In 2016 I decided to rebuild the interior with 12 years worth of wish-list items. I got as far as cutting off the deck and then poor Spindrift sat forlorn (but not forgotten) in my yard on the trailer. In 2020 my very good friend Ken stepped up and offered some of his retiree time. In fact he took my wish list and did all of it and more. His first suggestion was to remove the masts and add a pilothouse to turn her into a pocket-cruiser. I said I was getting old, but not quite so old that I wanted to do that - but in 20 years that's exactly what I want so he made all the following improvements with the next project in mind (basically creating the foundation and making certain pieces removable). Ken is a genius and a visionary, but thinks of himself as merely practical.

  • He replaced the useless foredeck with a beautiful coming and artfully sealed an anchor-line through-hull. This dramatically increased the usable space in the boat and makes her much much prettier.

  • He added watertight bulkheads in the bow and stern, decked them over and built very clever flush-mounted hatches.

  • He built a watertight box around the mizzen step to isolate it from the aft watertight bulkhead and installed a copper pipe to drain water from the mizzen step through the watertight bulkhead to the bilge

  • He built an electrical system (a small portable box with a battery to run a pump, lights, and charge electronics)

  • He installed a bilge pump with surprisingly elegant and low profile wiring and plumbing.

  • He repaired and replaced the floor timbers.

  • He added floorboards to the bow section and refinished the floorboards in the main cockpit.

  • He reinforced the benches a and shelves

  • He built stable graceful tent supports

  • I designed and sewed the tent and recruited my daughter and her friend to do the painting.

He brought Spindrift back to life and gave me the opportunity to go camp-cruising with my teenage kids. I have continued the improvements here and there (next project is to turn the hatch cover into a tabletop that can sit on the centerboard trunk). The watertight bulkheads and electric bilge pump don't make her completely self rescuing, but I think would keep me alive after a significant swamping, at least give me a fighting chance in cold water.