Escapade of Rame is an Oyster 485, built in 1999 by Windboats of Ipswich. She has now sailed more than 60,000 miles, many of them under our ownership. Some elements are starting to wear out or become unreliable; technology has moved on and we’d like to stay abreast of some of the more exciting developments and as we look ahead to the next decade, we want to ‘future proof’ the boat to get the best out of her.
Here are some headline projects that we plan to cover in a series of articles over the coming months:
- The Onan 5.5KW generator has become unreliable and needs refurbishing
- We need to overhaul the Perkins Sabre M90 engine to keep it in top condition
- The interior upholstery needs replacing
- The teak decks need recaulking
- The navigation electronics are obsolete (although still working!)
- We had a new mainsail in 2018, a new spinnaker in 2021; we need a new genoa for the 2023 season.
- How to make the dinghy easier to launch and recover – are we ready for davits?
- That trip to Greenland – what’s the most effective way of heating the boat?
