already spraypainted primer on the main mast.
Esper Refit 4 – tent up; filling in a portlight
Teak decks are being ripped off, toilets have been removed, the top-sides have been spraypainted black and someone is creating so much fibreglass particles and sawdust that even after three showers we’re still itching like hell. The question, therefore, should be: exactly how close are we to a nervous breakdown after a month on the hard here in Thailand? The video clip should put it all in perspective…
Esper Refit 3 – removing deck fittings; interior mood boards
Six days of work in a three minute video clip… and whilst Liz gets a smack in the head we bring the entire yard to a standstill as we move four boats out the way so we can take prime spot in the corner of the yard. A snippet of time-lapse video trickery in this week’s video summary too. Low-point of this week was having to let one of the staff go, but this was off-set by being relocated to our new home.
Esper Refit 2 – removing the mizzen and main masts
Week Two of Esper’s refit moved as quickly as the first week. The crane was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, which it did, and Un’s team duly removed both main and mizzen mast in two hours. We recorded the whole shebang, though you’ll be pleased to know we reduced to down to a short clip, complete with some explanatory commentary. If you’ve not seen this operation before, take a look and marvel at the ease in which both masts were removed.
Esper Refit 1 – an introduction to our boat refit
We’ve been off the radar for the last few weeks, if you’ll excuse the nautical pun there. It’s been a busy time with us leaving Malaysia, entering Thailand, hauling out, finding a house, emptying Esper of our worldly goods and preparing our beautiful but tired boat for a strip down. Esper’s refit is a monumental project. At the very least we’ll be stripping her of her gelcoat, her teak deck, her masts and rigging and her electronics…
Satun, Thailand – Photos From Our Next Home?
We plan to spend some time on the hard doing some major refitting to Esper. Unfortunately Malaysia doesn’t really figure as a viable option for the amount of work we’re planning so the obvious alternative is to get the work done in Thailand. No great shakes since we’re only 200 miles from Phuket where all the big boat yards are, but there’s another option: head 25 miles east from Langkawi to the mainland and check in to Satun’s boatyard, PSS. Here’s a brief intro to this sleepy town, packed full of images.
