A little about Reisender and the beginning of this adventure

At the time I met Scott I'd never been on a boat, other than a little john-boat on Moon Lake back in Florida when I was a kid. After a couple of months he suggested we go to the Strictly Sail St Pete show in Florida that November. This was all back in 2004. Side-Bar: Joey and DJ: Have fun it's a great show! OK, back to the story: We drove straight through from Greenville, SC. The show was wonderful, and the first time I stepped aboard a boat and sat down all I could think about was the gentle rocking motion of the boat. Amazing! I was hooked. We spent all day looking over all sorts of boat equipment and asking questions. Who knew that 7 months later we'd be owning our first boat, or that in 11 months we'd start the project that would become Reisender.

Well, we moved to Portland for a change in perspective and find an area where learning to sail was a bit safer. After purchasing a small boat we'd begun playing on weekends with her. Scott learning technical sailing and I being a bit more "off the cuff". It all worked perfectly, than Scott found a real cruising boat, a Newport 41 C&C. She was up in Seattle, we called the owner and drove up one weekend. She was a wreck of a burnt hull, but her lines were beautiful and we both saw amazing potential. It was gonna be a long, dirty job, but she needed us, or at least that's how I felt about her. She was purchased and shipped to Portland in October of 2005. Once she arrived the real work began. Scott and I both looked at her and just thought "What have we done?" A friend came by and started to help get's Scott's mind off all of it. They pressure washed and started hauling off damaged items. It would take us a full 3 years to get the last of the damaged things out of the boat. The immediate task was to come up with a plan. Logic dictated take on the worst first. Repair the cabin top and cockpit. We toyed with the idea of changing to a center cockpit, but it would ruin her lines, so we opted to keep her design very close to original. Over the winter, Scott learned to build the molds and what kind of materials to use. It was a very hard winter on both of us. Neither had lived in such a dark, cold climate for a very long time. With spring, we went to another boat show, and with summer began the actual reconstruction of what would be a total 6 year project (and on going).

Well, it appears I'm very good at laying fiberglass. Scott does well with solid, rigid materials (wood, metal, etc) and I the more fluid objects (clothe, fiberglass, etc). We'd work for 2 weeks straight laying up the coach house and then the dreaded day of fitting it in. IT FIT PERFECTLY!!!! Just a little trimming and she fell right into place. The most amazing part is Scott had to guess at the curve for the companionway. It was almost completely destroyed in the fire and crumbled to the touch. We also decided to add a little more interior space, so we popped that bulk head back by 6 inches. To a non-boater it doesn't sound like much, but on a boat every inch matters. With that done, we set to tackle the cockpit. It went much easier, except fall was approaching, which means rain in Portland. Fiberglass and rain don't really mix. Actually they hate each other. We had to be extremely careful on our timing, but we did it and again the cockpit slide right into place. With that done, it was time for a small break. We took our little boat and hauled it down to Mexico on a trailer. You should have seen us sleeping in here in a Wal-Mart parking lot! Ha!

When we returned it was time to remove and clean the toe-rails. Each one has 75 bolts, washers, and nuts. The auto industry back ground of Scott's really paid off here. Rather than caulking each of the 300 holes, he remembers a self sealing product used for attaching door panels to cars. It worked great. The first rain we found a few leaks, but nothing to serious and all we had to do was tighten them. Just some minor adjusting, and 5 years later coming down the coast we've found only 2 that leaked, again just a little tightening and we are water tight again. We started going to boat shows regularly and it was time to start shopping. The Oakland boat show, which is still our favorite, netted us 8 ports and one 24inch square hatch. All stainless steal and full of shine. It was time to attach the coach house and while I thought fiberglass work in general was a pain (not really the word I wanted to use) over head fiberglass work is the worst. You must paint on the resin on the surface, then paint the clothe, allow it to begin kicking, and press the two together and hope like heck it stay over head. It usually does, but it's not very fun. Oh, and by the way acetone and hair don't like each other. We've cleaned and cleared away, we've re-attached, and began to reshape, Year in... year out.

