Wren Update

[Seadub]

Attempt #2, with pics, not links. Hello folks! Wren is coming along nicely. I've been focusing my efforts on the cabin because my wife and I plan to spend as many weekends aboard as time and weather allow. Here's the obligatory "before" cabin pic.

[ChuckD]

Nice job, Seadub!

[Seadub]

Cabin Update Projects:
1. Removed the funky, mildewed hull liner, sanded everything, especially the fiberglass, painted walls and flooring with 2 coats of Kilz Alkyd Primer, followed by 2 coats of Rustoleum Marine White.
2. Sanded, spar urethaned all interior wood trim
3. Cut, stained and spar urethaned a new bulkhead (my wife has a flexible ruler that made this project much easier)
4. Installed a West Marine control panel (four 15A circuits w/ two 12 v outlets) on the starboard side of the bulkhead
5. Connected panel to an Exide deep cycle battery, bow-mounted in a Minn Kota Power Center with room for a spare lunch hook.This powers the cabin and a 55# thrust Minn Kota trolling motor. Currently (no pun intended) recharging with  3 stage charger, will be ordering a flexible,  4#, 100 watt (approx 5 amps per hour) solar panel and controller to mount on the stern pulpit.
6. Replaced damaged cabin light with a white/red LED, waiting for ordered bulbs for nav and mast lights.
7. Ordered a 12v Caframo fan which I'll most likely mount on the port side of the forward bulkhead.
8. Found 9.99 sand chairs at Academy Sports, which give me and the Admiral plenty of sitting room...when we slouch comfortably.
9. Had a pair of 3" thick Thermarest mattresses that may or may not work for sleeping below. Plenty comfy, but easy to puncture. Expect to be sleeping in the cockpit most of the time.

Speaking of the cockpit...that's next. The engine well (which gets NO love from Compac sailors) isn't my first choice, but it does have some benefits. I've cut and glassed some plywood test plates, held in place with an inflated wheelbarrow inner tube, and the trolling motor comes right out, will stow on clamps I'll mount on the stern pulpit. I'm working on a plate that has the cut out hull glassed to the bottom, with a watertight seal and screw-down clamp. That's next up.

Oh, and we're sailing Wren, literally learning the ropes, and having a blast...except for the blasted power boaters and jet skiers on our big ol' Lake Murray.

More to come...can't thank the folks here enough!

Clint

[Seadub]

Thanks, Chuck. It's good fun.

[Seadub]

Forgot to mention one upgrade that has really paid off. I cut out 1/2" plywood "covers" and added L brackets to the side. These make the cabin floor between the bunks flush, so we can add pads, support the chairs, and step in easily. Under them (I cut 3 panels, with a finger hole in each to lift them) we can store Tupperware containers and other odds and ends. The last panel lifts out to fit in the porta pottie (wag bags and a toilet-lidded bucket).

By the way, Robert Burgess' Handbook of Trailer Sailing is a must have, in my opinion. He is a fine writer and the book should inspire anyone to take on most any adventure in these great boats.  Here's the Porter Paint Porta Pottie and storage arrangement:

[EJ]

Seadub: Nice work, I may have missed this; but did do all the cabin work from inside without removing the top?  Do you have contortionist abilities to reach to the stern?  I am curious because I have to refinish my 16 as well.  Any tips would be appreciated.  Thank you

[hinmo]

Beautiful job.
Yup, same question as EJ....at 6'3" and 250+, I did a half baked job of re-finishing my old boat....forget sleeping in there

[Seadub]

I dunno about skills, but it seems like almost everything I do on my boat involves some degree of bending, twisting or contorting! I didn't remove the "lid". I worked through the available openings and it helped that the PO installed a 14x14 hatch forward. And, I haven't done much with things aft of the cockpit below. Cleaned, but the refinished walls stop about arm's length down each berth. It helps that I'm 5'10". I think Gordon has the right idea with Applejack...a quality boom tent (or bimini with zip-off walls, and a grate over the cockpit footwell, makes a lot of sense!

[Seadub]

EJ, just about everyone here has a lot more experience than me with just about every aspect of these fine boats. That said, I'm having a blast learning, and tackling projects using my limited skills and equally limited tool selection. I have learned that my project pattern used to be something like, "research, think, sketch, deliberate,  discuss, overthink, re-read, re-research..." and so on. Now, I try to get a sense of what I want to end up with, do a BIT of research (this forum is by far the best resource I've seen), gather the materials and dive in. Between the endlessness of the internet and my own tendencies, a pretty simple project can get complex quickly.  Now, I try to do it right, but I just jump in and do it, and things usually work themselves out as I go.  I'm learning a lot and gaining a lot of confidence, which is really fun. Making mistakes of course, which have thankfully been little more than inconvenient. For instance, I ordered a pretty expensive Caframo fan and mounted it on the bulkhead. That was a pain, but it looked great. While I was waiting for it to arrive I happened across a 12v oscillating fan with a clamp mount in WalMart.  12 bucks. I bought it as a spare. Long story short, even on low, the Caframo sounds like a rock drummer on crack and the Wally World fan hums like a sewing machine, cools great,  and I can put it anywhere. Live and learn.

Basically, to re-do the cabin, I pulled out all the old hull liner, got a good dust mask, sanded the heck out of every surface with a small palm sander my dad no longer used, then painted everything with 2 coats of Kilz and 2 coats of Rustoleum Marine White. It's fine for us at this point, and if I need to change it in any way down the road, I'll do it.

I love doing this stuff more than I thought I would, and the list of projects is endless (apparently like my ideas for "upgrades") but all relatively cheap. I just finished reading Robert Burgess's Keys to Adventure chapter in the Handbook of Trailer Sailing and now I'm planning our Keys adventure this summer, thinking about everything we'll need to make that comfortable, safe and fun. More projects...and more fun!
Clint