Flipping An Old Boat

Sold my Hunter 26 to a sailor in Santiago Chile (shipped on a freighter!)  and took possession of a 1989 Hunter 34 that had been unattended at Lake Travis for several years.  This is the story of how one might get that bigger boat you have wished for on a budget and with some TLC bring it to life again.

As I bought it.  Not bad, but all the lines needed replacing and the old windows were all hazed and no good for seeing out.

The bimini in place and all windows replaced.  Made a huge difference in the light and ambiance on the inside!  Plus the larger salon windows have a much more modern look.

One project I first did was to cut out an area for a microwave in the galley:

This was wasted space I thought.

   

It worked out well.  Good spot for the microwave.

Bought an orbital sander and made quick work of the faded and stained navigation table. 

New faucet and counter top--easy

Old sink

After getting tired of buying ice for the ice box I installed a wine cooler ($99) next to the microwave nd now can cool drinks and perishables --great move.  It is all the refrigeration I need.

A little cleaning and staining brought the salon back to life.

The old companion way teak boards were cracked and warped.  I had an old piece of Lexan that worked beautifully as a retrofit and gave much more light to the inside.

Dated window design--needs to be bigger.

It took a chisel and sabre saw to get the old frame out and open up the window hole.

New and bigger openings for the windows. 

Taped neoprene gasket sheet over windows and marked the window openings to cut  out for a flush fit from window edges to the outside edge of the over-sized Lexan windows.

Bolted in place and then edges sealed with silicone.

I used 5/8" aluminum angle to frame out the inside.

All the ports were weathered.  I Rotozipped out the acrylic panes, leaving the frames intact and had 1/4 inch glass cut to fit then siliconed them in place. Eight windows in all.

Before...

I love the results!

.  The new windows could have cost several thousand -- I spent about $200