To rescue a fine lady

Having lived in Malta for the last couple of years, I might have become affected by some sort of romantic knighthood when I suddenly felt a call for saving a lady? The Dame in question is a Hallberg-Rassy 46 from 1997. I do believe she has been loved by her owners – hence her name: Laska means “Love” in Czech. When we saw her last week-end, the owners also proclaimed: “Laska is a happy boat!”

 

 

We could tell Laska wasn’t very happy in her current situation, however. Not that she had been mistreated, but she remained unseen and neglected where she had been standing on the hard for the last two years on the Italian shore-side by Bocca di Magra, wistful dreaming about being launched in order to feel the freedom of sailing towards the horizon.

I’m sure Laska had felt that her owners had not taken much notice of her lately, while she herself still felt so young and had so much more to give – especially love. I’m sure she was thinking this way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that I can’t save every neglected boat in the world, but this one was different. Laska was still so sound in her structure and, for instance, totally dry. Under the floorboards I could still see the wooden sawdust that originated from the days when Hallberg-Rassy built Laska in Sweden twelve years earlier indicating no water had been there.

We could not find any scratches on the hull, while she really needed a profound polishing of her sides. There was a worrying stream of rust coming out between the lead keel and the hull, but experts I have been speaking with say it originates from a void between the two materials and could easily be fixed. I hope they are right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laska has not sailed too extensively: Her first owner did hardly sail her at all until she was sold in 2004. The current owners sailed her in the Mediterranean and to the Caribbean via Brazil and back in 2006-08. The last two years she has remained untouched ashore. In the cupboards we found an open mustard jar, a half drunken bottle of wine and in the bilges, there were bottles of Coca Cola that were to be consumed before November 2010.

All cushions were covered and since the last owner is an engineer, he has looked after the essentials from a technical standpoint. The main engine, for instance, had undergone a major overhaul in 2006 where everything that was possible to be exchanged was replaced, while the original parts are now found onboard as spare parts. The total engine hours are no more than 2,500. When I took apart the winches they were nicely greased and I could not see any major rust or oxidation on deck.

 

 

 

That said, this would become a major project for us in order to get her into an “as-new” state as possible and in a way we feel a boat should look like (Please compare photos of Regina, interior and exterior).

Jessica looked at our old photos of Regina, our beloved HR40 and what the children consider as their real home. With Regina, it would be a simple issue to let go the mooring lines and to sail off into the sunset. No preparations are needed. Regina is always ready to go and as beautiful as she has ever been. She is readily equipped, everything is in order and exactly stowed the way we want it. So why change? Why not being satisfied with what one has? Why making it so complicated starting all over again from scratch?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been looking for a bigger boat for quite some time in order to get a third cabin and two heads, but had always had a fairly new and well-treated boat in mind.

Before we even wish to launch Laska into the water, we will truck her to Ellös on the small island of Orust in Sweden, where she once was built by the Hallberg-Rassy yard. Orust is a very special place on earth where everything circles around boat-building. It is believed that boats have been built in the area for ten thousand years. The woodwork has always been outstanding, leading to Sparkman&Stephans having many of their beautiful designs built on Orust, primarily at the Br Martinsson yard. Other fine yachts, such as Najad, Malö Yachts, Vindö, Regina av Vindön, Nordwest, Sweden Yachts, CR Yachts, Fantasi, Farr Pilot House Yachts and – not least – Hallberg-Rassy have all been built on, or adjacent to the small island of Orust. But there are many more small yards, which still build wooden traditional boats as well as there are experts in winter storing, overhauling and refurbishing fine yachts. Sailors come from all over the world in order to get the best available quality in boatbuilding and boat repair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What one might not be aware of is the strong bound between the boatbuilders and the tradition to support and help each other with one common interest to never lower their standards of quality when it comes to boat building. It is not uncommon that one yard takes in a workman from another yard or refers a costumer to a competitor if they believe it is better done by someone else. Sometimes I have the impression that I have to convince a yard to take me on as their costumer and that they pick their boats and tell what needs to be done. It is not for everyone. The saying goes that the boat is taken care of by one of the yards and you, as the owner, may borrow the boat over summer to return it to the yard so they can do the upkeep.

It is certainly no co-incidence that Christoph Rassy came empty-handed on his black bike with a brown suitcase as his only possessions all the way from Bavaria in southern Germany to learn how to build boats on Orust. This was in 1962 and he has remained faithful to Orust ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are proud of the fact that our HR40 Regina always has been treated and stored indoors during the winters using these professional boatbuilders on Orust. I believe this is the secret behind Regina still looking just like new!

