let the work commence...

With our new project tucked away for the winter we started deep cleaning, removal of bad interior wood, and things to be refurbished.

The three port lights have been removed to clean the bronze and have the fogged glass replaced. This is something we did on our sailboat too but those were stainless.






The window over the berth in the aft cabin has leaked quite a bit. The wall next to the berth had to be replaced because the wood was rotted and the window has been removed to be replaced also. We’ve had Glass Enterprise out to measure for replacing multiple windows and plan to do that before this coming spring. For now, that window over the aft berth is out and the wet wall was removed and replaced.






We removed the carpet and sanded the main salon floor – it was our second project with the industrial sander. Shortly after this project we celebrated when we received the news that the original salon table and legs had been found in Florida and were being shipped to us. Thank you! Building a new table wasn’t a project that we were looking forward to. We knew the exact fit was important to having that area convert into a berth when we had overnight guests aboard. It is a relief to have the original table.



We’ve sent the bimini out to be re-stitched where the stitching had come loose and he is also making us matching covers for the two hatches – fore and aft. We have new upholstery coming for the main salon and v-berth but it isn’t completed yet. The pilot’s seat shows the fabric that will be used.



We rented the big sander again and worked on the bridge deck. Being bent over for four hours at a time is the reason Mike didn’t finish the first or second time we had the sander. The back and arms can only handle so much.

The bridge was set back on the boat when we trucked it into the building but it wasn’t permanently attached at that point - only set on top. All the old adhesive needed to be cleaned off and holes patched. We lifted the bridge back up over the boat – suspended with winches to the steel ceiling supports in the building. We knew it could be done because the person who had their boat in the same spot in the years before us did the same thing and gave us some pointers. Even with pointers, this was a stressful day for me (Melissa.) Only Mike and I were there – though I’m sure there were other people working in the building who heard me panic and watched from afar. Remember when it was set before there were six guys and a hi-lo to do the job. When we lifted it pulled forward. I had terrible visions of disasters to come. I was a shaky mess and didn’t sleep well the first night it was up in the air.

heading for storage...

Boat Logistics then took the boat from the marina and headed a few miles back up the road to the storage building. There were people on the deck of the boat armed with push brooms to push the overhead wires, traffic lights and branches out of the way. I rode along in the car in front so that he knew the way to the building while we drove into oncoming traffic to move cars to allow room for the boat to come up the road, then came the semi with the boat in tow and Mike followed in his suburban to keep traffic from trying to pass by where there wasn’t room. Boat moving is not for the faint of heart. But by the end of the day on September 25, 2009, “The Lass” was tucked away for a winter’s worth of TLC.





Projects begin – Mike rented an industrial sander and sanded the main decks. They were much darker than the rest of the teak and we weren’t sure what the condition of the wood would be underneath the layers of varnish. These pictures show the first patch we cleaned away on the back deck and then more (you can really see the contrast where the lazerette cover is not sanded and the deck is.)



We hung plastic from the ceiling to the floor to keep our dust to ourselves and off any neighboring boats, motor homes and cars stored nearby.



Cleaning out all the interior compartments is Melissa’s task. This was under the bed in the aft cabin. The photos are an example of the before and after. Re-painting will come later.


Sanding the cap rails and hand rails is another project. Each stanchion is being removed with the stainless being polished and cleaned.

The next steps....

Now the next steps were making sure the documentation was set, taking the boat out for a sea trial and prepping the boat as much as we could for shipping while we were in Florida. Getting the documentation squared away was a bit of a headache and the only stress of the trip but in the end, all was well.

Gordon took us out for a spin down the river and out toward the Gulf. We saw dolphins off the bow for a few seconds but they didn’t stick around. Mike and I both had a turn at the helm and enjoyed the ride completely. This was the high light of the trip for us.



We spent that afternoon and the next day prepping the boat up for shipping. We took down the bimini and side curtains. We took down the mast and boom. We packed up the electronics and anything else that we could to try to ensure nothing was damaged in shipping – and anything we did ourselves would (in theory) make that much more sense when it came time to put her back together. Mike labeled wires that would have to be disconnected when the bridge was removed and I wrapped things in towels and stowed them away in drawers and cabinets.



We flew back home September 15 eagerly awaiting status reports from the marina who was removing the bridge and the trucking company that was taking her home. We were like expectant parents. But by September 17 we already had news that “The Lass” had a haircut. The bridge was removed and she was ready to be shipped. The trucking company would be there September 22 to load.

