Once we had completed our crossing from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest we knew we needed to make some changes to Lealea to make her safer and more comfortable for the kind of voyaging we had planned. Aside from the problem with our standing rigging caused by the defective wire we were sold in Honolulu, there were few things that really needed changing. Take a closer look at the photos at right. Most are self explanatory.
The failure of the jib halyard that herniated after we left the jib up for three weeks untouched demonstrated the need for a spare halyard. While we had the mast on saw horses alongside the boat, we added a block for that as well as improving the block arrangement for the topping lift. We also replaced the old aluminum masthead sheaves with new ones of delrin with bronze oilite bushings and replaced the halyards and topping lift along with the standing rigging. At the same time I added a second block for an improved arrangement for the radar reflector and added two more cleats at the base of the mast.
We knew we needed a dodger or spray hood and we had some specific ideas on exactly how we wanted that to be built. It needed to be sturdy; far more so than most of the ones we had seen on other Vegas. We wanted handholds on it to make moving from the cockpit to the foredeck safer and we wanted it strong enough that a body thrown againse it would not cause it to collapse. It had to offer good protection from the elements yet not create too much additional windage and still be pleasing to the eye. After consulting with several canvas shops we settled on Port Townsend Canvas. Cost: about US$2000 in 2007.
The large portlights in the main cabin house are a known weak point in the Vega and we had intended to cure that before we left Hawaii but the cost proved to be prohibitive. We correctly assumed that the price would be substantially less on the other side of the Pacific and, with the help of the Shipwrights Co-Op in Port Townsend replaced the old rubber-gasket mounted glass windows with 3/8 inch polycarbonate through-bolted to the cabin sides.
The Shipwrights Co-Op also helped us with replacing much of the interior woodwork which had become wet and mildewed and had begun to delaminate. An important modification to the interior that we had mocked up before we left Hawaii was the conversion of the port side settee to a dinette. This modification allows us to have a permanent table that does not block the aisle in the cabin. The table is configured to allow the cook stove cover to be used as an extension creating a long counter top work space for the cook. Very handy. At the suggestion of the Co-op, we chose yellow cedar for the ceiling,staying with sapele for the rest of the interior woodwork. The table, incidentally, was a wedding present made by a dear friend, Frank Adams, in Honolulu and is of white oak and Honduras mahogany.
As time permits we will fill in the details of our refitting and add more photos on this page
