Tearing the Boat Apart

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It is never easy tearing the boat apart. Matt and I have to create complete chaos in our home in order to complete our vast number of projects.

We disrupted every space and turned the entire boat upside down. Nothing was left untouched.

It made living on the boat very challenging (yes, we lived on the boat for over 3 months in this chaotic state).  Especially difficult for my OCD and neat freak character.

The cockpit becomes the work bench, storage area, and new galley.

The Salon

We upturned the salon several times. We emptied all of the contents under the settee into the two bathrooms (heads) and port aft cabin.  

All cables and wires are run through this area, which we can access only after removing everything.

Owners Cabin

We repainted the starboard potable water tank, which required taping everything off for weeks. No more access to our clothing, toiletries, or bed.

We dismantled the starboard cabin to allow workers access to install the new air-conditioning unit.

Starboard Bathroom

The owners bathroom was now a dedicated storage area for displaced items. We now stored items from the bilges, cabinets, and items from under the settee here.

Port Cabins

The forward cabin was now where Matt and I slept.  We stored our settee cushions here while work was being done in the main salon.

I packed the aft cabin with tools, parts, and projects waiting for Matt’s attention.

Port Bathroom

Stuff, junk, pots, pans, and more filled the port bathroom from floor to ceiling.

We stripped down and modified both helms.

We tore up the bow and bow peaks and rebuilt them several times as different projects progressed.

This is a shot of the bow while we were painting our cross beam.

Under the Boat

Under the boat is usually a storage area for yard tools, paint cans, and random projects outside.  We store our dinghy under the boat, park the car under the boat, and generally complete projects.

We were “on the hard” at Norsand Boatyard from early November 2025 to February 2026.

Get ready as you are about to read all about the projects that caused such chaos onboard Sugar Shack.

Don’t miss our last beautiful post on Whangarei Waterfalls.

Waterfalls: Paranui falls to Whangarei Falls

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In between our boat projects we take a lovely walk between two beautiful waterfalls.  We start at the AH Reed Memorial Kauri Park where we encounter the Paranui Waterfall.

This is a relatively short walk (3 miles and 1hr20min return).  The path is very easy to follow and fairly easy.

A great website with lovely photos can be found here.

The best spot to see the Paranui Falls is from the lookout (across the gorge from the parking lot).  This 23 meter tall waterfall is surrounded by lush vegetation.

You descend about 100 stairs to get to the main trail which is absolutely lovely. 

AH Reed Park has several well maintained bridges and paths ranging from dirt, stone and cement).

All of the paths run along the Waikoromiko River.

After about 40 minutes we reached the Otuihau Whangarei Waterfall.  These falls are 26.3 meters high and cascade over basalt cliffs.

This was a large, gushing waterfall leading to a big lagoon.  

This was such a beautiful waterfall that I took photos from every direction. 

We walked to the top of the falls (top right photo), bottom, left and right side of the falls. 

On the way back, we cross the famous Canopy Bridge which surrounds New Zealand’s majestic Kauri Trees. 

New Zealand honors and protects these massive trees which are up to 500 years old.

Even though it is a short walk it is absolutely one of my favorites!  

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We visited these two waterfalls in early December 2025.

Find Paranui Waterfalls on No Foreign Land and find the Whangarei Falls on No Foreign Land.

We haul out Sugar Shack at Norsand Boatyard in our last blog post.

Hauling out at Norsand Boatyard

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A return to New Zealand means a return to the boatyard.  We have a lot of upgrades, repairs, and general maintenance to do at Norsand Boatyard.

The slipway team with Kevin and Shane handle our haul out with expertise and professionalism!

We arrived in NZ with an exceptionally clean bottom (hull) when we arrived 18 days ago.  However, we spent those 18 days up river tied to a dock with warm, stagnant water.  These conditions are perfect for growing barnacles on our nice clean boat.

The good news: the yard pressure washed the boat immediately after haul out.  Matt and I (mostly Matt) spent days scraping the barnacle feet off the hulls so we could see where we needed to touch up the Coppercoat.   We do plan to burnish the bottom before we splash.

We have so many projects to accomplish in a short amount of time.  We have had to hire several different contractors in addition to the experts at Norsand.

Contractor Projects

  • Repair: Port fresh water tank needs to be repainted
  • Repair: Bottom of hull needs to be repaired due to reef scratches
  • Repair: Port rudder arm attachment needs to be replaced
  • Repair Canvas: Genoa bolt rope, aft shade, dinghy chaps, helm seat, 2-window shades, 3-back rests
  • Maintenance: Saildrives need to be serviced, gear oil changed, seals near props changed
  • Maintenance: Props need to be services, cleaned, and slightly adjusted
  • Maintenance: Paint crossbeam and martingale
  • Maintenance: Re-varnish (2) princess seats, (2) handrails, (4) swim steps
  • Maintenance: Burnish bottom of the boat
  • Maintenance: Paint saildrives and props with Prop Speed
  • Maintenance: Apply vinyl to rudder entry 
  • Upgrade: New window covers
  • Upgrade: New Solar Arch
  • Upgrade: New Solar Panels
  • Upgrade: New (2) Air Conditioning units
  • Upgrade: New Helm station extensions to fit new chart plotters
  • Upgrade: New Raymarine Mounts to fit gauge on helm
  • Upgrade: New rain flashing for the 4 large windows

Matt and Christine’s Projects

  • Paint (2) bow peak lockers (scrape, sand, clean, paint)
  • Clean stainless chain and re-mark 10m sections
  • Replace large zincs
  • Add freon to refrigerator and defrost freezer
  • Deep clean oven and stove
  • Paint security camera and cockpit clutch
  • Replace stickers on daggerboards
  • Sew: New helm covers, rail protectors, princess seat covers, cover for backrest
  • Polish all exterior and interior stainless
  • Clean and oil all exterior (hatch covers, sugar scoops) and interior (floors, walls, cabinets, tables) teak
  • Deep clean or re-organize entire boat
  • Prepare for insurance survey

The Plan

Our goal is to be out of the yard in 45 days but more likely it will be 90 days.  However, Norsand will close the yard for nearly 3 weeks during our haul out. 

Matt and I will focus on the contractor work for the first 5 weeks. We will work on our smaller projects in between our project management and overseeing of projects.

When Norsand closes we will focus on our larger projects.

We worked in the Norsand boatyard from 10 November 2025 – 12 January 2026.

Find Norsand Boatyard on No Foreign Land.

Check out the quirky things to do in Whangarei.