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No need for expertise, everything can be redone
Alondra is a 22.5 m steel ketch built in 1961 to Sparkman & Stephens designs. Abandoned by her former owners, she is now for sale in Port Ginesta, Spain, in very poor condition. It was Benoit Duval, manager of a boat refit, maintenance and sales company, who gave her a second life after 5 long years of work.
Alondra was bought in 2018 by a German businessman of Turkish origin, who was very interested in the yacht. No need for a survey, he saw that everything needed to be redone, and commissioned Benoit to carry out the work.
Benoit tells us: "It's a beautiful boat. A 22 m Sparkman & Stephens design. Initially, we had planned a minimal refit, but in the end there was a lot to do. Luckily, the owner was able to go through with the work, a total budget of 2 million euros."
Convoying to start the refit
To begin with, the boat has to be lifted out of the water. Unfortunately, the Port Ginesta travel lift isn't powerful enough to lift the ketch out of the water. So another port had to be found. Lacking a working engine, Alondra was towed to Port Forum, in the center of Barcelona, in December 2018. The twenty miles or so went without a hitch, despite the condition of the boat, which threatened to sink at any moment, and the stagnant water inside. 7 hours later, Alondra arrived safely in port. Despite the rust, the sailboat is still making an impression on the harbour staff responsible for lifting her out of the water. "What a boat!" they exclaim.
A corroded hull that needs to be completely rebuilt
For the first time, the ketch is out of the water and the hull survey can begin. Benoit tells us: "There were wet marks on the hull. I started scraping with my knife to assess the damage and cut through. All that was left was paint and putty. It's a 5mm steel hull, with an 8mm keel. The boat was being eaten away from the inside, and the stagnant water had corroded the sheet metal. In retrospect, I think it was a good idea to leave the water in the boat for the delivery. It acted as a counterweight and held the paint and putty in place so the boat didn't sink."
In early 2019, the hull will be sandblasted and 30% completely replaced. For this work, Benoit called on a well-known Barcelona shipyard with 50 years' experience. He explains: "As we took things apart, we realized that everything had to be redone."
Wooden masts rebuilt to classic standards
After the hull, the men tackle the masts. The main hollow mast, 28 m long, was removed. Inside, some parts had come loose, but above all, larvae had settled in. Benoit decided to move it to a naval architect and cabinet-maker, in association with a professional shroud-maker. After a few complications in finding a special convoy to Catalonia - the shipyard fell in the middle of the conflict surrounding Catalan independence - the masts finally reached their dedicated hangar.
Benoit explains: "We had to rework the manufacture and structure of the masts, redo a classic design that dates back to the 60s, while modernizing certain parts. We did extensive historical research to find out how the boat was originally rigged. The mainsheet and sheet track were redone, dating back to the 90s. We also researched Alondra itself, to see how Sparkman & Stephens had done it, and managed to reproduce the same thing. We couldn't find any wooden pulleys. We made them ourselves, the stainless steel part and the wooden pulley cheek. We also incorporated a coin in the center with the name of the boat and its year of construction."
Electricity, water circuits and engines restored
In mid-2019, the shipyard is concentrating on the electrical network. There are 32 volts for the windlass, stern winch and autopilot, 24 volts and 12 volts for the on-board electricity, and finally 220 volts are installed once the boat arrives in Europe, in addition to the initial 110 volts since the boat belonged to an American owner. Everything was removed and brought up to standard. The owner also asked for the installation of home automation to control everything from a screen.
The original engine is a 180-horsepower Detroit two-stroke diesel, typically American. Benoit finds a Belgian supplier accustomed to rebuilding this type of engine. Two solutions are proposed. Either the engine is repairable, and the pistons, connecting rods... are replaced at a cost of ?13,000, or the supplier buys back the parts, which will finance the outward transport of the engine. In the end, the first solution worked and the engine was reinstalled.
In the machine room, the two 2 x 2,000 L water tanks were completely corroded. They are being replaced by a 200 L/h watermaker and a 450 L tank. If necessary, another tank can be installed at a later date. A generator with only ten hours on the clock is recovered and installed. All freshwater circuits are rebuilt.
Two large fuel tanks, each with a capacity of 2,000 L, were on board to provide Alondra with transatlantic capacity. Eventually, one of the two tanks, damaged, was removed and replaced by the black water tank, which did not exist before.
A relocated and modernized steering wheel
One of the latest systems to be changed is the wheel steering system. Its cable transmission and location in the middle of the cockpit prevent the installation of a table. It has been moved forward, and the old cable pilot replaced by a conventional Raymarine hydraulic pilot. A bow thruster is installed to facilitate maneuvering of this heavy boat. Air conditioning ducts are also installed in the cabins, saloon and galley.
Site shutdown due to Covid
Unfortunately, Covid arrives in Europe and the work is halted. The owner no longer had the funds to continue the work. Benoit tells us: "We'd been working at a fast pace until then. Fortunately, the work stopped when we were working on the deck. We had installed a tent, so the boat was protected dry and didn't suffer at all. ?500,000 had already been spent on the refit, but there was still a lot to do and the boat's value hadn't been reached. It was a difficult time for the owner, who could no longer afford the building costs. There were quite a few delays in payments. The harbour master's office even told us they'd have to put the boat up for auction if the payments didn't arrive. And finally, the owner was able to sell an asset at the end of Covid to continue the last part of the yard and completely rebuild the boat."
Long-awaited launch and technical refit completed
Alondra was relaunched in October 2022, and the technical refit was completed in June 2023. All exterior parts are chrome-plated, including porthole surrounds, winches, fittings... The interior of the boat is in fairly good condition, but there are a number of small jobs to be done, particularly in the cabins. The most important is the renovation of the bathrooms. Everything has been changed, using relatively noble materials. Alondra has 3 en-suite cabins, and a crew cabin with a bathroom. The varnish is left as is, but the ceilings are redone due to corrosion.
Encouraging initial results
In the summer of 2023, Alondra will sail for the first time all the way to Majorca. Benoit explains: "On the way back from Majorca, we had between 12 and 15 knots of wind, and we were making between 8 and 9 knots. We have a mainsail and genoa of 120 m2 each, a staysail of 30 m2 and a foresail of 40 m2. In total, that's 310 m2 of sail area."
What does the future hold for Alondra?
Today, several avenues are being explored for Alondra's future. Either the owner keeps her for his personal use, or the boat is finished completely and correctly - small details remain to be fine-tuned - and offered for charter to support maintenance costs, or resold. Benoit concludes: "It's a total rebuild of a big boat. We were able to save this boat. We were lucky that the owner let us do it from scratch, despite a limited budget."
