This was probably, out of all the refits, the easiest one (so far!). It started in exactly the same way, with a drawing on the back of a pub napkin, and with Jason's famous- "it'll be done by tea time sweetheart, don't you worry".
As it happened, it took 3 months to get totally finished, but we were only without a roof for a few days.
We actually asked a joiner to quote us for the work, but when he came back with over £2000 and about 2 months, we knew we had to do it ourselves. The point of this refit was to get rid of the canopy, which was draughty, dangerous in big seas and expensive to replace. We wanted to enclose the entire back section, making it watertight and with a smaller hole in case a wave boarded the boat. It is also much easier to secure, as the doors now lock, unlike the canopy which anyone could have opened.
We initially wanted to build the back up several feet, like a Nauticat and create an aft cabin under the deck, but unfortunately due to the placement of several large lumps of concrete, this was not feasible. We definitely didn't want to start cutting up supporting frames for the boat, so the lumps stayed and our plans changed. Now we have a very handy storage area.

Yet again, we decided the best time to do major structural work was in the UK winter, so it rained a lot- although for the first few days we were very lucky and had sun. The frame went up very quickly, although we had to redo a bit at the back where it sloped up too high. Once the frame was in place, it was fairly short work to screw the boarding down and seal it all with wood protector and paint.
Most of the people in the marina popped down for a look and a comment- its fair to say the vast majority- if not all- thought we were completely barmy
As we did nothing to any part of the boat except the aft section, it was still fairly simple to live onboard and there was not too much tension- honest.

Once the inside was waterproof, we set about making seating areas- one u shaped and one long bench seat. The U-berth will eventually drop down to a double berth, but we've not done that bit yet. Both seating areas are over 6ft long, so we can (and have) used them as sea berths.
We also created a wet locker for our foulies, with a storage area for drink and sweets- this was strategically positioned as being somewhere hard to get to. You really have to want that chocolate to get it!!
We created a small nav station- no more than a glorified table with radio, GPS, and SSB, plus some space for charts or papers- although in practice we prefer to use the big table.
Our new dining table was found in a second hand chandlery- and its gorgeous! It fit in the space as if it was made for it, and opens up so that we can easily feed 8 and probably more at a squeeze.
We also decided to treat ourselves for the first time ever to brand new cushions. It was expensive, especially as we needed all new foam cut to match the new seats, but we think it was worth it- doesn't it look lovely.

Refit Four-
Ok, now I'm serious. Last one, or I'm leaving!

We also upgraded our ground tackle- we now have a 45lb CQR with 35m of 10mm chain and 50m rope. We've upgraded our communications onboard and have tried hard to go through each locker and decide if things really deserve their place on board. After finding 7 full huge boxes of screws, we got a little more ruthless!

Our plans for the rest of the summer are to change all our standing rigging, get a whole new sail wardrobe and get her fully ready for her big adventure next April!

  Follow our progress at www.sailingmissmoneypenny.com