David Harris

Wreck and Resurrection: How I Made $60,000 Repairing My Sailboat David Harris

Part how-to, part memoir, this book describes the repair and rebuliding of a 32-foot catamaran sailboat wrecked during Hurricane Georges in 1998. The boat was overturned and then tossed ashore, crushing the mast and the superstructure, holing the hull, soaking the interior, and ruining the outboards, electrical system, and electronics. The book follows the owner's effort to salvage what remained of the hull, get an insurance settlement, and repair the wreck. The owner, author David Harris, decided to carry out repairs himself because his location in the Florida Keys provided limited and very expensive repair options. It was a daunting task; Harris had no boat-repair experience, but he had a homeowner's handyman skills and a willingness to learn. First, he tackled the structural repairs to the fiberglass hull at an area boatyard. When the hull could be refloated, he brought it home to work on it in the canal behind his house. Further repair consumed many more month! s. Harris replaced some parts (mast and rigging, hatches, lights, fans, refrigerator, electronics, the two outboards, the mainsail) and repaired others, including the cabinets, hardtop, and plumbing and electrical systems. During the repair process,he upgraded and customized the boat to fit his family's needs. When repair was complete, a marine survey carried out for insurance purposes valued the boat at $148,000, not much less than its original purchase price. Even better, Harris kept the more than $60,000 of the insurance settlement not spent on the repair. Black-and-white illustrations and an entertaiing narrative offer an engrossing story of large challenges met and inventively mastered.