Category: My boat

Ten years ago, I had a new sprayhood and a lazy bag made. Now I see they need to be replaced, even though I take the lazy bag off and cover the sprayhood up over the winter. But the cost of having new made has not exactly gone down. There are other sewing projects too…

Something was obviously missing on the boat. When going forward on deck, especially out at sea, there was not a handhold that really was strong enough to feel safe. I asked Hans at Ship Shape in Stavanger to help me, in 2021 actually, and he built a very solid frame from 30 mm stainless steel…

There have been a few upgrades to the boat this year too, ready for the season. I has had a wish for several years to change the backstay from one single stay that could not be adjusted under sail, to a bridle with block and tackle. Hans G. Sørensen at Ship Shape, Stavanger, built it…

This is the history of a half hull, going back to the 1870s. In the 1870s, three brothers of my great grand father worked as ship wrights in Sand, Ryfylke, south west Norway. The yard developed with the demand for shipping and built quite large ships, until a fire devastated the whole enterprise in 1879.…

One of the discussions that sometimes comes up on sailing fora, is wheel or tiller steering. Of course, it depends on the boat and the user, and there are pros and cons with both. Our first boat, a 30 ft Dufour Arpege, had tiller steering. Vestavind has wheel. Until now, that is. I have wished…

Last year I restored most of the teak deck, but did not finish on the starboard side. That was the job for this spring. As usual, I was a bit too optimistic about the time. The boat wintered in the marina, under canvas. This gave some challenges as to when and how I could work.…

For those who might be interested, here are some details of boat maintenance and teak deck renovation on a Swedish sailboat from the eighties, more particularly a Vindø 995 🙂 I had for a long time considered doing something about the teak decks. They looked grim, and were difficult to keep clean and free from…

I have decided to replace the old Volvo with a new engine. The Volvo has done good service since the boat was new. Last summer it took the boat up and down the West Coast, running for 100+ hours (there was little wind). However, on two occasions the heat alarm went off when we pushed it…