Refitting Zanshin

The Damage

Refitting Zanshin became necessary after Hurricane Irma only damaged Zanshin’s topsides, without destroying her. Nonetheless, I needed new rigging and opted to get the work done by a company I knew and trusted.

Unfortunately, there were no such companies in the BVI. Experience has shown that if one doesn’t keep a sharp eye on work as it progresses, it won’t get done or won’t get done right. And with this big project, I knew I wouldn’t be around to supervise. In addition, the BVI is incredibly expensive for both parts and labour.

St. Martin

The next option was St. Martin. They had been hit as hard as the BVI by the hurricanes, and the only big shop is FKG. But they, too, proved themselves as untrustworthy. When I asked if they could do the work, they said “yes” if I came to their dock. Yet I knew that the channel to their docks was still full of wrecks and not navigable. I  would have wasted transport time and effort from the BVI had I chosen them. And would have been locked in there until they could work on the boat. They knew that when they replied, and I won’t be using them again.

I knew and trusted Mark Sims, who had worked for Jeanneau back when Zanshin was first commissioned, and I knew I could trust him, even when I was absent. So I chose True North Yachting to work on refitting Zanshin.

The USA

But first, I had to get Zanshin from the BVI to Annapolis. I used a freighter to ship Zanshin to Newport, then motored down to Annapolis, where the work was done.

For the time being, here is a link to the refit travel blog going from the BVI via freighter to Newport, then motoring to Annapolis.