Malmuirie

Saturday, April 04, 2015

Phuket, Thailand

I never thought in a million years I would be living on a William Gardiner designed 47ft vagabond yacht, she is really stunning... traditional in style and looks like a wooden boat even though she's fiberglass. Built in Taiwan she has one previous owner who lived on her for years and is a real classic but does need a lot of work.

There is always plenty to do from the basic living on board stuff, cleaning, polishing, varnishing, stocking etc. to all the main safety and seaworthy jobs and we've got our work cut out. Although it wasn't my intention to stay on the boat once my passport arrived I guess Drew and I were having way too much fun and there was always something to do and he's really appreciated my help, you gotta have a Newlands on board!!

I love the thought and planning Drew puts into his jobs, it does take a lot of preparation before you start pulling things apart. He's designed and built many new features and from my arrival to date Malmuirie is simply a different boat.

Here's some of the work we've done on Malmuirie since I arrived;

Winch: new electric windlass, collection from Bangkok, new mounting for winch, complete new wiring and safety switches to install.

Batteries: all new batteries installed from starter to house.

Solar Panels: stainless steel collapsible frames designed by Drew and made by local workers, new panels set up, rewiring installed and gage for efficiency mounted.

Engine: all maintenance, new filters etc installed plus day tank designed and working.

Rigging: new plates installed and rig tuned.

Spreader: repaired and back in use.

Fridge: new cold plates installed into the bottom of the cold box, and regulator set up re: temperature settings.

Cooker: cleaned, refueled and working again.

Lights: all new LED lamps fitted, some wiring/switches repaired.

Fans: new fans throughout, rewired, new fittings/mountings.

Heads: new systems in both toilets, plumbed and maintained.

Storage: all storage areas redesigned for more efficient use.

Radio: all new radio safety equipment installed.

Navigation: new Hummingbird and programs.

Computer: new wireless system and mounted screen set up at work station.

Life raft: new life raft stored and set up for use.

Life rings: new throw bags made for ropes and safely attached to rails, plus location for lose ring established.

Dinghy: new brackets designed and fiberglass for strength.

Outboard: new outboard.

Cap rails: sanded, all repairs carried out with new wood and shaped to fit, varnished.

Hand rails: repairs carried out and varnished.

Safety ropes: all handrail, safety ropes replaced.

Hatches: new hatches designed and fitted for the storage area on deck.

Water storage: new filters installed, plus new water carriers for deck area.

Tools: all tools labeled and restored.

Tanks: new tanks and storage area set up.

Sails: dried and covered, refolded and stored those not in use.

Flag pole: original lost but new location set up waiting on new pole.

OK OK... she's a different boat, this list Isn't inclusive and there will always be jobs needing done, I just thought I'd give you a few ideas why we ended up sitting in marinas for so long.

If nothing else I'm glad I was part of the project, she's a joy to work on and Drew is great company, it was a real team effort which I thoroughly enjoyed and still do. Here's to the next thing breaking, we'll see how it goes from there!

Malmuirie you are beautiful, I've no doubt you and Drew will have wonderful fun adventures for a long, long time to come.

Other Entries

Photos & Videos

Comments

2025-05-23

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank