Esper Refit 03 - time lapse; removing veneer, toe rail; mast paint

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We’ve been building quite a team on Esper. The workers have been hard at it and work tirelessly both inside and outside the boat (watch six days of work condensed into a three minute video clip), but this week we had to let one of them go. It was an awkward situation compounded by a language barrier, but work’s been progressing so quickly it was our only option…

Six Days Work In A Boatyard In Three Minutes

It’s Sunday and you still haven’t woken up properly, so to ease you in to this week’s update we present an introductory video clip of the work done in the last six days reduced down to three minutes, complete with soothing background music to remind us of the lucky people sailing the oceans.

Boat Relocation

The biggest event that occurred this week in PSS Boatyard was the relocation of Esper. It involved moving four other boats along the track system the yard uses to move and park the boats. It’s fascinating to watch as six lads heave cables and jacks around the yard whilst the operator of the diesel-engine powered crank system move the boat from one location to another.

The main reason for moving is to put Esper out the way since we plan to be here a few months. It also means we have our own corner where we can erect a tent around the boat in anticipation for the deck removal and painting. We’re making the most of the view before that happens.

Toe-Rail Removal

Before the deck can be removed the last item to go was the toe-rail. Since this is through-bolted all the way down the side of the boat the easiest way for the carpenters to get to the bolts was to either chisel it or take a saw to it!

Interior Mood Boards

One of the difficulties in managing a project of this scale is removing oneself from the manual labour and spending some time on the computer doing research. The interior, however, is one of the main reasons for undertaking this refit so we spent some time researching interior ideas. It’s a minefield but fortunately we’re blessed with some kind of creative vision that allows us to see beyond the mess and picture what our new interior will look like. We felt it was important to let the other workers, the carpenters in particular, be aware of our vision too so Un, our project manager, has placed a whiteboard up in the saloon which will serve as a focus point for ongoing concerns with the project, including imagery and ‘moods’ of the look we are trying to achieve.

We spent quite a bit of time pouring over Formica and wood veneer brochures and narrowed the interior down to two veneers. Two significant changes we’ve been looking at is opting to turn the veneer on its side so the grain runs horizontally; and removing the dated trim around the doors. We’re also considering a brushed metal Formica in the galley to modernise it.

Veneer and Trim Removal

With the above in mind the two carpenters, Ton and Tui, began the messy job of removing the old ash veneer and chiseling away at the trim. Already the grey marine ply underneath gives us a hint of what the new interior will look like.

Our third summary video of progress aboard Esper, who is undergoing a major refit in PSS Satun Boatyard, Thailand. This accompanies a blog post on week three’s progress, which you can find here: http://followtheboat.com/2014/02/23/esper-refit-week-3. You can subscribe to our updates here: http://eepurl.com/B9Ykn

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