Clément and his friend Ilyan are looking for a small habitable and transportable sailboat. The sailing areas will be the Channel and the Atlantic and why not discover the Mediterranean. But the two young friends, if they have a lot of willpower, have very little money.
A sale with a nice friendly arrangement
Their dream machine, their "Nirvana" (that's how they will call the boat), they discovered it in Normandy, 1h30 from their home. It is a Jaguar 22, a sailing boat built in England at the end of the 1970s. It is sitting on a trailer in the garden of its owner who has not sailed it for at least 10 years. The boat is complete with its mast, boom and sails. The only thing missing is an outboard motor.
A friendly relationship was established between the old and the new owners. Indeed, he granted them a payment facility for the purchase of the boat and trailer (1,700 euros) and even allowed them to work on board before the final sale took place. Thanks to the crane he has at his disposal, he helps them to lift the boat from its trailer to work on it. Indeed, this one requires a serious renovation (tires, brakes, bearings). It is essential to bring the boat closer to the house of the 2 young people and to be able to undertake the renovation.
Fully exposed
Once the boat is in the garden, Clément and his friend will be able to tackle the bulk of the work. The boat is completely bare. All the fittings are removed as well as the portholes. Inside, the woodwork is all dismantled. The lifting keel, a 350 kg plate, is also removed to be redone. It will manage to go down while the boat is positioned over a pit. It is then sanded to remove rust and treated with a protective treatment. The lifting mechanism, a cable winch accessible inside the cabin in the companionway is replaced. It is the dismantling of the portholes that will be very laborious. The old mastic takes 3 days to be scraped off. But the aluminium frames will be sanded and the original windows (made of glass) will find their place with a new seal.
Sanding to resin
The hull will also be completely revised. The hull is sanded until the resin is exposed. Then the classic, but laborious scheme of sanding - coating - sanding - epoxy primer and finally painting - is applied. The same goes for the deck and the interiors. Everything is done. The paint is applied with a roller. The hull goes from white to red for the occasion.
Clément is happy with the finish, even if he admits that a slight "orange peel" appears when you inspect it very closely. But the whole thing looks great! Small funny detail, the 2 guys of more than 1,80 m are helped by a friend of small size to slip under the hull.
This general painting phase will last 4 months. It is the most demanding and especially the most expensive. More than 1000 euros are invested in this item.
The interior is refurbished as it was originally
The woodwork is then sanded and varnished. The rotten parts are replaced, but the fittings are rebuilt according to the original plan. The cushions are redone with PVC fabric. The floor is covered with adhesive lino. The only thing missing is the kitchen unit which will come on the starboard side with its sink and its stove which is at the end of the painting phase. The sink is connected to a water tank of about 50 L which is under the starboard berth.
A small sailboat ideal for touring
With 4 berths and a toilet (in the front triangle), this 6.66 m boat perfectly meets the expectations of the 2 young people. They are waiting for the good weather to put it in the water and leave to discover the oceans. In the end, the boat cost them 6000 euros with the price of the future outboard engine (the purchase is in progress). Not much compared to the pleasure they will have on a boat they now know inside out.
