When my heart ruled my head!

Richard Carvell learned valuable lessons when he bought an iconic offshore cruiser

- Richard Carvell

The main lesson I learnt from renovating my Contessa 26 was that if you want a hobby, try bird-watching or home brewing! But if you want something all-consuming that will take up almost all your spare time and spare cash, take on a project boat.

Buying a suitable project boat has never been easier. Internet sites are full of potential candidates that were once their owner’s pride and joy but have now fallen into various states of decay. Often they are at very tempting starting prices: some may even turn out to be good value. So supply is not the problem, it’s choosing the right boat that can be tricky.

I chose Simona, a 1973 Contessa 26, not by carefully considering my requirements, but largely because of the iconic status of the design and tales of daring long distance voyages undertaken by the likes of Tania Aebi, Nick Gaffe and Sebastian Olle. This was a heart-over-head decision, with little rationale and certainly no science involved.

I saw Simona on an auction site and, because she was located close to my sailing club on the Medway, I arranged to take a look. Having not owned a boat for some 20 years I was a bit overexcited by the prospect. I was captivated by her beautiful lines as she gracefully bobbed at her mooring that sunny September evening. My enthusiasm was only slightly dented when I saw inside the cabin. Simona, it seemed, had been mainly used for racing. While no expense had been spared on running rigging, high-tech sails and all the go-faster stuff, the interior was a bit unloved, to put it kindly, and definitely showing its age: clearly this was where the bulk of the work would be needed.