Wreck and Resurrection: How I Made $60,000 Repairing My Sailboat

by David Harris

Part how-to, part memoir, this book describes the repair and rebuliding of a 32-foot catamaran sailboat wrecked during Hurricane Georges in 1998. The boat was overturned and then tossed ashore,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893561038
• ISBN13: 9781893561038
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Tortuga Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Surviving every boat owner's worst nightmare

I imagine every boat owner has a nagging worry about what would happen if the forces of nature severely damaged or destroyed your boat? How do you get the boat salvaged and repaired without being eaten alive by all the pirates out there? David Harris tells the story of how his family's beloved sailing catamaran was wrecked when Hurricane Georges swept the Florida Keys, and the long journey to reclaim and rebuild his boat. Perhaps the first third of the book deals with the loss, and the amazing struggle that follows after calling his insurance agent and being told his insurer is "off-shore" and the agent would have nothing to do with the claim. While the boat was damaged enough to be a complete write-off, the repair work turned out to be far easier than the effort to get his claim settled and his boat back. The remaining two thirds describes the rebuilding of his boat. For anyone considering restoring or rebuilding a boat, this material is quite good in that it describes the processes involved in redoing a complete boat. There are many "how-to" books out there (and he recommends a few) that tell you the specifics of a given task, but in this book you get the big picture view of the whole job. As for the criticism of the illustrations, yes, they have been done in an old-fashioned grainy sepia look, but they don't detract much from the story. Part of Harris' approach was not to name names. Some folks he came across were honest, competent and helpful; others weren't. The grainy photos prevent the identification of the guilty as well as the innocent. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My wife did as well, although she skipped some of the technical discussions. It's a good read for anyone who works, or has thought of working, on their own boat.

For anyone who has ever contemplated rebuilding a boat

Five days after hurricane Georges savaged the Florida Keys in September 1998, David Harris was on the sea in his dinghy and trying to locate his boat, Top Cat. His 32-foot catamaran sailboat had been anchored in a shallow, protected cove before the storm hit. When Harris finally found his boat it was up on the shore, upside down, and with a hull spiked by mangroves. Declared a total loss by the insurer, Harris refused to give up his beloved craft. With little more than a homeowner's carpentry, electrical, and plumbing skills, Harris repaired Top Cat, spending less than half the insurance proceeds in the process and ending with a "profit" of more than $60,000. What he learned as a result of this amazing nautical restoration and repair project also resulted in improvements and upgrades making Top Cat an even better boat than before the hurricane! Illustrated with black-and-white drawings and diagrams, Wreck And Resurrection: How I Made $60,000 Repairing My Sailboat is "must" reading for anyone who has ever contemplated rebuilding a boat of their own either out of necessity or just for fun!