Nearly 40 years ago, while supervising painting contractors, I was dubbed with the title Captain Fiddly Bits. After watching the fastidious way in which you approach the same task, I have decided to pass this title on to you. Live long and well Captain Fiddly Bits!
In about 3 months, I plan to restore the decks of my 30ft Black Soo, which are still in pretty good nick after over 50 years. I am very glad I stumbled onto this page! To me, short on boat restoration experience, this is a gem. I'll be back ... many times.
No if's, and's or but's about it...YOU ARE THE MAN! This is something that I've always wanted to do with my old boat (put her in a shed/barn/etc.) and just go over her stem to stern...she needed glass work, painting, bright work, and more...She ran like a top (she was a twin engine power boat), but she was old and needed work. We sold her at the beginning of the year when somebody offered us exactly what we wanted for her. Now I need a new project.
Sure cure for OCD...refitting a sailboat. But, I have to admit that for a DYI, this is far and away more like a professional refit than any others that I have seen.
NICE.....nothing better than moving into the final few steps centered around final finish. You should be proud of the progress and the fact that there are many DIYers who get just so far on a project and then sacrifice detail and resort to speed to finish and "splash the boat". You can look forward to many trouble free hours at sea, paid for by meticulous attention to details and a logical approach to repairs. Well done.
These a huge wow factor steps. Looking amazing. You must be freaking out your weekday co-workers as you go through the whole day with a permanent smile on your face. :)
17:55 Intersection of perfect and I just can't stand sanding anymore! Looks great Madz. Great work. My intersection would have been a couple months ago.
I really, really look forward to the next few weeks. Seeing as you are getting closer to be working on other projects. And I can't wait to see you tackle them with the same enthusiasm as you are doing this tedious sanding. It will be amazing to follow! Keep it up :D
Mads, I just finished watching last Sunday's video. It has taken me the last 6 weeks to watch all 287 of your videos. Wow! I have to agree that your videos are the best. I got here from Learning the Lines and Abandon Comfort. It is great to see so many people restoring old boats and building new ones. Here are my thoughts: 1. You are the epitome of the US president Calvin Coolidge's quote about the value of persistence. 2. It has been exhilarating watching you grow from a somewhat timid RU-vid vlogger to the polished, professional documentarian you are now. 3. From where you started on Obelix to where you are on Athena now your skills with tools, materials and video production equipment have advanced tremendously. 4. As a retired engineer I am amazed at your creative problem solving and how positive you are even when you make an error or something goes wrong. 5. The explanations of tool quality and preference, material use and where resources can be found are balanced and educational. 6. I find your credits to those who have loaned tools, supplied materials and given information and guidance to be exceptional. 7. Ava is an exceptional young lady. You did good finding her and everyone wants to see more of her (perhaps as much as you do!). 8. We all want to see more of Jorkul also. Thank you so much for the great videos. Looking forward to this Sunday's new video.
Hey, Greetings from New Zealand 🇳🇿. It brought a smile to my face as the painting time-lapse started and we saw the cabin solidify into one block colour. Brings back so many memories from rebuilding my boats. Keep up the good work 👍
Congratulations on reaching this milestone. I read a really cool article in Good Old Boat Issue 116 September/October 2017 on a non-skid application. I think you mentioned that you were going to use Kiwi Grip. In the article, the owner tapes off the deck like a teak deck pattern and applies the kiwi grip. The final product looks really amazing - like a teak deck but not. It may be worth it for you to take a look at it for consideration. It may slow you down a week in the prep work but it could add a ton of character to your yacht. Athena will be one fine yacht when you are done!
Sail Life: Hey Mads! Despite being an exceptionally boring installment-- glorious, glorious sanding, scraping, fairing, knit-picking, etc, etc, am hanging in there w/ you... Like the infamous _hair in the biscuit_ ! Watching paint dry and giving you a big 👍🏻! Even when you're harried, frustrated, out of time, you manage to offer a good video to your diehard believers. Many thanks from one of those. Finally, and _as requested_ , "Saying good job painting, Mads!"
