Sailboat Refit

Our ship wants to sail again!

What was supposed to be a little bit of maintenance work turned into a major refit of our sailboat Iolandra, which we bought in July 2023 and has been our home ever since. Our goal is to get her back into the water this spring to be able to start our big journey to nearby islands and the oceans beyond.

What makes Iolandra special

Iolandra is a Hallberg Rassy 352 from 1984. She’s in good shape for a 40 year-old, but she has a few design flaws which haven’t aged well. We’re patching her up in order to sail the seas.

One thing led to another, and now our main work is renewing the damaged deck, which got wet because of the old and leaky teak. This was unexpected, but while we’re waiting for the deck to dry, we might as well tackle a few other tasks… that inevitably turns into a very long to-do list!

We need ropes and mast steps (and so on...)

With your support, we’d like to add a few features that will make our travels safer and our lives easier. We weren’t planning on doing the entire refit right now, but while we are stuck in the shipyard… We might as well learn some new skills, right?

Ropes and Halyards

While we have our mast down, it’s easy to access and replace some of the older ropes (main halyard, spinnaker halyard, etc.) that have definitely seen better days.

Mast Steps

This one we’re very excited about: mast steps help you get up the mast quickly to perform rig checks and look out for reefs and icebergs. While we don’t have a monkey on board, this is as close as it gets!

Anchor Chain

Help us sleep more peacefully at night! When anchoring in a lovely bay in the Canaries, the last thing you want is to wonder whether that slightly rusty chain will hold your boat when the wind starts howling…

Your Support

Each level of support comes with its own reward and brings us a few steps closer to getting this boat in the water, and perhaps a few miles further from the shore.

Thank you for your support!

Ariane & Fred