Spring 2006:  Tetra's refit begins.

The boat had a red stripe from the factory that looked okay, but we decided to change her color scheme.  A little work with a hair dryer took off the red stripe and a roll of pin-striping tape brought in the new green and teal colors.

My next step was to replace the rudder.  Tetra arrived with a very cool, home-made rudder that had resulted from an earlier rudder 'incident'.  I decided to replace this with a new factory rudder.  International Marine's latest-generation P-15 rudder is a beautifully crafted piece.  It also has proven to significantly improve performance.  It looks great hanging on the transom.

We're getting ready to launch, but the boat came without a boarding ladder (as you can see in the previous picture).  After some hunting on eBay, I found a good deal on a two-step ladder.

Before mounting, I fabricated two thick backing plates out of aluminum.  To reach the other side of the transom, Ethan and I had to cut a hole in the cockpit and perform some gymnastics.   Hopefully, if one of us ends up in the 'drink', we can now get back in.

My vinyl order finally arrived.  The name is now on both sides of the boat.

And, she's now wearing her official numbers and registration sticker.

My old school factory graphics were replaced with the new style of logo and name.

Fall 2007:  My 48^th birthday arrived and with it came a new headsail from my wonderful wife.  International Marine delivered a new North Sails lapper and a CDI FF1 furling system.

The first time I took her out, I realized that I needed a way to raise and lower the centerboard from the cockpit.  Ethan and I kept dragging bottom and this forced us to constantly unbutton the cabin and untie the board to get us free.  If solo sailing, this could be a tricky operation that would require a three-handed sailor.

I solved this by running two lines from the centerboard arm into the cockpit through a pair of hull fairleads.  The starboard line pulls the centerboard into the trunk.  The port line is used to lock the board in the 'down' position.

Here are the centerboard lines inside the cabin.  Instead of a solid 'lock down' line, I inserted a section of shock cords.  If I have the centerboard locked down and hit something solid, this shock cord might prevent damage.

Spring 2008:  It's time to get busy again on the refit.  I'm planning to attend the Texas 200 cruise and Tetra's not ready. 

I started with cockpit rails.  A call to the factory had a new set headed my way.  It will be nice having something to hang onto when the boat rocks.  My wife made the great rail cushion covers.

I decided to put a pair of cockpit lockers in the bench tops, but the hard part was fitting in a box under the port hatch.  A small part or tool dropped through the open hatch would roll into the bilge.  After much searching, I found a collapsible crate that was small enough to slide past the flotation foam blocks and then unfold in place.  Nifty!

I replaced Tetra's antiquated Tohatsu 2.5 hp outboard with a new Honda 4-stroke, short-shaft BF2.  This 27 lb. lightweight is a great little motor.  It is air-cooled, has a centrifugal clutch and just sips at fuel.  I attached a stainless prop guard to the skeg to protect the propeller (and my rudder!). 

The Honda spent 10 hours of break-in time running in my back yard.  As you can see, I have an expensive, high-tech outboard test station.  

I need a way to get water out of the boat.  So, I bought a dependable Whale Gusher manual bilge pump and mounted it under the starboard cockpit bench.  It's easily maintainable from my new Bomar hatch.

Next, I need a way to mount my 11 lb. claw anchor on the bow.  As the above picture shows, there is little room for my new anchor roller.  It's time to reorganize up there.

Demo work.

Okay.  I was able to cut out some plywood plugs that were set in place with Marinepoxy and colodial silica. After mocking up several options, I think I've found the optimal location for the Windline anchor roller.  I've got to make sure that the anchor can rock without striking fiberglass and that there's enough room for the furling unit.  Next, I need to find some aluminum stock for a big backing plate that will go under the foredeck.

Okay.  The foredeck project is finished and I really like how it turned out.  As you can see, the roller is mounted just starboard of the centerline.  The anchor is held in place by an anchor pin just abaft of the roller.  All new hardware was mounted with stainless fasteners through epoxy-filleted holes and sealed with 3M 4200.

For my primary ground tackle, I have a galvanized 11 lb. claw-- which is significantly oversized for Tetra.  I have 15' of 5/16" galvanized chain and 150' of 3/8" rode.  It's fed to the foredeck through a stainless hawse pipe.  I keep a Danforth and an additional 100' of 3/8" rode in the cabin.  In a stern cockpit locker, I also have a small "lunch hook" claw on chain and 100' of 3/8" rode.

