Upgrades for Comfort

Tiburón is a 1971 Ericson 39. We are her third owners. The previous owners clearly loved the boat. She was well cared for, had been meticulously maintained, and offered at a price that was beyond reasonable. We purchased her in September 2018 and have been engaged in a process of bringing “Classic Plastic” into the new millennium. 

Form follows function. The previous owners enjoyed cruising and racing the boat. We elected to liveaboard, and intend to cruise. This meant that there would be a greater demand on the AC and DC power use. We wanted to upgrade the rudder to a more modern design that would allow better control of the vessel when backing under power and would diminish weather helm. We also felt that we needed to make the boat “ours” with some minor changes in décor that allowed the boat to feel more “homey” than her IOR Lead Mine sisters might have.

We opted not to make any changes in the boat for several months. This was intentional. It not only allowed us to begin a working budget, but allowed us to live with the boat as it came to us and to plan out changes that would suite our needs. Mary and I are tall people. Neither of us could be described as small people. We found that the table that ran from the mast to the galley offered ample opportunities for painful bruises and little room to move. We also realized that the oven had two settings: “hot” and “hotter than hell”. The first changes were to produce a table that could fold down around the keel stepped mast and to replace the stove. This made the boat immediately more comfortable.

The table was Frankensteined together from two existing tables. We had the large table that ran down the full length of the Salon and a smaller teak table that was in the navigation station. We opted to use elements of both tables to create a mast mounted table that could seat six people comfortably and could be folded out of the way as necessary. The table also housed the electronic compass that drove the autopilot.

The table folds down neatly and allows room enough for the two of us to move throughout the Salon. The table is held in place by friction with the rug. I have a bungee cord that I thought I would need to keep the leaves from opening while under way. This has never been an issue.

These, along with the dark blue rug and the lighter cushions, were the first changes that we made. Mary also fabricated a foam topper for our berth. All of the first changes were fairly minor, but resulted in a much more comfortable living space.

Next time we will discuss the rudder and electrical upgrades. Thanks for spending a few moments with us. Please take a moment to join our mailing list. Feel free to leave a comment or a question.