Stripping Varnish And Planning

Actually Sunday, 14th October

This weekend is all about  stripping varnish from the interior woodwork, not particularly challenging but certainly tedious. With no electric power it's going to have to be good old Nitromors but that's probably best as it lessens the risk of damaged wood with a hot air gun.

Whilst sitting in the cabin scraping away it's only natural to think about planning the more interesting work that lies ahead and visualising what the future would look like. We'd started the plan with a first cut spreadsheet at the time of the Southampton Boat show and gleaned lots of useful information from the many folk we spoke to on the stands there; even Lynda knows how to install and Eberspacher now! Unfortunately history does shape the future, so we're used to the many creature comforts that we've had in in the past and are reluctant to give them up even though it will probably make this one of the best equipped Contessas afloat. We've also had several new yachts and got used to getting them exactly the way we want them to be, it's not so easy for us to compromise this time round as she's going to end up being very much like a new yacht.

It's always best to start by being clear what sort of sailing we want to do and let real needs drive the equipment list.  In the main we're only going to cruise around the south coast now with an occasional trip to France or the west country; we're realistic that, in reality, it's going to be a caravan much of the time. Although that's the case we do want a fast cruiser and need to be able to handle the unpleasant weather we seem to get more frequently than we'd like. I'd to do the occasional race, certainly the Round the Island maybe a club race or two which does add some extra kit, especially a spinnaker. We're both solidly in agreement that some of the best times afloat are at the ends of the season when everyone else is off the water; unfortunately this means heating and hot water become a high priority. We like the occasional night at anchor so independence from shore power and a winch are highly prized. The list goes on and on....

It can all be done, there is plenty of room to fit it all in, but the figure at the bottom of the spreadsheet steadily mounts up. We're in danger of spending three times what we paid for the yacht in the first place and it's not clear that makes financial sense. Contessas certainly are sought after but there is a limit to what should be spent, looks like we're going to have to manage costs rather tightly!