Like others, we had a dream. We started that dream by gaining experience on our Westsail 32, Namida. We bought her in Maine and sailed her to the Chesapeake Bay. After 5 or 6 years of sailing her, we knew we liked the cruising life, but wanted more space and a more comfortable cockpit. So we shopped (all over the lower 48) for a Westsail 42. We found her and she was called
Åbäke (with a Swedish spelling). Because we didn't like the meaning (clumsy, in the way), but we liked the sound of "abake" (ah-bah-key). So (gotta love the internet), we "renamed" her to Abake (no diacritical marks) from the West African regional name meaning "Child to be cherished."
We bought her in California and had her trucked to the East Coast. So she's been on the hard since the summer of 2010, getting some rennovations. That Fall, the mast was blasted and painted and wiring re-done (with new paraphernalia installed at the top of the mast), then stepped.
Her bowsprit was also cleaned and re-installed. Then over the 2010 winter and into the 2011 Spring, most of her galley was disassembled along with the dinette area (lots of floor removal) to get at the tanks. The tanks were removed and new ones were designed (to give us more fuel), fabricated and installed. The entire bilge was cleaned and re-painted. The through-hulls were serviced and the cutlass bearing replaced. Many hoses were replaced and re-configured in the engine room and new valves were installed for the new fuel filter system (KTI Filterboss).
Over the Summer/Fall of 2011, the rudder shaft packing was replaced and the delamination was repaired. The prop and gudgeon (rudder shoe) were bead blasted. The gudgeon was re-installed and the prop awaits it's re-installation. All of the prisms were removed and re-bedded and the hydraulic lifters were replaced in the two hatches. All the lockers were cleaned and re-painted (except for the forward head). New transducers (speed and depth) were installed and the engine throttle cable was replaced. A lot of gymnastics were performed while re-seating the jib track, and the scarf joints on the cap rails were sealed to prevent leaks. There were even more gymnastics while replacing the engine mounts -- so many small places to crawl; so many ways to position the body.
