Now that the boat is in Ft. Lauderdale, it is time for work to begin. What changes and improvements are we making? Here is our list, so far:
Sail Inventory– Our Taswell 43 needs a complete new sail inventory. In this case, since it is a cutter rig, it needs a new mainsail, staysail and genoa. All 3 were way past their useful life, and the mainsail was stretched out and not made for a furling in-mast system. Peter, our sailmaker here in Ft. Lauderdale, will be adding lots of new features on the new sails.
Rigging– Mahi will also be receiving all new standing rigging. For all my non sailing friends, a sailboat has “standing rigging,” which is all the wires, and metal bits that remain fixed in place and help to keep the mast in place. The running rigging refers to the ropes, called “lines,” that pull the sails in and out when you have furling sails. “Furling” is a term that means they are rolled up, like shown in the picture above.
The older standing rigging was original to the boat, and needed to be redone for safe offshore sailing. Brad, our rigger, is planning to do a terrific job, and I will be assisting him. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the standing rigging and installation. We will be adding lots of new rigging features.
Exterior Canvas– New bimini and complete enclosure is on order for the cockpit.
Again, for my non-sailing friends, a cockpit is the place on a sailboat where you sit, steer the boat, and has an opening to down below- called a companionway. Promise to draw you a fun terminology diagram so I am not speaking greek.
A “full enclosure” means the boat will have a canvas worker design a combo of UV canvas, metal frame, see through plastic and UV screen to allow us to have several combinations of protection in the cockpit. I promise to show you pictures so you understand what I mean when it is installed.
This will help keep us dry while under sail. In addition, Valeri, our canvas maker, will be making some wonderful sun shade awnings for when we are at anchor. The awnings are patterned after Pam Wall’s, which I fell in love with when I first saw her sailboat, Kandarik. Here is a link to what the awnings look like and how they use rigging poles.
What I like about Pam’s awnings is that they will cool the boat at anchor in the tropical weather. Also, with the awnings in place, if you get some light rain, no panic to jump up to close the hatches. Brilliant!
Replacement Windows– The side two rectangular windows on our boat are cloudy, weeping, and have damaged the interior wood trim. The plan is to replace the windows with Lexan, and repair the interior wood trim. At the same time, I have removed the worn interior curtains and will be sewing new ones.
Hoses and Heads– We discovered that all the hoses are permeated, meaning they no longer contain odors, so need replacing. This is my nice way of saying they are smelly.
We will be replacing with Poly X sanitation hoses, which has a lifetime guarantee against permeation. Today, Joe is replacing the first of two toilets as well. He also needed to replace the vented loops, which were all blocked. Toilets that use sea water and are below the waterline need “vented loops,” so water does not grossly come out of the toilet and flood the boat.
Joe also replaced the fuel fill hose, which was also permeated. This means it was making the back of the boat smell like diesel fuel when you filled the boat with fuel. Not good, especially since I have super sensitive smelling super powers- and odors bug me.
Sailor Speak: When needing to go to the bathroom, you are going to the “head.” When cooking dinner, you do it in the “galley.” Bedrooms in a boat are called “cabins,” and the beds are “berths.” True! Would I steer you wrong?
Centerline Queen Mattress– The master cabin has a centerline queen berth. The current bed is not supportive enough for me, so we are going with a Zeno high quality custom mattress replacement.
Haul Out Work– Later this month, we will haul out and get the bottom paint re-done, the fiberglass on the hull worked to remove any “ghosting” of the former boat name lettering. There is also some small rudder adjusting, plus changing out zincs and other maintenance.
Teak Removal- There is some teak in the cockpit which is completely shot. We will be removing the cockpit teak and replacing with fiberglass. This will make for a more comfortable cockpit as the teak is very rough right now.
That is the main list. We also will be adding on some needed equipment like a new stern mounted liferaft, and some new electronics. Also a watermaker. This is a good boat that really needed some updating and prep for offshore sailing. As we learned in the delivery trip, the boat sails wonderfully! With each change, we are becoming more excited!
SV Mahi 
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