Cockpit doors

I didn't care much for the original "lift out" panels. They were heavy (to me) and I couldn't figure out a way to store them securely. I made these with lift off hinges and I can still use a drop in panel with the doors open. Inside the doors I made removeable screens and drop in plastic panels to defeat air flow if necessary. Since the picture was taken, I've added hooks to hold them open.

Electrical panel

The factory electrical panel had very few breakers. Only 3 AC and about a dozen DC breakers. I purchased two panels from Paneltronics in Florida. They are well made, high quality panels. The center filler panel now hosts the generator control. I also fabricated a new, larger instrument panel out of black Starboard. It currently holds the Icom 502 VHF and an Alpine stereo which has a XM radio tuner built in and and will also (with their optional adapter) enable you to plug in your Ipod too! There is space available for a future SSB.

Another fuel tank.

When the water tank under the port aft berth split open I decided to replace it with a fuel tank. Doing so would double the fuel capacity to about 90 gallons. I was able to obtain a bluprint of the water tank from the factory in France. It was not going to be an easy project because the bottom of the tank must conform to the hull which slopes up to the rear and to the side as well. I have a friend whose father-in-law runs a large factory in (of all places) El Salvador. He said he could have it built there. It turned out wonderful! I don't call it the "port" tank, I call it the "Carlos" tank!

Cabinets in the cabins.

I saw this type of cabinets on a Valiant and thought, "what a great idea"! So I built two of them in the forward cabin and one each in the aft cabins. Top picture is the forward starbord and lower is the port aft cabin.

Redoing the galley

The formica counter tops were showing their age and wear, so I purchased granite tiles (3/8" thick) and covered the formica. I added a new stainless double sink, microwave, Force 10 stove and oven. Finally, I replaced the refrigeration with an air & water cooled large Waeco system.

The interior make over

One winter evening, I arrived at the boat and proceeded to take my chopsaw and remove the entire salon. I cut it several pieces and threw it in the dumpster. No going back now! The original salon had large circular seating, of which you couldn't lay down on, and almost no useable storage. I proceeded to install 2 twenty gallon water tanks ( I discarded the original tank), re-located the main AC unit, installed an 11 gallon hot water heater and a Fridge Freeze freezer. I then, with alot of help from my friend, Darrel Cole, fabricated a new salon. We cut the table down and hindged it, added cabinets and a bookshelf on the starboard side and built a compression post cabinet which has eight doors that open into the galley. It has proven to be worth the effort. The photo with the large round table is the original design.

The beginning of the great adventure

Far Niente (Italian for "without a care") is a 1991 Jeanneau SO 42.1. I located and purchased her in 1999, in Charleston, SC. After her re-location to Texas, I began the preparation to make her into a blue water, liveaboard cruiser. In the spring of 2005 the work was mostly completed and I shipped her to Oriental, NC for re-commisioning. My friend Dyan and I visited Portsmouth/Norfolk, VA, Annapolis, MD, Charleston, SC, St. Augustine, Daytona and Ft. Lauderdale, FL over the past year. As I write this we are preparing to visit the Bahamas in April, 2006.