Refit Diaries: 11/02/2025 – 11/09/2025

Hi! Did you see our latest YouTube video? You can watch it, here!

This week, we adopted a more balanced routine: half days at the boatyard, about four hours each morning, followed by errands on the way back to our rental house. This has allowed us to catch up on wiring diagrams, video editing, and housework during the second half of the day. It’s been a good rhythm. Many of our projects have reached natural pause points as we wait for parts to arrive, which has given us the perfect excuse to slow down a bit. The weather is finally starting to warm up, and we’ve been soaking in the sunshine and clear skies. This is SUCH a beautiful country!

One evening, we watched an incredible supermoon rise over the river behind the house, followed by distant fireworks celebrating Guy Fawkes Night. The fireworks commemorate the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the British Parliament.

With all that said, progress continues at the yard. Even with our lighter schedule, we managed to make steady headway on several projects this week, including:

Clean the generator compartment 

We removed the generator last week, giving us access to the full compartment for the first time in years. The bottom was coated in a thick layer of grease and grime, with a light film of dirt along the walls. I spent some time scrubbing it clean using heavy-duty wipes, a firm brush, and a tub of Pink Stuff. Now, when Ray goes in to set up the new generator, he’ll have a clean workspace.

Build workshop floor

After completing the demolition of our port forward cabin last week, Ray began building the new floor supports. We bought a large sheet of styrofoam to use as a cutting template, since we were struggling to visualize the exact dimensions needed to match the hull’s curves and slope. The supports will be suspended (without mechanical fasteners) and must also account for the thickness of the new flooring material. We picked up a few pieces of trim wood to use as a straight reference line from the existing hallway floor, but we couldn’t quite get it right. The last thing we want is to spend all this time and money for a rebuild on top of a wonky floor.

Luckily, a member of the Circa team was on site and available. He had everything figured out and cut within two days. He took the supports back to their shop for the weekend to seal them with epoxy, protecting them from any future water damage. We’ll take photos of his work once he returns to install them. We prefer to do most of the boat work ourselves, but for this workshop, we want it done right, and the Circa guys are experts. We know our limits!

Discoloration in the salon 

We’ve noticed some yellow discoloration throughout the boat’s interior. I’ve tried just about everything to remove it, and the only thing that actually works is acetone! You can see the discoloration and a test patch I cleaned in the photo below. Unfortunately, the acetone is too effective, so I can’t just spot-clean the discolored areas, or they’ll stand out. Instead, I have to clean the entire panel for an even finish.

This week, I tackled the panel that runs between the headliner and the sides of the saloon. I used diluted acetone, gloves, white rags, and rinsed thoroughly with fresh water. If you’re cleaning with acetone, be sure to rinse well, especially if the surface is warm, and always dispose of your rags properly afterward, since they can spontaneously combust! I plan to repeat this process on the other affected panels. 

Wiring 

Ray continued removing the factory wiring for the generator, air conditioning, and shore power. That included all of the green connectors Lagoon uses, since they create too much resistance, which causes them to overheat and even melt. Instead, we’ll be replacing them with continuous wiring for a safer, more reliable setup.

Rig updates 

The longer the mast is down, the more we discover. From a preliminary inspection, it appears three conduits are running through the mast— two that likely run the full length, and one that’s less than a meter long. Most of our wiring is crammed into that short conduit, leaving the rest of the length open for the wires to rattle around freely. Mystery of the obnoxious clanking: solved. Next week, we’ll send an endoscope up there to get a clearer picture, and we’ll share our plan for fixing it once we know more.

We have also heard from our rigger that the bearings on all the mast cars need to be replaced, and so does our furler— ouch! That’s an expensive surprise. Help us feel better: what’s the biggest and/or most expensive surprise you’ve had on your boat?

Another week down, many more to go… See you next time!