Athina is looking great and how you conduct your work is so professional more so than some professionals, I commend you on your great work bringing an old girl back to her world and new life. She looks great
The deckhouse now looks like a Shiny, New PT Boat. Cool! LIKE those tiny little PEEPlights Aft. They're a really Nice and Professional Touch, AND Highly Usefull. Looks like the Fairing on the cabin went VERY well. Were you going to spread a little thickened epoxy around the Inside of the Helm-mounting hole to seal it up? I hope so, now you've got ME being OCD, lol. Now that the Glorious Sanding is FINALLY Done(Thank the Gods!) you can probably Bench-Press 450 pounds,lol. Or WIN the Arm-Wrestling Championship. Have you Heard from the rudder? Super Job, as Always. I can SEE it, Mads, a big pennant streaming from Athena's masthead saying, Mads Max, Mercenary Marine Maintenance and Repair. You could even get a lenscover made for a handheld spotlight with the SailLife logo on it, and shine it up into the clouds at night, like Batman, so everybody knows when you're In Port. Business Cards with the Motto, 'Do you want it Done, or Done RIGHT?' Have Sanders, Will Travel.
I dont know why those handles are even there. The top of the boat looks so perfect it looks like a digital rendering! Nice job Mads! You are fun to watch and you make work a little more enjoyable with your charming personality. Happy anniversary.
Hi Mads I would pat you on your back, but your going to have to do it for me great job Athena is looking mighty spiffy!!!! I don't think I have ever seen your work pants here in the us, but those are cool....
Mads, your intersection of perfect and I just can't stand sanding anymore, still beats the heck out of almost everyone else' perfect. Congrats on the achievement !
That's some amazing editing. I think viewers think you simply setup your phone to record a few videos and it's so easy. But i know what it takes. And the editing on this video is amazing. I tip my hat to you.
IT really looks great....not for lack of a ton of very hard and conscientious work. It’s not what you do that brings me back, it’s who you are that does...thanks
Looking good! You have certainly come a long way from your first videos. Not only your entertainment value but content and presentation and on air personality. Looking forward to her first sea trial. Keep up the good work.
Mads, Forgot to mention that you can cut the pipe insulation to give you and inside curve that will match the angle of the front of the cabin. Using the inside diameter lined with sticky back sand paper will help maintain the radius over the length of the curve in the cabin front. I use this on the rounded corners of cabinets, etc. More sanding videos please!
If I could give it two thumbs up I would have :) You have certainly earned such an awesome outcome. After all your attention to the details, you should sit back have a beer and take in the overall excellence.
Well done good sir. It is always a happy day when you get to see some with the passion to breathe life back into something that might have wound up in the scrap yard. Keep up the great work.
good job Mads I'm proud of you I love watching your videos every week for the past number of years and I'd love to be able to join you there as soon as I retire I may be a bit slow but two boat hands are always better than one.
Awesome job Mads. Supremely excited to see the top coat on there! I originally came here for educational reasons. After watching every Athena video, I'm only here for the pleasure of it, now:] Thanks!!
Wow what a transformation ! All of your hard work and dedication are inspirational! You are a international DIY superstar ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience .
Pretty dang spiffy if I do say so myself. Now for the rest of the boat top tick talk tick talk time is a wasting lol I need to get some of your patients for myself always impressed by your attention to detail and the time it takes to make it perfect! Cheers
Good job! Really, I have been watching your videos since you started re-building the inside of obelix. I am thrilled by the idea of Athena having everything sorted for the winter (I was so excited when you've applied the copper coat!). Good job Mads :-)
It just seems that everything is coming together and looking fantastic. I love your attention to detail it`s really starting to show big time. I cant wait to see your next video Athena is a keeper for sure.
In the Hobie Cat world we drill holes through the top skin then inject thickened epoxy until its squeezes out of adjacent holes. Sheet metal screws are then used to pull the delamination together.
Well Done!! That looks amazingly spiffing! I hope you really appreciate how good it is and don’t dwell on any imperfection that you would only ever see if you new it was there to begin with. When finished you will have the nicest yacht afloat!
