Before the Refit Boat Tour - Episode 142
Before we got stuck into ripping Mirrool apart we thought we'd film a boat tour above and below deck pointing out the good, the bad and the ugly and how we plan to remedy the issues.
The boat has changed so much over last 3 months it was a really rewarding experience editing this video to look back and see how much we have improved the interior!
We hope you enjoy this one. Unfortunately, we can't give you any decent progress pictures at the moment because the spaces that are complete or near completion have all our tools or belongings on them so we can keep working on other parts of the boat. However, when a few more things have come together this week we will put some up here on the Patreon Wall.
Until then and with gratitude
Troy and Pascale
Comments (43)
Great comment - 'Some people might unsubscribe... which would be awesome!' - love it. Crimping and heat-shrink work but you can't beat soldered connections, car, boat, trawler, ship - it just works. And sometimes you have to set aside cosmetics for practicality with systems that affect your life (or death).
:)
:D
My kind of fun! And possibly the most absolutely positive bit of video I've seen in, well forever! Troy my friend you are truly in good form. "A squillion dollars", and "itching to do a re-fit" etc. are simply priceless! I wish I could figure out when I started following FRS. I do know that it was while you were still in "Croc country" and you two have brightened up my life ever since. Thanks Bunches! Love you guys, stay safe...
I'm glad we were positive at the time, looking back the whole overhaul was pretty overwhelming! I think we're over the interior refit hump, now it's just trying to figure out if we'll get everything else done in time...btw Troy remembers your comment on our second episode but I think you found us once we started hanging out with the crocs. if I was to hazard a guess I reckon it would be the video called "Fishing with Crocodiles" it has a big crocodile in the thumbnail ;P
Hey Guys. Great to see you while I have awesome internet here in Washington USA. I left Mexico BC for a spell (with its limited to non existent cell coverage) to sail the pacific north west in my brothers boat. It’s been 104 F at 0600 hrs in BC. And we had enough of that. Here at a freezing 56F I can sail and watch videos at the same time with a sweater on. What a concept.
Pacific northwest sounds dreamy, we'd love to visit one day. 56F aounds a bit like Tassie summer too!
Love it. Looking forward to the results. Unsubscribe? . . . never!
hahaha cheers legend
Thanks for the tour. Looking forward to the refit. Having spent so much time living in Marool what you can and can't do, what you can and can't live with become pretty clear. Your vids from Port Davey inspired me to get an inflatable kayak. I got the expedition elite. Given the state of play in Victoria, my adventures will have to be closer to home. Options aplenty in East Gippsland. Cheers Roger
Congratulations on the new yak! We hope you enjoy discovering the inland Victorian waters. P
Also Troy, I've been looking at hard dodger options too, so keen to see what you have in mind. My commercial fishing experience has me very respectful of the power of moving water against badly designed structures so I'm warily working on compromises. We have an inner forestay which has been used previously to hoist a storm jib but there are no dedicated deck fittings still attached for this. I'm turning a hanked 150% genoa into a furler (its getting old...) until I work out what I will settle on. Loved the advice about going and getting some sea time before getting too carried away with refit, I'm sure there will be things I would have missed.. like leaks!
I really hope we will get a chance to fix up the dodger. As always we're running out of time and Troy was stressing about it today. We'll just see how we go. Cheers Pas
Fantastic guys, I certainly feel I get the best side of the bargain being a sponsor! With our Clanny getting some loving you can bet I will be glued to the refit videos too! So much good seasoned advice here so thanks!
You're welcome Peter. Were you running comparison shots with your girl? Mirrool has had a fair few major modifications done to her (some good some bad!) over the last 50 years.
When it comes to boats, practicality and functionality win every time. “Perfection is the enemy of the good” ..... indeed ✅ .... thanks for being so inspiring, as always! Roy
Thanks Roy. I know it's true but she's looked pretty rough for a long time. Can't wait until it is all finished!
Also was trying to get some detail on your hard dodgers. Was looking thru the early build of it but trying to understand how you interface the s/s tube. Obviously it has worked well and is v strong and looks good. So looking forward to you plans on this. Cheers Andrew
Yup we plan to replace it an film in more detail. The s/s tube was already existing on Mirrool and created the form for the previous soft dodger that got ripped off when Troy sailed down the WA Coast. The hard dodger sits on top of the s/s framework. When we get to fixing it we will be able to show you on film, stay tuned!
Very enjoyable. When you removed the dorade vents did you replace with something else?
No. Mirrool already has very good ventilation, so we didn't think those dorades were necessary. The original Clansman design has a custom dorade forward that circulates air through the v berth and out the companion way hatch. When we are going sailing we can close it up from inside the v berth to prevent leaking.