Boat Logistics went to Marco Island, FL, loaded the boat up and headed for Home. It was a long week. They were routed and re-routed and came through a lot of rain but arrived at Anchorage Marina on September 25 – our anniversary. They were at the marina to move from one trailer onto another one that would place the boat in the building. They were also setting the bridge back up on the boat.

The first days...

Gordon and Cathy ended up being more than pen pals. September 12 we flew down and were met at the airport by two smiling faces. G&C graciously opened their home to us instead of having us stay in a hotel and instead of a rental car they generously picked us up at the airport and offered us the use of their car. In crazy world of mixed up people, we were blessed with meeting a truly wonderful couple. I don’t know that I could have done it with anyone else after meeting someone from a boat ad online and having only a few weeks of phone calls and e-mails. And I wouldn’t suggest to anyone else looking to buy or sell a boat that they put themselves in the same position but it worked out perfectly for us. We were more than comfortable with them and very thankful for their hospitality.

Gordon took us to see the Scottish Lass at M.R.M. the afternoon we flew in. Because of the survey we had our eyes wide open to what we were going to find at the marina but we were still nervous heading out to the boat. Was it going to be more than we thought we could handle maintaining? Was it going to be better or worse than the pictures? Was it going to be exactly what hoped for? Then we were walking down the dock and we each knew. We found our boat.
We spent time crawling all over the boat while taking lots of pictures and continuously asking each other questions like – “Are you sure?” “Are you ok with this?” “Can we do this?” Each of us was worried that the other might not be as committed to the boat as the other one felt. Gordon patiently answered technical questions, showed us where things were and how they worked.

Listing......

The next step was listing our sailboat. That had to be gone before we took on another boat. We had done the two boat owner road before and didn’t want to store two, maintain two, etc. We posted our boat online and a few hours later the first call came. It was amazing – but it wasn’t sold yet. She was sold in a matter of weeks. It was the longest few weeks that we could imagine. It was also going to be hard watching someone else tow our boat away – our family’s summer home for 5 years.


We toured a few trawlers and viewed countless trawlers online while waiting for the sale of her to be final and decided we wanted the double cabin layout. We were excited. We knew what we wanted. We even found what we thought we wanted and made an offer. When that offer was declined we weren’t as unhappy as we should have been – in other words, it obviously wasn’t the boat for us because instead of disappointment, we felt relieved. Mike and I spent countless hours in the evenings and on weekends combing through trawler after trawler. Sending inquiries, compiling questions and still we searched.


We were searching for Marine Traders when we stumbled upon an ad that we couldn’t ignore. It wouldn’t leave our minds. It had all the qualifications of what we wanted but it was an Albin. Our focus changed entirely in some ways. It was more than we intended to spend but looking at the boat was looking at a boat we could have forever. We stopped looking at Marine Traders and re-focused on the Albin. We contacted the owners of the Scottish Lass – the owners became our pen pals!

The biggest problem with Scottish Lass was her location. We were in the Mid-West she was in Southern Florida. We didn’t have a month of vacation time to bring her home up the river system. If this was to be our boat, we had to look at trucking her north. It was September – and here that means all the marinas are lining up to fill heated storage buildings. Timing was going to be crucial to get the boat, have it trucked home and be inside the building before we lost a premier spot to work on the boat all winter. We had a survey completed on the boat, talked to the shipping company about costs and timing, reserved a spot in heated storage, talked to the bank about the documentation paperwork and scheduled a tour with the owners of the “Scottish” We couldn’t commit till we went down to Florida to see the boat for ourselves.

The beginning......

In the summer of 2009 it was official. Our 25 foot sailboat was too small. We wanted something to keep our family boating together for as many years as possible. We made our dream list of what we wanted, in no particular order;
1. Room for our family,
-comfortably sleep 6 (the two of us, the kids plus room for friends)
-a full and dedicated galley
2. Dedicated head
3. Full standing headroom
4. A real shower
5. Cockpit space to entertain guests comfortably
6. Enough weight to be stable at sea an anchor
7. Diesel, no speed records, just steady and reliable
8. Trawler - we were done sailing, and usually motored the last two seasons
9. Deck space to maneuver without stumbling over lines etc.

Under construction....

You have found the new location for our project documentation. Both the blog and the boat are currently under construction, please hang in there while we figure this all out.