Becoming a Sailor

Becoming a Sailor

More Than a Decade Afloat • Raising Sailors • Stories from SV Aphrodite

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Category: Refits, Haul-Outs and Buying Gear

Refits, Haul-Outs and Buying Gear takes us out of the water and into the dusty world of boatyards, marinas, and anchorages with a twist of cultural differences and communication gaps roped in — all in pursuit of repairs, upgrades, and the endless quest to improve our boat.

Escher family and crew of SV Aphrodite at Lunas Shipyard prior to the launch. Paul is away in French Polynesia crewing on another boat temporarily.
May 23, 2026May 23, 2026

322 Days on the Hard

Blue tape on a hyalon Zar dinghy to prepare for a leak repair in Lunas Shipyard, Langkawi, Malaysia
May 13, 2026May 13, 2026

The Point of the Work

Karen Escher painting the keel in Langkawi, Malaysia.
April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Karen paints our keel. An artist’s challenges are not what I would have expected.

Karen painting the underside of our saloon table at Lunas Shipyard in Langkawi, Malaysia.
January 11, 2026January 11, 2026

Learning to Paint with Karen Aboard our Sailboat

Hands showing how the curvature of our hull impacts the amount of usable counterspace.
November 27, 2025November 27, 2025

How Did I Miss the Skill of Measuring with Accuracy?

A man in a yellow shirt at Brother Lim Cushion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
November 24, 2025November 24, 2025

A Fresh Start for Our Boat’s Upholstery in Malaysia

Eastbay Foreman, Rashid, and another woodworker from Eastbay apply new cherry veneer to a cupboard in our saloon.
October 27, 2025October 27, 2025

Teak and Transformation: Refinishing SV Aphrodite’s Woodwork in Malaysia

Paul in Power Boat Boatyard, Chaguaramas, Trinidad with our Mantus Anchor 2017 below SV Aphrodite, our St Francis 50 catamaran.
November 5, 2017November 5, 2017Lorraine Escher

Living with Four Kids in a Boatyard in Trinidad — Turns Out, It Isn’t So Hard to Stay ‘On The Hard’

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015Lorraine Escher

Sleeping on stilts during a refit

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015Lorraine Escher

Successful haul-out in Tampa

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