McGill ...... What make, year and how much were the renovations (if U don't mind disclosing - approximately). What areas were the ones you attacked first - I.e. most critical. I'm looking at a Cheoy Lee 55 LRC ...... 1985 ...... Scary .....!! If I go for it, I suspect I'll be doing much the same ....... Dispatch
McGill, as I said, it's an '87 Choey Lee Efficient. It has been a lengthy and comprehensive refit but as I said it has good bones. I did not have to deal with the mechanics too much. It has a pair of Cat 3208'TAs with 3,000 hours since new and an 16kW Northern Lights generator with 350 hours. Also has an almost new water maker. So no issues with them. No window leaks although some teak discoloration inside made me think there might be. But living aboard during a winter showed that it was a condensation issue.
So here is my list of what I did do.
Cleaned fuel tanks. Inherited almost full tanks about 1,000 gallons of 10 year old diesel. Lots of sludge and gook. The fuel was run through a centrifuge and I have actually used it all now.
Sanded and painted full hull and house. All new Awlgrip. There were lots of spider cracks on deck and house. Added four layers of fiberglass on hull to deck joint to strengthen.
Installed bow thruster
Removed and sent to shop both props and shafts. Turned, cleaned, pitched and balanced.
New bottom job. Trinidad non ablative. New anodes of course.
New name boards on stern and flybridge. Replaced graphics with custom carved sign boards of mahogany.
Removed teak rub rails and installed all new virgin mahogany.
Remainder of exterior teak stripped and recoated, 8 coats of varnish.
Rebuilt aluminum gangway. New rollers and hinges.
New flybridge windshield
Added fiberglass raised access hatch, new dinghy cradles, full size bar b que and drinks fridge to upper deck. Bought a 15' center console rib with 90 hp water jet as captains gig. Rebuilt deck crane with new motor and winch to 1500 lb capacity.
Replaced one a/c unit and serviced the remaining three.
Stripped and rebuilt entire galley, all new countertops, cabinetry, stove, microwave, fridge etc.
Sanded and refinished all salon teak woodwork.
Removed salon carpet and installed teak and holly flooring throughout salon and galley. New TV and new sofa and chairs. All new soft goods.
Stripped master stateroom to the bare fiberglass and completely rebuilt it. New everything down there including custom mattress on California king bed, carpet and soft goods.
Stripped the master bath to bare fiberglass. All new fiberglass shower built in, new vanity, new plumbing and fixtures etc. teak and holly floor installed.
All new electric toilets and piping (2).
New computerized battery chargers. All new agm batteries.
New Garmin 7512 plotter, radar, transducer package. New VHF,s in pilot house and bridge.
New anchor chain installed and marked.
New canvas awning, skirt and eisenglass around aft porch to create a sunroom.
Probably some other stuff that I am not recalling right now. I was thinking of starting a thread to show the process back when I started but I was too involved in the process and didn't take the time to photograph and document it sufficiently to be comprehensive. I might still do and abbreviated thread, we shall see.
All in all I spent around $150k on the rebuild but I have a boat that shows like new. I could have spent 20k and the boat would have been perfectly serviceable, but it is my home and I have a certain pride of ownership and it shows with compliments from the dock walkers and neighbors. There was nothing really 'bad' about the boat when I bought it other than some neglect, age and cosmetic issues and I would certainly highly recommend a well maintained Choey Lee to anyone who is looking for a well built hull. The company has been in continuous operation for over 125 years and has a reputation for quality. I don't know of any other boat building company that can say that today so that in itself speaks well of the brand. There is nothing that looks cheaply made. I was impressed with the electrical wiring runs being professionally done and copper nickel piping throughout that is like new.
Best of luck with your search.
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