Then we started looking at the engine. She had a gas engine, in part as we understand the fire that happened aboard her, some of the fire was made worse by a gas can in the cockpit that the heat reached. It actually melted the boom in two. Well, we located a used Westerbeke 42 B engine outside of Seattle. We went up and the owner knew our boat, all boat owners love to talk about their boat. It was no surprise, she'd been racing in the Seattle area for decades. Well, it turns out the owner of the engine also had a Newport 41 and in the early 90's when he was looking at boats it was either the one he got or ours! What a coincidence. After even more talking to him, we found out he put this engine in the other boat because he didn't want a gas engine either.  This engine was meant for Reisender. After hauling her back, we set to finding the parts for a rebuild. The Westerbeke dealing wanted top dollars for parts. Being the frugal people we are, Scott did more research and found our engine is nothing but a Mitsubishi diesel. We started ordering the parts through a supplier and saved probably 30 to 40 percent. Then it was my turn to start thinking about the galley. I knew the stove I wanted, a Force 10 three burner, but at 1400 dollars a bit rich for the budget. Craigslist to the rescue. There happened to be one in Newport, CA for $300 plus shipping. Happy 37th birthday to me! Well, than came lights, and teak. The teak was another great score. We found a man on CL who was selling a bunch of teak trim for next to nothing. It's now ours. Then another friend came walking down the dock with an old teak hatch. "Did we want it?" "YES!!!! It was all weathered and grey, but now it's shinning and our new companionway steps. Three years ago, we decided it was time to move on board. We barely had half the living space ready, so we divided the interior in two, put in a temporary bulk head and moved in September 2008. We'd hoped to work on the boat that winter, but no such luck. That was the worst winter storm in 40 years. No more winters in OR for Scott or I after that. With spring, the boat was in full swing again. More details and the beginning of a galley for me. Scott got his desk back in the form of a nav-station. Then Scott had a detached retina and all came to a screeching halt. No more work that year. It was a 3 month total recovery, and fall set in. Finally, spring and work on the boat. The engine finally running, and painting on the outside and inside. For my birthday in 2010, I got running water (I actually cried) and a complete galley. We decided it was time to Christen our baby. So on June 26, 2010 she officially was re-named Reisender. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 people came. Friends came all the way from eastern Washington. We had great food, good fun, good memories, and a lot of pride in what we had done. There's a tradition that a female member of the boat builders family Christen the boat, well we'd hadn't any on the west coast and ask our friend Sherry to do it. Scott got soaked in Champagne and we lasted late into the night. Then as seems to be our luck, I broke my foot getting off the boat, and while work didn't stop this time, it did slow down, and we missed another deadline to leave. We watched friends leave and it was all so sad for us. So what did we do, we moved on. October of 2010 we stepped the mast. We took Reisender out of her slip for the first time and motored her to the yard and had the mast put in. Every time we do something we are like proud parents.

But, 2011 was our year. We started with finishing out settee backs and our bunk. Then installing the head, and a new teak cabin sole. Finally, decision time, we left McCuddy's Marina, we just went around the corner, but it was the beginning of the beginning for us. After a few days of running the engine while at anchor we decided to build a hard dodger to mount the solar panels on. With the help of a friend, Jeff, the design came out perfect. We then spent a month on the Columbia checking systems. The steering came next. We'd been using the emergency tiller up to that point, but after a rebuild of the system it all worked perfectly. I'm so proud of Scott. 6 years ago we barely knew anything about boats. We worked on Reisender up until the day to cross The Columbia River Bar. Up until two hours before cast off we were installing the compass and windscreen for the dodger. Well, September 6, 2011 we started our cruising life. It's been almost 3 months and we've learned a lot, and we done a lot of work. Would I do it all again, yes, differently, maybe, but I would do it all again....

Side Note: there is a lot of equipment not mentioned that has been updated, and a lot of equipment found, or donated by good friends, and work that I haven't mentioned. I think this blog is long enough, don't you?