New boat, new blog

Jackdaw was sold to make way for a new boat, a Beneteau First 260. Spectacular.

She has her own blog, read about her HERE.

I'll leave this site up as a 235 reference.

Getting Her Name On

One of my last boat-readiness tasks this spring was to get Jackdaw's name on her. In the age of computer-cut vinyl lettering, there is no reason not to have your boat's name proudly emblazoned on her hull. Old-school hand painted lettering made boat lettering costly, but not any more. Read more and see how at the post on my companion blog Crusinglakeharriet. HERE

LED Lighting

I've replaced all the lighting on my Beneteau First 235 with LED bulbs. Longer life and the same light for 1/10th the power! See the videos after the break:

GPS and Depth

I'm adding a Raymarine ST50 Depth and a Magellan FX324 MAP Color chartplotter to the bulkhead of my Beneteau 235, to join my compass. But first, I have to plug the old holes. Videos and fully story after the break:

Headliner Replacement

This is the big job that has to be done on every Beneteau First 235. When I bought my boat, this is what I had to face..

Yuck. Notice that the headliner on the port side is totally gone, and to starboard, it is starting to fall. See the whole story after the break:

Roller Furler

I'm in the process of adding a roller furling system to the boat. The biggest job is figuring what model to go with, and if or what you want to do to the bow pulpit's forward post, which on the Beneteau 235 can interfere with the drum. See the intro video after the break:

AC/DC System Upgrade

Its time for the AC and DC systems of my Beneteau First 235 to get some love. I'll be doing a total revamp this spring, including DC and AC panels, shore power, dual batteries, and a built-in charger.

Full story and videos after the break:

Ports!

I just added  two Gebo non-opening ports the hull of my Beneteau 235. They look pretty damn good. Here's the story in three videos and a couple of pictures mixed in, right after the break:

Head Projects

More to come

Galley Updates

Most of the galley is standard Beneteau for now. The biggest change so far is the replacement of the fallen vinyl headliner to paint. I feel this is a better choice behind the stove. It is MUCH less a fire hazard, and spatter from cooking cleans up much faster. I did Sailrite hulliner in the rest of the boat, but the prospect of trying to clean spaghetti sauce out of the white carpet sealed the deal for me. More to come.