Hello from Sitka, Alaska

[project posit]

My name is Scott. I am a solo-crew refitting a 1984 Irwin 41 foot CC Ketch. I live in beautiful (albeit rainy now) Sitka, Alaska. I am late 50s with a crazy dream/plan of wandering our planet following the refit/upgrades.


I bought this Irwin from a harbor auction just before covid became a thing. I have just finished stripping everything down to the hull and can authoritatively state that there is nothing that does not require complete and total repair/rebuild/replacement. I look forward to meeting you all on here.

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum Scott.

[project posit]

Thank you so very much Celestial

[desodave]

Welcome aboard Scott from another (usually) rainy part of the west coast. Good luck with your rebuild and hope you're out cruising on it soon.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Hello Scott,

Welcome to the forums.

I’m somewhat of a neighbor. I’m living in Wrangell Alaska. I hear Stika is always raining.

Sam

[project posit]

Well there are times it rains less. ��

[Nord Sal]

Good luck with your project, and keep us posted on your progress. It's been beautiful in the area of late, but that's changing now.

Sam, you're definitely in the banana belt over there by the mouth of that big river. Why, your annual precip there is only about double plus a foot or foot-and-a-half more than 'wet' Seattle.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Hello Nord Sal

I agree more than “wet Seattle”

Ya, that big Stikine River. I think that’s how Stikine is spelled.

I’ve never heard I was in the banana belt. I think that pretty cool! Have a good day Nord Sal.

Sam

[grantmc]

Greetings from New Zealand, and I hope that you find the forum friendly and helpful Scott.

[JPA Cate]

Well, you've got the tiger by the tail, now, Scott!

Welcome aboard CF, and tell us what your first project in the hull will be.

Ann

[Adelie]

Welcome to CF.

[project posit]

Hellio Ann,


I haven't been on in awhile, as I had to travel up to Anchorage and deal with some medical stuff. Once I go back to Sitka, in February 2023, I am planning a blitz attack on my boat. I need to pull both masts and either remove paint and polish/wax the masts or repaint them. Have not made the final decision which way to go yet, though leaning toward the polished aluminum look if it will work for my masts.



Then I need to rebuild the Perkins 4.154, so that will be pulled (along with lugger genset) when I remove the masts. I can handle the rebuild myself, so shouldn't be to terribly bad cost wise.


Also need to put the boat on the tidal grid, so I can scrape the hull and check/reseal all through-hulls. Sitka does not currently have a haul out facility, so tidal grid is it for now.



Once these projects are done, I will be working on insulating the hull and interior, replacing all hatches and port lights, then a complete rewire and electric upgrade, and finally rebuild the interior space.


If I manage to get all of that done, without going bankrupt, I would like to modify the transom into a sugar scoop - step down configuration. I have gotten myself into quite the project it seems.

[Sam Woodbridge]

Sorry to hear about the medical stuff Scott. February might seem far away, but it will be here before you know it.

Thanks for the update and good luck!

Sam

[Zeketronics]

Howdy Scott, sounds like quite the project. How are you handling all that with the weather? It seems like alot to do with snow or rain, particularly getting the engine out. I grew up in Juneau so I appreciate there's no choice but to work in the rain, although been in the southwest long enough maybe to have forgotten, now I just stay inside the 2 days a year it rains here. Going to have to be fast resealing through-hulls on the tidal grid. Hope you've got good friends to help out with that. Best of luck!

[RaymondR]

Lovely looking boat.

Sugar scoop stern??