Sailing Olivia

Sailing Olivia We are Shawn and Jena and our Irwin 52 Yacht, Olivia. Destined to live an alternative lifestyle.

Fat bottom girl you make the rockin’ world go round.Oh wait what’s that I see, look at that caprail. Sexy beast.
09/30/2025

Fat bottom girl you make the rockin’ world go round.

Oh wait what’s that I see, look at that caprail. Sexy beast.

Just a little local dive bar, a burger and drink and time away from the norm of work and home. Low tide too, interestin...
09/24/2025

Just a little local dive bar, a burger and drink and time away from the norm of work and home. Low tide too, interesting fact we have about an 8-10 foot tide swing here.

Yall my hubbie said today that he ordered me something and it was like boat decor. I wasnt too worried because he has ...
09/18/2025

Yall my hubbie said today that he ordered me something and it was like boat decor. I wasnt too worried because he has good taste but i also was clueless. Olivias old heart (ships bells), was not fitting for our beloved Lady Olivia and well a 1934 50 ft Eisenhower solid wood sailboat was no longer able to carry on. But her heart will and Olivia will proudly carry it on. A true solid bronze bell. It sounds so beautiful and so heavy.
I won’t lie I cried when I saw it. Now to polish it up and bring that bronze back to life.

Very excited as next week we have a licensed rigger coming from out of town to look over all of Olivia’s rigging, climb ...
09/18/2025

Very excited as next week we have a licensed rigger coming from out of town to look over all of Olivia’s rigging, climb her main mast, inspecting the rigging on both mast, removing some equipment at top of the main mast that isn’t working so we can either replace it or repair it and do a general all over inspection of the rigging.
We are expecting the worst as that is how things have seem to be going with Olivia but hoping for good news. Once we know what we are working with, we will schedule a date for any repairs needed.

What is a rigger you ask -

A boat rigger plays a pivotal role in the maritime industry by ensuring that vessels are properly outfitted and ready for the water. This specialized professional is responsible for the installation, maintenance, and repair of the intricate systems and equipment that make up a boat's rigging. These systems can include sails, masts, winches, and ropes for sailing vessels, or engines, electronic systems, and steering mechanisms for motorized boats. Rigging is crucial for the overall functionality and safety of Olivia.
The inspection ensures the stability and integrity of the mast, reducing the risk of accidents or equipment failure.

The old boot mast that covered the bottom of the mast to help shield water from running around the mast through the deck...
09/14/2025

The old boot mast that covered the bottom of the mast to help shield water from running around the mast through the deck, had deteriotated and we had so much old layers of sealant etc that had also failed. Shawn removed the old boot and cleaned all the old sealant and then used, believe it or not, an ace banage wrapped it tight and then painted Flex seal (a liquid laytex), creating a rubber seal and then I recreated the old boot mast, using our sailrite machine and a marine grade vinyl fabric with additional height and now our mast area around it is water tight.
Thank you Journey Marine Canvas LLC for advice and donating material for this project.

The V-berth area is coming along. Port side bathroom is all pretty much ready for next steps of completing shower area...
09/13/2025

The V-berth area is coming along. Port side bathroom is all pretty much ready for next steps of completing shower area with go-board and tile and then tile for sink area and complete the doors for cabinetry. The berth itself has the cabinets in wood in place and soon ready to close up chainlocker area and start insulating walls after that is all done the area to the starboard side will be a desk top area with a built in bunk that can fold up out of the way when not in use. With lots of storage space.

Olivia is looking a little naked. We have a good weather window and the old Bimini was becoming quite tattered with lo...
09/13/2025

Olivia is looking a little naked.
We have a good weather window and the old Bimini was becoming quite tattered with lots of torn areas. We need this Bimini to last us through her refit, so I took it down to take it home and sew some patch material on it to act as a bandaid until we are ready for the new top. Shawn is going to make a hard top out of wood with beautiful beams. All of course light weight in material and then soft sides to do a full enclosure, that can be rolled up when we want it open or closed for weather.
But for now patch work it is. Old top has provided great shade for us.

I believe that the work I do on my boat has great value because I am important and my time is worth more than money. I ...
09/09/2025

I believe that the work I do on my boat has great value because I am important and my time is worth more than money. I believe that once I have poured great labor into my yacht it would be an insult to me and to my yacht to knowingly allow the fruits of my labor to fall back into a state of disrepair when I could have prevented such decline. I believe it is my ethical duty as the guardian of my yacht to maintain its dignity year-round, whether it is yachting season or the middle of the winter. And I believe that, in dollar terms alone, I will spend one heck of a lot less money over the long haul keeping my yacht up on a regular maintenance regimen that I will if I allow it to fall into periodic ruin.
Amen

It has been an especially hard week as we pushed ourselves day and well into the evenings. Cap rail from two finish fa...
09/07/2025

It has been an especially hard week as we pushed ourselves day and well into the evenings. Cap rail from two finish failures had to be repaired and varnished with a traditional varnish, Epifanes.
Old hatches and mast were pouring water into our v-berth area putting all the new wood at risk.
We had two solid weeks of rain and it was heavy and the mast area well it flooded a 5- gallon bucket full, into the v-berth area. Luckily we caught the bulk of it in a bucket but this could not continue.
We have successfully pulled all hatches, but two in the salon area, relensed them, gaskets replaced and painted and they are b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. Completed the cap rail and and 2 out 12 coats is on it. Shawn got the main mast, at the base, wrapped and coated with a protectant sealant.
So today is total rest day, both wore out from projects we had no choice but to complete while we had an open weather window.

Today we took a break, no work on this Labor Day. So…… Shawn made us a breakfast/lunch quiche. I mean who doesn’t lik...
09/01/2025

Today we took a break, no work on this Labor Day. So…… Shawn made us a breakfast/lunch quiche. I mean who doesn’t like bacon eggs and cheese?!? As he calls it a garbage pie.
Oh I hadn’t mentioned not only does he work hard most every day on the rebuild on Olivia but he also enjoys cooking. I do most of the cooking but he is far better than I am.

Shawn removed the mast pulpit or as Shawn refers to it the sissy bar. It was used as a support so you when you are unde...
08/20/2025

Shawn removed the mast pulpit or as Shawn refers to it the sissy bar. It was used as a support so you when you are under way and at the mast handling lines you had support. Well since all our lines will now be going into the cockpit to allow for any sail changes to be handled in the safety of the cockpit we decided to remove that sissy bar.
Chasing leaks - the mast leaked tremendously at the base down into the v-berth area and Shawn cleaned out the area around the mast wrapped it and then sealed it with Flex Seal Liquid Latex to stop the leaks. We will cover with a new mast boot cover as the old one is deteriorated and needed replacing.

I love how much removing that mast pulpit made it look so much more open and modern.

Also having the old RV AC unit removed and installing a new hatch helped tremendously as well.

One bite of the elephant at a time.

Have you ever felt “the calling” toward something unexplainable? Your soul screams at you as you chase it, but your mind...
08/20/2025

Have you ever felt “the calling” toward something unexplainable? Your soul screams at you as you chase it, but your mind conjures up doubt. Fear! A million reasons NOT to do it?

Some days you will be exhausted and some days questioning the insanity and direction and the exhausting process. Is this what I really want, I’m spinning and maybe “my calling to the unexplainable” is just too much work So you take the easy route and just continue on with your life as it’s always been.

The problem with ignoring that feeling is, your soul dies with it.

So do it anyways!!!! ~ Chasing Freedom ~

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Beaufort, SC
29907

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