Alfred is a marine carpenter. He is used to working on traditional wooden boats. But 3 years ago, he planned to leave to live on a sailboat for a year. On the program a tour of the Atlantic as a couple. A beautiful year to enjoy the sea and sailing. But for that you need a sailboat.
Alfred loves beauty, chic and wood. His sailboat must be elegant, but also functional to live aboard without hindrance. So, for the first time, he will look for a polyester sailboat. And as his budget is not extensible, he will have to fall back on old units.
He discovered his happiness in Granville with a Centurion 32 dating from 1969 (number 51 of the Wauquiez shipyard). This one is in a poor condition after 6 years spent dry on a quay. The engine seems to be good (which will turn out to be wrong), but for the rest everything needs to be revised. He bought the boat (6000 euros) and sent it by road to Morbihan where he started an in-depth refit.
In the end, he will work full time on his sailboat for one year. He started by clearing out all the fittings. As he needs space in the galley and cannot touch the structural bulkheads, he will change the chart table and the navigation bunk on board, inverting it with the galley. This way, the galley gains a beautiful 3-burner stove with its oven. As a result, the locker accessible from the cockpit must also be moved. To make the deck more solid, he chose to install strata directly to the hull. No problem of flexibility with such a structure.
But the biggest work comes from the new deck barroting. Indeed, Alfred absolutely wants to let the light inside. To do this, he will glue a plexiglass panel on the deck. This will require the rework of all the barrots to ensure the solidity. At the same time, he will replace the two panels on each side of the companionway to make them transparent. This time the interior is bright. Especially since Alfred decided to paint everything white with a few touches of solid wood for a nice effect.
You have to discover the quality of the finishes between the varnished woods or the leathers on the bar or the stanchions. On board, everything is worked with finesse and taste.
For sleeping, Alfred decided to transform the cockpit into a large berth. With the table that serves as a duckboard when sailing, as a table during meals and, above all, at the height of the benches to cover themselves with cushions at anchor. Thus the couple can enjoy cool nights in the tropics, protected by the awning.
The only concession to design is the installation of two solar panels on a rear gantry. But Alfred explains: " It's so nice to be autonomous in electricity and to be able to run the fridge non-stop... But I made an installation that can be dismantled if needed, if the panels break the line too much. "
Today, India Song (the name of the sailboat) is finishing her wandering in the West Indies. She should be back at sea at the beginning of June 2021, heading for Southern Brittany, which she will return to in August after an extended stopover in the West Indies. The loop will be closed. Unfortunately, the couple's finances do not allow them to keep their jewel. India Song is already offered for sale at 40 000 euros. Notice to lovers of exceptional sailing boats..
