Starting the Refit
They say that the cruising lifestyle is “fixing your boat in exotic locations.”
Some people refer to that idiom as a nightmare, but to us, that sounds like a dream because right now - and for the next several months - we are currently in the “fixing your boat at an inland Florida boatyard” stage of things.
We are not caught by surprise by this refit stage. We knew going into this project that Magic Dragon* was in need of a good refit, and we knew that the initial refit would last a good amount of time - in no small part because we would be conducting the refit while working full-time jobs from ~1,300 miles away.
We are ready and excited for the challenge. The plan is to take trips down to the boat to do some of the work ourselves and to oversee some contractors that will be assisting us.
This week we took our first trip back to the boat with the following goals:
Inventory all gear left by the prior owners and remove what we do not want/need;
Measure every nook and cranny of the boat and take diligent notes; and
Have fun with the process!
We checked each box and more on this trip!
Anyone who has owned a boat, any type of boat, knows that boat work is often an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Working on Magic Dragon is no different.
Within a few minutes of arriving at the boatyard, Magic Dragon revealed our first surprise. She was a bee graveyard. Thousands of the little buggers covered most surfaces inside the boat. Thankfully, all but a small handful were already dead, and the hives were largely abandoned.
A broom, a dustpan, and a bug bomb later and the bees were history.
After handling our first surprise with aplomb, the rest of the trip was largely productive and uneventful. We inventoried and measured every inch of the boat, and returned back to Chicago to plan our next steps.
We’d love to have you join our crew and participate in our journey.
- Kirstin & Andy
*We would love your suggestions for a new name!
We are so excited to have you along with us for our crazy idea(s). If you like what you see, there are many ways you can show your support (many of which are FREE!).
Cameras:
Canon EOS R6
GoPro Hero 10
Insta360 OneX2
DJI Mavic Mini 2
Music: Epidemic Sound