Thanks very much for the before tour! There is a great deal of wisdom in the "just go" strategy, especially when it comes to postponing cosmetics and conveniences. Getting experience actually using the boat gives one a entirely different perspective on where to focus. Can't wait to see the refit episodes. Love the way things look in your previews...
You are dead right Scott. I think it's hard to know what is really important until you get out there for 6 months or so. The biggest battle for us was tackling the leaks which we've pretty much gotten on top of now, (7 years later!). That's something we wouldn't of discovered if we'd spent 2 years refitting Mirrool in a boat yard or shed!
I do enjoy a good refit series... can't wait!!
nice! plenty of refit footage coming your way! We're still at it, 3 months later!
It's not the years, it's the miles! High expectations for Mirrool's extreme make over.
we hope we can live up to them!
Can’t wait for more updates, looks like a solid game plan was mapped out.
Things kind of morphed and mutated over time. But getting our interior looking spiffy was key!
A very good intro to your refit, thank you. Using Pascale as a reason (NOT an excuse) for setting off North as soon as you met Her, and as a first date, worked very well for you Troy. You didn't give the Young Lady a chance to change Her mind, and both of your Love for each other has only grown in the meantime. I think the Windvane Bushing will definitely make Mirrool more Seaworthy though, as will the availability of a tighter foresail, as you will be sailing more or less into wind whilst travelling along the Southern coast of your beautiful continent. Do you have a Storm Jib? I've heard that some of the winds along there can get a little 'Fruity' (That was the term used by the old Sailor I was chatting to!) Yes, you will be starting your next leg in the Spring/Summer, but I would think that by the time you get to the Bottom Left Corner, it may well be a little Cold and Breezy. And, as others have said, got to give the Gourmet Sailor a perfect Pantry. Oh, and by the way, our Trailer Cable here in the UK is either 7 or 13 Core. Imagine the possibilities of that in a Boat!
There's a very small window (if any) over summer to head from East to West so we're going to loiter around Northern Tas and Adelaide area to see if we can do it. A new dyneema rig is going on this week or next. The mast is coming out and there's a dyneema specialist here at the marina. We didn't want to cross the Bight with it's "fruity" winds on our old rig. Exciting times, will give you all updates soon. Cheers Andy, P
majority of the work is cosmetic so should be a great refit. i got our 30 MS Fisher just over a year ago and immediately had to adjust sails. being a bit of a perfectionist had to rethink my approach. i now work on a three phase process. 1st, good enough, 2nd, go back through and address underlying causes, and last but not least, wish list (may never make it to the third phase). Safety is a completely different item all together, everything stops to address a safety item. I’ve got to go back through and find where you built your holding tank. previous owner put one in in a very usable space, 30 ft boats need to maintain what little they have, while there are tons of unused space behind the head similar to yours. looking forward to seeing the finished product.
I must admit it is nice doing cosmetic work this time round you really can see the changes day to day. We discuss the holding tank in an earlier episode but we didn't do a full episode on it as we were a bit short on footage https://youtu.be/Gl_eA8GxIsc . There's also a post on the Patreon Wall with a diagram of the tank layout if you scroll back to about 10 months ago if you can't find it let me know your email and I'll send it to you. P
The best refitters in the business! Can't wait! Pascy's Pantry will be incredible soon! :)
Cheers Dom, it's getting there 😉
Sure hope that Pascale will get her shelves so that there’s more room for her cooking! Great video as usual. I have to add that I watched all the episodes from the beginning. It was very informative for me since I am not from Australia, I did look at the map to familiarize myself on the locations you were referring to. Thank you for the great video’s.
Hi Jim, that's a lot of viewing for sure! Oz is pretty diverse right? I got my new timber shelves but they aren't quite finished yet so we'll put up pics once they area varnished. P
Most excellent preview. I like the logic behind your choices. Although some might not agree, it does shed a good light on how / why you do things. BTW I thought fiberglass without a good resin / epoxy layer was prone to delam.
I think the fact that Mirool's coach roof doesn't have a balsam core is the big plus here. Troy, correct me if I'm wrong.
Great vid. Thank you. I agree with Troy’s view, just go. That’s my goal eventually. Perfect can take a life time and it might be very satisfying, but getting out there would be far better. Done is better than perfect. I will watch with interest as you make your little home more liveable. Reckon I might end up in a similar situation one day. Till then, enjoying vicariously.
I'm glad we went when we did but I'm also very very glad we are making the inside of our boat lovely. It already feels so much nicer to be home. P
Cheers guys, the videos are always worth the wait. Hey we are going to Kabarri in a few weeks on the way back from Coral bay & are hoping to catch our 1st muddies.
How exciting. Good luck with the muddies! Make sure you have some Bushman's spray with you the sand flies can get nasty!!!