Of course, we wish to allow Laska to feel the same appreciation and we cannot think of any better place than Orust to refurbish her. Since we were able to purchase Laska for a very reasonable price, we believe we will be able to afford the cost for the necessary refurbishment, which might end up as an additional investment not far from the actual purchasing price. The intention is to get a boat for a tolerable price but with brand new equipment, e.g. new teak deck, electric furling, new sails, new watermaker, new electrics and electronics, new generator and a fully refurbished interior. Compared to a brand new HR 43 or a HR48, which would come with similar and equally new equipment, this might become an interesting alternative for boat buyers in the future. Another possibility for us would, obviously, have been to take whatever a fairly new pre-owned boat comes with. Equipping an older boat from scratch will be fun, choosing equipment and interior according to our need and taste, similar to when we ordered our two previous boats new from the Hallberg-Rassy yard.

 

Laska will become our fourth Hallberg-Rassy boat and my sixth boat. Every time I have been warned by family and friends, so I’m getting used to it.

I remember when I bought my first boat when I was 15 years old, a Laser dinghy, my parents shook their heads and found it a “very unpractical boat, where you couldn’t even stow an anchor or have a flag pole at her transom”.

When I bought my second boat with no more than 19 years of age, a 21 foot Albin Viggen, which came equipped with four berths, a galley, a water toilet, an outboard engine that sometimes worked and – yes – an anchor and a flag pole, I was warned and people shook their heads again: If I fulfilled my dream of such a “cabin cruiser” already this young, what would I ever dream of when I got older? With the knowledge I have today, I would rather have questioned the boat’s safety equipment, its inferior anchor (“don’t pull that rope or else the anchor might come loose!”), the lack of a life raft and proper life jackets and my limited knowledge in navigation. But I took little notice and learnt along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Karolina and I bought our first Hallberg-Rassy, a used HR29, one year after our wedding, we spent all our saved money and would therefore not be able to afford to buy a house. Again, family and friends thought we were crazy buying a boat instead of a house!

The HR31 that came five years later was questioned again by our surrounding. It seemed too similar in size as the HR29 (“only two feet!”) as well as the fact that it was “crazy” to buy a brand new boat from the yard. But otherwise I think our surrounding people had finally given up in sending warnings and were soon becoming silence.

This peace changed, however, when we took the really dramatic step to sell our house (yes, we bought one in the end), planned to give up our jobs with the indispensable financial income and ordered yet another brand new boat from the yard: our HR40 with which we took off for a sabbatical cruising year to the Caribbean and back. For the full story and how this sabbatical year changed our lives, please read our book.

This year when I have reached the age of almost 48 years, I am actually part of the questioning surrounding. I am not sure any longer if I have lost my mind becoming involved in such a major project! The only thing that seems to remain in common with the previous boats is the fact that I stick to my habit buying a boat that is as long in feet as my age is in years (the HR46 is actually 48 feet long).

Do I really understand what we are embarking upon? To tell you the truth: – No, I don’t.

But, I want to find out!

Luckily we have a few friends who believe in this project. Our good friend Manlio from Italy drove 300 km all the way from Milan to Bocca di Magra to investigate the boat together with us. Roland, the former sales manager of Hallberg-Rassy is giving invaluable advice despite the fact that he is very busy preparing their own HR43 Bella Luna for blue water cruising. His partner Vickie, who ran HR Parts & Accessories for many years, is equally a strong supporter and so is Carl Adams, who is a former employee of Hallberg-Rassy. Carl can’t wait and is eagerly willing to help with the project management using his contacts to find the best craftsmen to do the various jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While our children are protesting and unwilling to sell their “home” and our family member Regina, we have today signed the contract and purchased Laska. Around 21 May we have been able to get a return-trip from Ford Yachttransport who happen to have a job to truck a new Hallberg-Rassy from Ellös to Italy at the same time.

The next weeks will become interesting. The main question now is with whom Laska will be placed during summer, autumn and winter. Most probably she will be at the yard, which will get the major and expensive job to change the entire teak deck. I am currently going through various offers and I plan to post the progress of this project, which hopefully ends with a re-launch and sea trials in spring 2013.

We are very excited about our new Regina-project and even the press has shown interest: Yachting World has asked me to write a couple of articles about the project, illustrating how one can help a fine lady to turn into a diamond of brilliant cut, becoming the Queen of the seas, full of Love.

Hence, we will name her Regina Laska.