Down in the anchor locker, I've implemented a nifty idea that I picked up in a seminar.  I have a small stainless folding knife and a "glow stick" attached to a length of line.  Some day, I may find myself in urgent need to cut my anchor loose in order to get myself out of a tricky situation.  This anchor locker knife/light might just save my life some day.

International Marine delivered Tetra's new Performance Mainsail.  This latest-generation P-15 sail is a full-battened sail manufactured by North Sails.  This sail has two sets of reef points, is beautifully cut/sewn and is another fine example from this excellent sail maker.  I added Tetra's logo and hull number using insignia cloth.  

         I moved the main sheet controls from mid-boom position to the end of the boom.

               Check out Tetra's new boom vang.  The fittings are from Harken.

It's Saturday, 5/17, and it's a boat work day!  Before I got started, I found this great tree frog hanging out on Tetra's shroud.

After some tinkering, I finally got the CDI furling headsail system up and working.  This involved working with International Marine to have a forestay cut to Tetra's unique fore-triangle.

My Jiffy Reefing system is now installed.  I have two reefing lines that run from my first set of reefing points, through blocks, into my deck organizer and through my rope clutch set.  If you sail in Oklahoma, you have to be able to reef quickly!

Here you can see how my lines are organized.   The deck organizer is a four-sheave unit by Garhauer.  The triple rope clutch is by Spinlock.  At the base of the mast is a triple block from Lewmar.

As you can see, Tetra's existing wood was pretty worn.  Instead of just stripping off the varnish and refinishing, I decided to replace the wood.

I bought some African Sapele (sometimes called African Teak) and began to rip it into usable pieces.

Here are the new grab rails and hatch rails.

I wanted to go a different direction with the boat's hatch.  Instead of the single large hatch board used by the factory, I wanted to go with a series of smaller hatch boards.   Smaller hatch boards are more easily stowed below and can be customized for specific purposes. 

Here is the completed set.  I'll need to find a home in the cabin for the hatch boards when not in use.

Here is my solid set.  Behind the Sapele is 1/2" plywood, giving these boards great strength and more security for the boat.  The boards were coated with epoxy.  The Sapele got multiple coats of spar varnish while the exposed ply got Rustoleum paint.

When on the trailer or in a rain storm, this is the set that I'll use. 

Here is my cruising set.  The very bottom board has a set of custom bins.  The right bin holds my binocs and small items.  On the left is a box that holds my JetBoil cooking system.  I can operate the stove in that spot; making it a small galley. 

The hatch board just above the bin board holds my Humminbird fish finder / depth sounder.  This board also has some small bungee cords that can be used to secure small electronic devices or other items that might need a temporary home.

Ah.  Here is my sleeping set.  I've got a large "screened" board that holds a 12 volt fan.  I can mix this board in with any others in my inventory.  Above, in the sliding hatch cover, I've got another screen board that will help to exhaust the air that the fan brings in.  Nylon mesh keeps bugs outside where they belong.

The ability to mix and match my various boards is cool.  Here, I've got my electronics board over my screen board.

I finally got around to a task that I've been putting off.  When I bought Tetra, she had a soft spot in the foredeck.  Stepping in that area made it obvious that I had core delamination.  

By tapping with a screwdriver handle, I was able to identify the area of concern.  I carefully bored a series of holes through the gel coat and glass and into the balsa core. 

With son Ethan inside the cabin to watch for leaks, I began injecting marine epoxy into the holes.  I easily injected a pint of epoxy--maybe more.  Eventually, the core would not hold any additional material and the void was filled.  In a couple of additional steps, the injection holes were topped off with thickened epoxy and painted over with white paint. 

The result?  The deck feels very solid and the old "creaking" sounds are gone.  What a relief.

Work moved to the mast.  I filled the mast with some flotation tubes and ran marine tri-plex wire through them.  At the top of the mast, I mounted a Hella combination anchor / tri-color light.  Until Tetra is equipped with batteries some day, I will power these lights with my pair of jump-start batteries.

Here is my combination boat hook / whisker pole.  It rides nicely on my gunwales. 

Old Glory now flies from my stern.  The flag standard fits into a custom bracket on my rudder. 

I built this mast crutch from various bits of hardware.