A mishap that triggers a change in the entire electrical system
Anne-Hélène, a native of Crozon, bought a boat to spend her summers in the port and on the coast sailboat Westerly Konsort in 1982. This two-masted English sailboat proved to be the perfect choice for his summer sailing program along the coast of Brittany with his 10-year-old son. Safe and livable, she has every confidence in her boat. Although she bought it ready to sail, a mishap in the summer of 2022 forced her to carry out extensive work.
While stranded in the small harbor of Creux Harbour, on the Channel Island of Sark, they were confronted with a battery failure. On this island, where only tractors and horses are found, word quickly spread that the yachtsmen needed help. They were finally helped out with an electricity card to recharge the batteries in a harbor block. After a week of good times, it's time to head back to Brittany. Anne-Hélène explains: "We set off again under engine. In the middle of the crossing, the weather got tougher. One of the lower shrouds snapped, so I went to the cape to repair it. I then tried to restart the engine, but it wouldn't start. When I got to Lézardrieux, in the Côtes d'Armor, I fiddled with the batteries to restart the engine for the finish in Bréhat."
Poor electrical installation
On her return, Windrush's owner checks the electrical panel, which looks pretty clean. However, she discovers that her solar panels and shore charger are not connected to anything. She details: "It was a bunch of knots. After three years, the batteries had discharged. I decided to redo the boat's electrics and upholstery because my son is allergic to dust. That was the starting point for rebuilding the boat."
Training and implementation
She is taking a two-day training course on electricity at Escale Technique in Nantes. Anne-Hélène explains: "It's really well designed. You get straight to the point. It's very practical, and was enough for me to redo everything. I'm a do-it-yourselfer and technically minded. It's very simple, 12 volts, and the teacher approaches it in a very educational way."
So she takes advantage of the winter work to get down to work. Her electrical panel is positioned on the side of the companionway, which is also the motor hood. All the wires are oily, the dominoes are all over the place and it's very hot. She decides to move everything above the chart table. She says: "I made sure that all the cables were accessible. They went behind the vraigrages. We also had to identify them because we didn't know where they were going."
New coatings to combat allergies
Alongside the electrical work, Anne-Hélène is redoing the linings in the saloon, coffin bed and ceiling. Still remaining is the front end, which had already been redone, but poorly finished. The latter, however, has been fitted with a new carpet.
The yachtswoman details the work: "I've already redone my Love-Love, but I spent three days on it. On Windrush, I had to remove the residues of Neoprene glue from the old lining. I spent the whole month of December sanding and cleaning. I bought a vaigrage I liked, and found the products I needed from Atelier Hafner, upholsterer-saddler, to do the vaigrage myself. I chose an Ovalit F glue, better than Neoprene and easy to use. It's rather expensive, but doesn't smell. There's plenty of time for tamping and repositioning. I trimmed my plywood panels to fit the 2 cm felt thickness of the new vaigrage."
Comfort improvements and a new antifouling system
After cleaning and trimming, Anne-Hélène was able to apply the new linings. She also repainted the old kitchen units and created cupboards and large open-sided cupboards. For the pantry, she added a shelf, giving it extra space.
Anne-Hélène is also testing a new type of antifouling, to avoid costly outflooding and relaunching, as the port of Crozon is not equipped for twin keels. This is parafouling, a graphene-based varnish. It's biocide-free, so she doesn't need to do any refit either. To be continued...
