You will be trained aboard Vespera, a 46-foot, blue water, Jeanneau, pilothouse, cutter designed by Guy Ribadeau Dumas. Dumas is well known for his custom performance yachts and his success with the BOC and Vendee Globe Challenge. At 34,000 lbs, the Jeanneau 46 (LOD) is well balanced and fast. She can self-steer, upwind, in 34 knot apparent head winds with steep, 6-foot seas; a stable and truly exhilarating ride. You will not be disappointed!

See boat layout to the left.

About Boat Restoration

Our course focuses on teaching you how to sail; however, restoring a boat can be rewarding if you have the time and skills. If you're interested in boat restoration, matching your skills to the right boat is something that we'll spend a little time on as part of our course. When restoring a boat, it's important that you don't choose a boat that's beyond your skill level or pocketbook. Even if you're not interested in boat restoration, you should be aware of important trouble spots that surveyors often miss when you purchase a used boat. For $500, a surveyor can't dissemble a boat to find the hidden problems. We'll spend a short time during our course looking at typical hidden problems in boats.

Vespera Restoration

The links below show pictures and describe the restoration process of Vespera, the boat we'll be sailing:

Note: much of the fiberglass work came from the restoration methods piloted by Alan Vaitses.

1. Fixing a fractured rudder with high pressure polyurethane injection and adding a heavy metal skid plate to prevent the problem from happening again. [summary with pictures] [full article]
2. Replacing the wasted plywood cores of internal structures with reinforced concrete. Internal structures below the water line include the grid surrounding keel, floor timbers and stringers. Ferro-concrete technology from the 70’s is married with fiberglass for the best of both worlds. [summary with pictures] [full article]
3. Using reinforced concrete below the floor boards for bulk head footings. [summary with pictures] [full article]
4. Using high pressure polyurethane injection for non-destructive balsa core:
• Moisture cure [summary with pictures] [full article]
• Rot cure [summary with pictures]
5. Curing hydrolysis in the hull by building a thin epoxy hull over the polyester hull. A system for stretching the fiberglass cloth over the hull is used so that almost no fairing was required after the lay-up was done. [summary with pictures] [full article]
6. Restoring the teak deck. [summary with pictures]
7. Miscellaneous including the swing keel and deck support. [summary with pictures]

Other projects and purchases include an Awlgrip topside, refurbished swing keel, new North sails, two new Bimini with an integrated wind shield, all new cushion covers, new stereo and a factory rebuilt auto-pilot, plus many other items.

Pictures by Arne Krogsveen