As soon as we returned from our first visit to Maine, we knew that we most likely would be purchasing a “new to us” boat. But it wasn’t a done deal yet. Who knows – perhaps it would be Her Idea or perhaps it would be some other boat. Either way, the new reality had become clear and it was time to get Quantum Leap ready to sell. We weren’t getting any younger and we needed a change.

We needed a boat more accommodating to full time liveaboards. Basically, something that had similar amenities and comfort to the coach and that we could live on indefinitely. Something that had diesel engines (for fuel economy), had more room, had a windlass with reliable ground tackle (anchor, etc.), and had better sleeping accommodations with a center island bed (Rob was tired of crawling over me to get in and out of bed), and ideally had a washer/dryer and dishwasher.

Over the years we owned Quantum Leap, Rob had spent countless hours upgrading wiring, plumbing, installing solar panels, replacing the refrigerator, installing a new propane cooktop and oven, installing a propane locker, replacing the mattress, replacing the toilets with Vac-U-Flush toilets, building a customized table for the cockpit, etc., the list goes on and on. In addition, we had had the topsides painted a few years ago, and the exterior looked like new!

However, over the past couple of years, due to various reasons, Rob had started some projects, but had never completed them. Some due to time constraints because of other activities in our lives, some due to issues finding the materials he needed to complete a particular project and some because he was having problems envisioning what the end result should look like. Now that the purchase of Her Idea or some other boat (SOB) might be imminent, selling Quantum Leap quickly had become a priority. It was crunch time to get her in tip top shape!

So on June 20th, as soon as we returned from our first Maine trip, working on Quantum Leap became Rob’s full time job. To make it easier on him, we decided not to move down to the boat which would greatly speed up the various projects. No need to put away his tools or clean up the mess every night.

In addition to a lot of minor things that needed to be finished, his focus was on two major projects. His first task was to rebuild the cabinet underneath the counter in front of the bar stools in the main cabin.

In 2021, he had torn that area apart so he could expand the area to accommodate the installation of a Hava countertop sized dishwasher.

Here’s what it looked like in 2021 with the redesigned cabinet partially completed….

In July 2023, it was a work in progress….

And here’s the end result…

The second major project involved building a new storage cabinet underneath the mirror and next to the two recliners. Early on we found the settee in the cabin to be extremely uncomfortable, so in our usual style, we removed it, deciding to replace a portion of the seating with recliners.

The section under the mirror, which was once the base of the settee, housed the air conditioner, the central vac unit, and the inverter/charger. Rob wanted to reduce the size of this cabinet, but completely removing it was out of the question. The massive old Xantrex Inverter/Charger was removed (a new charger was added in the engine room), and the AC and central vac were reconfigured. The photo below shows the reconfigured section, previously it was about 14″ wider.

Now that the utilities were relocated, the ultimate game plan was to build a custom cabinet which would provide more much needed storage. The one caveat was that it had to be removable to allow access to the systems underneath.

The finished product, shown below, adds additional storage and repositions the A/C vent to better cool the cabin. The section with the dark sliding doors can be removed with only two screws for access to the utilities.

In addition, Rob created more storage by cutting a cubby hole in the space behind the recliners. This is otherwise wasted space underneath the catwalk. He also added a small fold up table between the recliners.

Each of these projects generated a myriad of other smaller projects – moving plumbing and electrical wiring, rerouting AC ducts. replacing vinyl, installing new headliner and wood trim – the list went on and on and on, it seemed endless. But eventually everything was completed. The end result, because of the fantastic job he did, is that we were able to sell the boat more quickly than we expected and at a good price.

To see the more photos of Quantum Leap, check out this album.

At the beginning of August, we advertised Quantum Leap on boattrader.com. Considering that initially we had talked about donating Quantum Leap, we were overwhelmed by the immediate response to our ad. Of course many of the responses were just scammers, but quite a few were legit. After a while you learn to spot the scams. More about that coming up…