December 2018
The inside of Allagai needed just as much work as the outside. We needed to strip everything out of her and inspect the steel for rust and potential holes. This was a seriously depressing task as it seemed every time we stripped a new section back we found more cancerous rust, although luckily only one eventuated to a small hole. When Allagia was built she had one fatal design flaw, the stringers are flat bar welded directly to the hull. The problem with this is the builders never allowed for any drainage points for water to get to the bilge. This meant that any water which accumulated on the flat surfaces of the stringers would just sit until wiped away or it evaporated. Although some of the stringers did drain there were very few places in the boat that the water could run from the top to bottom and actually make it to the bilge. Most of the hull was also hidden behind the wall panelling and furniture so we didn’t know when or where the water was catching to be able to wipe it up. So of course this ability to catch water has led to rust forming over the years which brings us back to why we had to strip everything out. It was also particularly important because Allagai had a few leaks above the waterline which meant occasionally salt water would get below. However Allagai was a very easy yacht to strip back to hull without damaging anything. The original builder had only used plywood, screws and a few nuts and bolts to make the interior and all were left exposed for easy dismantling.
We decided from the very beginning that to stop ourselves from becoming overwhelmed by the task that we would only strip one section out at a time. Allagai had five major sections, the forward cabin, head/ work bench area, saloon, galley/ navigation table area and the aft bunk. So quite simple we started from the bow and worked our way back. Also out of these five sections we had decided to redesign three of them, the head, galley/ navigation table and aft bed.
The bow was probably the simplest and easiest section, all the plywood and framing came out without any issues and the rust wasn’t too concerning, mostly just surface stuff. Although we still had to spend a few days chipping off the rust we did find and treat it using rust converter and then seal it with paint. From the beginning we also decided that since the whole interior was coming out we would also paint everything, the hull, the plywood, the framing you name it I painted it. In total the bow took us about three weeks to complete, from the day everything came out to the day it went back in and bear in mind as I’ve already said this section was the simplest and relatively small.
Before
AfterNext came the head, again this took us no time to strip out, there was nothing in it but a toilet. The head was in desperate need of a facelift. The toilet rested on the ground which meant that when a you sat on it your knees basically came up to your ears, it was awkward to use and all the plumbing and sea-cocks were exposed. To fix all these issues firstly we built a platform to hide the sea-cocks, now they were protected and we couldn’t fall and accidentally break them. Next we mounted the toilet on a pedestal and bolted that to the platform, meaning no more toilet sitting awkwardness. While we were at redesigning we also added a cupboard with a hand basin and tap so not only did we have a new storage space but we could also wash our hands in the head and not have toilet germs in the galley. The other little detail we added was a door, previously it only had a curtain, which was a little sketchy on a windy day. With all these small improvements the head suddenly became a nicer, much more functional and hygienic room. Next came the the workbench which sits opposite the head. No major redesigning was needed to the workbench so it just got stripped out and repainted but we did find a nasty surprise. While chipping rust way near the roof we had gone straight through the steel hull near the chain plates. However this was quickly cleaned up and a patch welded over the top allowing the painting to be completed and the room to be put back together. This hole reinforced just how important the job we were doing was.
Work BenchThe next section getting a facelift was the saloon which even though it was the biggest section had very little rust in proportion to its size. Although a lot of the rust here was quite cancerous and in some spots we probably lost a millimetre or two of steel. To make life easier we also only did one side at a time. This prevented pieces from getting mixed up between the sides and it kept the job manageable. The only minor upgrade we did here was remake the book shelf railing. Previously the railings were flimsy, thin and narrow, even with my small size if I leant on them they would bend. So we found an old oregon mast, off a past boat laying around the back yard. The mast had enough length to be cut in half and fit perfectly between the two ends of the book shelf, one for either side.
Finally we had made it to the galley and navigation table and eight weeks had past since we had stripped the bow the end was in sight. By this point both the nav table and galley had already been mostly dismantled as we’d needed to remove the half wall in the previous section which was fixed on both sides. But that didn’t matter because this entire section was being redesigned, starting with the fuel tank and engine box. When we had bought the boat the fuel tank was a 100L fuel bladder stored under the cockpit floor. But under the engine was an unused open void space with a volume of roughly 100-120L, it just needed to be cleaned, sealed properly and have inlets/outlets installed. We were actually terrified by what we would find because far as we knew no one had looked in the unsealed void for over 5 years. Although it had a manual bilge pump so we knew water was down there but not the damage it may have caused. But we were pleasantly surprised the rust looked horrific and we thought was had a huge hole for sure but when we started poking it it looked way worse then it actually was. We probably lost a millimetre or less of steel in two spots so the void was quickly cleaned up and painted and the hatch cover properly sealed with its new plumbing attached. Allagai now had a new working fuel tank we just had to reinstall the engine and build a new engine box around it. Originally the engine box was huge. The length of the box was mostly fine but athwartships it spanned from the galley to nav table and to use either you had to sit crouching or crossed legged on the engine box which wasn’t very practical or comfortable. So without further adieu a new engine box was built with just enough room to reach a hand down each side. We also added a viewing hatch into the one side of the box to check the oil dipstick. Next we moved onto remaking the galley, basically we just wanted a bench along the hull with the stove on one end and the sink at the other. The only condition we had was the sink had to be directly above the sea-cock so it would drain properly. Also as the new engine box was smaller we could now stand in front of the galley. This gap also made the underneath very accessible so we installed a couple of cupboards doors and expanded our storage area once more. Next was the nav table, it went back in much the same with a few alterations to make the electronics and wiring neater. First we added a new wall which is where we mounted a new control panel and built a cupboard behind this. This cupboard became our new wiring box and also gave us a space to recess the stereo, VHF and HF radios and the engine control panel. This new set-up allowed the nav table to be pushed back slightly meaning we could now stand in front of it and work at the table. The underneath was also left open and became a perfect storage space for large items which could sit on an exposed beam, maybe one day this would also become a cupboard. This section took us the longest and caused many debates and late nights designing it to make sure we put everything where we wanted it but in the end we made it to the finish line and everyone came out happy with the design.
New Engine Box
Before
AfterFinally with Christmas only just around the corner all that was left was to add some plywood for the aft bed, wire in the electronics, plumb in the engine and finally move on board. Hugo is an electrical genius and in about a week he had rewired the whole boat the way he wanted and had the engine running. It was about a week before Christmas that we finally moved on board. As a way celebrate and say thank-you to Hugos family for helping us complete Allagia’s transformation we hosted Christmas lunch on board. This was her second sail after nearly six months of refit and it was perfect we had stunning weather, a beautiful sail and a day filled with sun, food, swimming and snorkelling.
