By Rich
Time to haul out and get to work. Here’s our recipe for a productive winter!
Our bottom paint was toast, so despite having been cleaned by a diver just weeks before, she came out of the water looking like this. Start with a good power wash.
The next step: strip the boat of everything to gain access to all work spaces and save cushions, towels, etc from construction dust.
Cover varnished surfaces to reduce work boot wear from foot traffic over the winter.
Remove canvas and apply shrink wrap.
Then get to work! Begin with some easy projects – an upgrade of some LED bulbs to improve the interior lighting a bit.
Remove and disassemble inoperable 26 year old aft shower sump pump to inspect for a defective diaphragm. Find perfect diaphragm and valves and discover debris blocking one valve. Re assemble and test. Save hundreds relative to a replacement part.
Finally begin one of the bigger projects: removal of the port genoa track to cure a rainwater leak.
Next up, continue stirring these projects and mix in many more. Simmer all winter until April!
Rover's Blog 
What an excellent early start! Should be ready right on time!
Hi Rich, love your Blog. My wife and I own a 1979 Sabre 34 and are in the process of shopping for our next boat, (purchase in 3-4 years). Of course the Sabre 42 is on our list, or 34 sails so nice, I can only imaginge how well the 42 sails. I’m finding you blog very informative, love reading about your sailing experiances and how the boat handles with different weather and tacks. Thank you and keep posting!!
Thank you so much for the kind words! Delighted to hear you are enjoying the blog.
BTW if you may be in the market for a 42 in a few years, keep an eye on this space! If you read back far enough in the blog you will see that we bought this as a “proof of concept” boat for a much ambitious cruise we plan to take in a few years’ time. That means this boat will be going on the market somewhere around 2-3 years from now when we buy “the big boat” which will probably be 55 feet long or so.
The best part is, this blog comprehensively documents what we’ve done on the boat, which should be a great comfort to whomever buys her!
Sounds like a plan.