It has been one year since we purchased our 4788, and where have we gone, what have we done, what have we learned, and what would we do differently.

Where have we gone

12 weekend trips in the last year.

May was a busy month for us boating. We had our first 2 trips on the boat, and started finding out more things that were worn out and needed repairs. Our SHAKEDOWN CRUISE at the start of the month was to Shallow Bay at Sucia Island, followed by another trip to Sucia Island again for MEMORIAL WEEKEND 2020 – TRIP #2.

In June we had 2 trips on the boat, PREVOST HARBOR – STUART ISLAND – TRIP #3 followed by TRIP #4 – ROCHE HARBOR.

We had 2 trips in July, TRIP #6 – KAYAK COVE followed by TRIP #7 – ROCHE HARBOR. In July we also got the remaining batteries and finished EXTENDING THE HOUSE BATTERIES.

We did 2 trips in August, TRIP #9 SUCIA ISLAND DAY TRIP, and TRIP #10 DEER HARBOR AND ROCHE HARBOR.

September 2020 we had 2 more trips to Roche Harbor TRIP #11 – ROCHE HARBOR and TRIP #12 – SUCIA ISLAND AND ON TO ROCHE HARBOR.

What have we done to the boat

During the month we installed a NEW HOUSE BATTERY BANK, we added INTERNET ON THE BOAT, fixed the PILOTHOUSE DOORS, added NEW PORT SIDE STARTING BATTERIES, NEW MATTRESSES and a NEW CHAIN FOR A BETTER NIGHTS SLEEP.

A very busy month replacing a number if items that we did not expect to need to replace so soon.

April 2020 was really all about getting the boat ready, the world was still reacting to the initial Covid lockdowns, and we weren’t sure where we could stay, so we spent the time getting the boat ready.

The first thing that we ran into was problems with the dinghy, and it took a bit to get DINGY REPAIRED AND RUNNING, but now is runs really well.

We also removed the old name the “Falcon” and replaced it with the new name of Off Leash. We made the NEW VINYL BOAT NAME with our vinyl cutter, and applied it ourselves.

The next upgrade was solar panels since we do not have shore power at our normal “home” dock we needed a way to keep the batteries charged so that the boat would be ready for us to go.

During August we also had to install a NEW FORWARD TOILET, we were able to replace the FLY BRIDGE STEREO AND POWER. To help with some of the stink from the sewage holding tank we installed a new HOLDING TANK VENT FILTER which was perhaps one of the best improvements ever that we did to the boat. We also replaced broken COCKPIT LIGHTING. It was a busy month.

In September the SOLAR PANELS RETIRED FOR THE SEASON and we continued work on the electronics with PHASE 2 OF THE SIMRAD UPGRADE.

October preparing for winter we worked on the WEBASTO 2010 DBW DIESEL HEATER – FAIL AND REPAIR, and some WINTER REMOTE BOAT MONITORING.

November we found a mechanic who started working on our engines, and found some pretty significant issues that required repair.

January 2021 started significant interior work, including a new USB CHARGING STATION, a NEW HEATER INSTALLED IN THE PILOTHOUSE, NEW PILOTHOUSE DOOR WHEEL ROLLERS, and NEW KITCHEN LIGHTING. Along with more electronics upgrade work, including PHASE 3 OF THE SIMRAD UPGRADE – NEW RADAR, and WINTER TIME – MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES. We also purchased new 2021 CREW SHIRTS.

Feb 2021 was busy with more winter time work which included MORE LED REPLACEMENTS, TV FOR REMOTE SIMRAD DISPLAY, HEAD MIRROR REPLACEMENT, new STATEROOM STEREO, FILLING THE HOLE WHERE THE RADAR WAS, HEAD LIGHTING UPGRADE, NEW FUEL FILTER FOR THE GENERATOR and ANOTHER HEATER REPLACEMENT.

March so far to date has been MORE INTERIOR LIGHTS, FRESH ARTWORK IN THE PILOTHOUSE, and a SECOND SCREEN FOR THE SIMRAD.

What have we learned

• Whenever you are working with wires, check for green or black corrosion, and replace the wires if there is any damage.
• Before buying a boat a mechanic reviewing the engines is probably more important then the survey itself.
• If you are going to buy a 20+ year old boat, expect a fair amount of repairs. Things you may never notice before purchasing it.

What would we do differently

• Remove fly bridge canvas and windows for the winter. That would have allowed our canvas to last another year.
• Had our mechanic inspect the engines prior to purchase. We thought that what the surveyor did was good enough, but after some really huge expenses we learned our lesson.