I have been in Tasmania since mid February, helping a friend with his boat.
Excentrique is a 51-foot Beneteau sailboat who broke her mooring during high winds two years ago and sailed herself from Kettering to Bruny Island where she decided to take a rest on the rocks. Though she was immediately missed, she was left to her vacation for a week. By the time her transport home was organized, she had over indulged in her new-found freedom and in her island tanning rotation, she wore holes into both sides of her hull and needed a lift home.
Excentrique sat on a hard stand for a year before the previous owner and insurance company came to a resolution; after which she was auctioned off and bought in part by my friend John. John has been been working on the restoration for over a year and asked if I'd be in the area and able to help speed up the progress. I immediately began calling her BAB (Big-Ass Boat.) After two months of full-time toil, BAB is close to going back in the water.
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| Aft interior. Floor removed, dust from fiberglass sanding. |
I've been fiberglassing, painting, cleaning, epoxy/resin/gluing, bolting, rigging, and plumbing. All but the electrical work. Wires and buzzy electrical things is the big black hole in my building/restoration knowledge.
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| New engine and bench installed. |
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| Holes patched and new paint. |
Throughout the weeks I have had opportunities to wander Tasmania. My favorite trip was a run to Cape Pillar. Alex came down from Sydney to help on the boat for a couple weeks and we decided to condense a two-day hike into a one-day run. From the campsite at Fortescue Bay to Cape Pillar and back is 30 kilometers/18 miles. We made it out in 2.5 hours and back in just over three hours. Off the end of the cape is the famous Tasman island. Alex has sailed past and between the cape and island many times. This is the first time either of us has seen it from land. My goal now is to see it from the water.
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| Tasman island with Cape Pillar on the left. |
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| Tasman island from Cape Pillar. |
I am heading back to the mainland at the end of April and hope to do more sailing in the coming months.
