Another Week Bringing La Sirena Back to Life
Another week of working on La Sirena, and I’m starting to feel like I’m moving beyond the big restoration jobs and into the final stages of figuring out all the little systems that make a 46-year-old Rafiki 35 actually work.
This week has been a mixture of mechanical work, electrical troubleshooting, system checks and the never-ending process of figuring out where everything belongs.
I spent some time on the gearbox, figuring out exactly what oil it takes, how to get the old oil out and how to refill it. The existing oil actually looked surprisingly good — clear and clean — which was reassuring. Still, after a boat has spent years sitting unused, I want to know the condition of everything and establish a proper maintenance baseline.
I’ve also been chasing the fuel-polishing system. I know La Sirena has one, but finding out how it’s actually switched on has turned into another little boat detective story. There doesn’t appear to be a normal switch on the electrical panel, so I’ve been trying to trace how it was originally wired and whether it’s connected to the engine ignition circuit.
Turning the key to the ON position brings on the engine alarm, but so far the polishing pump hasn’t sprung to life. So that investigation is still ongoing.
On the electrical and bilge side, I also managed to identify the mysterious sensor arrangement in the bilge. It’s part of the bilge-water sensing system, which was another small mystery finally solved.
And I got the bilge blower identified and working. Another system checked off the list and another little piece of La Sirena’s original equipment brought back into service.
There’s been more attention on the bottom as well, checking the antifouling and the areas where the paint has chipped. At this point I’m much more interested in making sure the underlying work is sound than making every square inch look perfect. The major bottom repairs and preparation are behind me now, and I’m increasingly getting into the final finishing and commissioning stage.
Then there’s the never-ending question of where everything belongs.
Tools, spare parts, hoses, electrical bits, repair materials, lubricants and all the other things that come with owning an old cruising boat all need a home. I’m trying to organize everything so that when something inevitably needs fixing while I’m cruising, I can actually find the tool or spare part I need without emptying half the boat onto the cabin sole.
And then there’s Bernie
Bernie is settling in.
He’s still a little nervous about all the changes, unfamiliar noises and general chaos that comes with bringing La Sirena back to life, but he has definitely decided that wherever the work is happening is where he needs to be.
If I’m working in the engine room, he wants to know what’s going on. If I’m working in the cockpit, he’s there. If I’m crawling into some awkward corner of the boat trying to trace a wire, somehow he wants to be involved in that too.
He really likes being close to all the action.
I think part of it is that La Sirena is still a strange environment to him, and being close to me seems to make him feel more secure. So for now, my little four-legged supervisor follows me around while I work and keeps a close eye on everything.
And honestly, he’s being a very good boy.
There’s something pretty nice about having him around while I work on the boat. After all these months of fixing, replacing, cleaning, painting and figuring things out, La Sirena is slowly starting to feel less like a project and more like a home.
There are still plenty of jobs left. There always will be with a 46-year-old sailboat.
But La Sirena is coming back to life, one system at a time.
And October is getting closer.