The Refitting of Astraea

Astraea's hull number is 3670 (CHL036700481) and her construction began at Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong on September 4, 1979.  She was sold through Jack Barr Yacht Sales and delivered on April 7, 1983 to San Francisco to her first owners, Richard and Rosalee Sanders.  She spent the next nine years sailing the waters of San Francisco Bay and Northern California.

In July 3, 1992 Astraea was acquired by David and Ingrid Angelini who extensively cruised Astraea for nine years in California, Mexico, and Cental America.   After nine years of cruising David and Ingrid actually "trucked" Astraea from Florida back to San Francisco where she has remained. 

When we purchased Astraea on July 19, 2005, she she had a lot of miles under her keel.  Fortunately she had been well cared for over the years by her former owners.  A thorough professional survey showed that she was rock solid, in good shape for her years, but she definitely needed some repairs and updating.  Here is a documentation of the work done by Svendsen's Boat Works in Alameda from November 2005 to the present.  

Click on each phase to see details of the work. 

Documentation of the Refit

Mastless4-1.jpg picture by SFCheoyLee41

Astraea looking very forlorn with her masts off during the first phase of the Refit.  Svendesnes Boatworks January 2006.

Soon after we purchased Astraea we began a total refit which we planned in stages to spread out the cost over three years.  It is ending up being much more expensive than we planned, but she has turned out to be a rock solid boat and the cost is worth it to restore this classic beauty to as original a condition as is feasible.  Each of the steps in the re-fit are described and documented on this site.

Phase I:  November - March 2006.  Svendsen's Boatworks, Alameda, Ca.  Masts rebuilt, new rigging, recore soft foredeck, new lifelines and new stanchion bases.  Click here for the story and pictures. 

Phase IB:  April -June 2006.  Svendsen's Boatworks, Alameda, Ca.  Basically this is called "scope creep".  This included a new bottom, new shaft, new prop, new cutlass bearing, and a new transom paint job.  Click here for the story and pictures. 

Phase IB Continued:  June - July 2006.  Svendsen's Boatworks, Alameda, Ca.  OOPS.  More scope creep.  The work continues through July 2006.  It has now been eight months.  This included adding new B&G instruments, a new bilge pump system, a new holding tank system, and reviously undiscovered damage to the bottom of the keel from a grounding in the Caribbean some years ago during her cruising days.   Click here for the story and pictures. 

Phase II:  November 2007 through February 2008.  Svendsen's Boatworks, Alameda, CA.  Yes, Astraea was actually out of the yards for over a year and we had some great sailing.  However the transmission was slipping and I wanted it replaced or repaired, and there was also another list of items to be done.  So back to Svendsen's.  This time the punch list included:  Upgrade of the electrical distribution system, portlight and porthole repairs, a new Force 10 stove, and redoing of the bottom paint. 

We did not anticipate being in the yards for over three months this time.  However Svendsens could not find a replacement ZF transmission for my 1981 vintage Isuzu.  Go figure.  Anyway, while we waited for an answer to the transmission work other work went ahead.  Slowly.  Svendsens is a world class boatyard, but like most boatyards, don't even think about getting a price or schedule estimate.  It is sort of a global boatyard philosophy of "it will take as long as it takes and cost what it costs".   Click here for the story and pictures.   

Phase III.  June 2008 - September 2008  Svendsen's Boatworks, Alameda, Ca.  Repowering.  We had tried to pretend that this would not be necessary, however the transmission was leaking excessively and had to be replaced.  We decided that it was best to bite the bullet and get a new Westerbeke 44 and not have to worry about engines and transmissions anymore.  We are also having an entirely new Furuno NavNet2 system installed.  While the mizzen is down for the new radome installation we are having the mizzen raised 12 inches to provide more headroom for the helmsman and make it possible to install a bimini for cruising.  Click here for the story and pictures.

Phase IV:  Summer of 2009.  This phase will include the installation of a Monitor Windvane. 

Click here to see the extensive refurbishment of her brightwork. 

Replacement of New Engine: Cruising Delayed

"If it ain't broke don't fix it" is a popular saying, probably for a reason.
 
The original Isuzu engine in Astraea was in excellent condition, however the transmission was shot and needed replacement.  An exact replacement was not available.  I therefore decided to spend $36,000 to replace the engine with a new Westerbeke in order to have a new, reliable engine and therefore remove the worry about the engine.  Well, that turned out to be not such a good idea.
 
Four days before leaving for the Baja Haha, with all preparations done, fuel purchsed, crew ready, I heard a strange noise coming from the engine during routine engine checks.  I changed the transmission fluid, still heard the noise.  It sounded like something loose on the engine, but I could find nothing.  You can read all the gory details on my blog at www.yachtastraea.blogspot.com , however to make a long story short it turned out that the engine had been installed with the sea water cooling exhaust improperly designed.  The engine was removed, and was found to be ruined.  The good news was that the boat yard (Svendsens) who had installed it accepted responsibility for replacing the engine.  The bad news was that this would cause cancellation of our participation in the 2009 Baja Haha and seriously delay cruising plans. 
 
The gods were with me on this one, however, in that this problem was discovered while in port San Diego.  Upon disassembly and inspection of the engine it was apparent that the engine was running on two cylinders out of four, and that it would have soon thrown a rod.  This probably would have happened somewhere on the Baja Haha along the coast of Baja Mexico, away from help.  At least while in San Diego there was availability of mechanics and parts and logistics support. 
 
This turned out to be no small task to get all of this done.  Starting in October there was an endless stream of mechanics attempting to determine what was wrong with the engine, then the negotiation with the insurance company and the boat yard to pay for the replacement, the lengthy procurement of the new engine, and the installation of the new engine with a redesigned wet exhaust system.  Months of work and endless delays. 


Lifting the engine out of the engine compartment, which is below the cockpit sole.

 





 

The engine comes up through the companionway.  The end of the boom is being used as a lifting point for the hoist.

The engine is apart and layed out in the diesel shop like something from "CSI Diesel Engine".  It is apparent that there was serious water intrusion form the wet exhaust system and also incomplete combustion due to excessive backpressure.  The engine was totally ruined and had to be replaced.    
 
The new engine arrived in San Diego the week of March 1st.  Now we are waiting for Cogswell Marine in Chula Vista to configure and install the "new" new engine.