Glass Slipper - 1983 Allmand 31
Our Galley
!We began our adventure in a 1996 Hunter 28. She was a great starter boat, but not quite sturdy, or large enough for our long range cruising plans. So two years into our adventure we bought the new Glass Slipper a 1983 Allmand 31.
As soon as we stepped aboard I knew she was the boat for us. Although she is only 31 feet in length, she has an 11.5 ft beam which makes her quite roomy inside. She has 3 cabins. A main salon which includes the galley and living area, a cabin in the v-berth and a very spacious aft cabin, large enough for a 3/4 size bunk. Coleen and I enjoy having our own private cabins, a huge improvement over our starter boat.
As with any older boat, she was in need of lots of TLC (translated expensive and endless repairs.) I admit that I made the classic mistake of falling in love with the boat and glossing over how much work would be involved in getting her updated and ready to cruise.
Here's a short list of the items we've replaced and/or repaired:
:Lots and lots of other smaller tasks. In all nearly everything has been replaced, repainted or repaired. In all I spent almost as much on the refit as I did on purchasing the boat - and that's with doing most of the work myself!
Still I love this boat and she proved to be an awesome cruising boat managing to safely pound her way east on the thorny path to the Caribbean, and on to Colombia, South America..
As soon as we stepped aboard I knew she was the boat for us. Although she is only 31 feet in length, she has an 11.5 ft beam which makes her quite roomy inside. She has 3 cabins. A main salon which includes the galley and living area, a cabin in the v-berth and a very spacious aft cabin, large enough for a 3/4 size bunk. Coleen and I enjoy having our own private cabins, a huge improvement over our starter boat.
As with any older boat, she was in need of lots of TLC (translated expensive and endless repairs.) I admit that I made the classic mistake of falling in love with the boat and glossing over how much work would be involved in getting her updated and ready to cruise.
Here's a short list of the items we've replaced and/or repaired:
- Replaced the tired old engine with a new Yanmar, which also involved building a new engine bed. The worst part was cleaning out the 30 years of gunk that was under the old engine!
- Replaced all the chain plates
- New main, genoa and asymmetrical
- Removed 3 thru-hulls and replaced all the other thru-hulls and seacocks
- Replaced all the undersized cockpit drains with 2" drains
- Added a bridge deck which made the cockpit smaller and provided room for a propane locker
- Removed the dinghy davits and added a wind vane self steering device
- Added 3 inches of insulation to the fridge, making it smaller and more efficient
- Added two new solar panels (for a total of 4), new batteries (400 amps) and removed the worn, tired, loud wind generator
- Replaced the headliner (ceiling) and added insulation too
- Removed the old holding tank and used the space to add second water tank, so we now have 80 gallon fresh water capacity
- Added a composting head
- Removed the nasty old air conditioning and duct work, which freed up a locker large enough to carry our new asymmetrical sail.
- Removed the water heater, pressure water pumps/faucets & plumbing, replaced with foot pumps and new plumbing
- Repaired the deck between the compression post and mast as it was crushed.
- Replaced the fuel tank
- Added a track to the front of the mast for handling the whisker pole
- Added a new water maker
- Replaced all the steering cables, removed the old cockpit table and added a pedestal
- Repainted all the nonskid
- Replaced the stern tube, all bolts under water, and a new rudder strap
- Added a new dripless packing fitting
:Lots and lots of other smaller tasks. In all nearly everything has been replaced, repainted or repaired. In all I spent almost as much on the refit as I did on purchasing the boat - and that's with doing most of the work myself!
Still I love this boat and she proved to be an awesome cruising boat managing to safely pound her way east on the thorny path to the Caribbean, and on to Colombia, South America..