Travels with S/Y Thetis


Thetis only

2011: Preparation

Over the winter Thetis was completely renovated. Her mast and keel were removed and her bottom was peeled back revealing serious delamination with separation from her ribs. This problem was first detected last spring with some cracks appearing on her ribs. To get to the ribs Agmar Marine (now called Moor & Dock) had to rip out a good part of the main cabin’s wooden furniture. In addition to the ribs and delamitation they also found that the bolts holding the keel were bent. It all pointed not to the 2007 grounding but to a much older grounding which had happened while the boat was under charter in 1991. At that time she hit a reef near Spetses. The insurance had paid for the repairs which were done by Olympic Marine in Lavrion. Now it seems that the repairs were not done correctly and the keel was not properly attached. The bolts should had been replaced.

Before the reconstruction
Damage near keel

Damage near the keel

The ribs

The ribs

Removing the table stand

Removing the table stand

Bulkhead

Damage to the bulkhead

While Thetis’ bottom was totally open in December, my brother Nikos went to Leros and verified the problem and approved the corrective measures proposed by Agmar. To make the long, sad, and very expensive story short, her ribs and about half of her bottom were reconstructed. This necessitated the replacement of the bilge covers and a good part of the main cabin furniture. Also all of the plumbing hoses and electrical cables running under the main cabin had to be replaced.

After the reconstruction of the ribs and bottom
Ribs & Buttom With mast column

In addition to this very substantial work I had the following extras installed:

  1. A pair of davits at the stern to raise the dinghy with its outboard.
  2. Support arms for the raised dinghy attached to a new swimming platform.
  3. Two photovoltaic solar panels on top of the davits along with a charge regulator.
  4. Two cleats amidship for attaching spring lines.

All these were in addition to the routine maintenance of the engine, outboard, genset, woodwork varnish, hull polishing and waxing, dinghy maintenance, etc.

The davits
The davits and solar panels are installed

Wednesday May 18, 2011

My wife Aliki and I arrived in Partheni, Leros. A rented car was waiting for us at the airport and we checked in at the Crithoni Paradise hotel where we were to spend the few days needed until we moved the stuff back to Thetis and made her livable. Thetis looked great but was completely empty since almost everything was in the storage room. I had asked Agmar Marine to clean the boat inside and out prior to our arrival. Indeed she was very clean.

Right next to us, also on stands, was M/S Vassiliki belonging to my friends Anastasis and Moo Raftopoulos.