The Restoration
Dream Maker's restoration is more than a list of completed projects. Some moments changed the direction of the work, revealed something about the boat, or became part of the larger story. Those stories come first. The complete record follows for anyone who wants to go deeper.
Restoration Stories
Some restoration projects are best remembered as lists of work completed.
Dream Maker's story is different.
Certain moments changed what I understood about the boat, the restoration, or the journey itself. Those are the chapters worth telling.
The full Restoration Log records the work.
These are the stories behind it.
Sometimes the beginning of a new life looks remarkably ordinary until you realize where it is taking you.
Marcy brought me to see an aging CT-54 she had represented for more than a year. Dream Maker had spent more than twelve years on land and nearly every major system needed attention. I saw past what she was and imagined what she could become. On February 14, 2023, she became mine.
Sometimes you don't understand the size of a journey until you finally see what was hidden beneath the surface.
When Dave Horsley opened Dream Maker's soft deck for the first time, the extent of the damage became impossible to ignore. Water intrusion had reduced parts of the wooden core to mud. The six-month restoration I had imagined suddenly became something much larger.
For one brief day, Dream Maker returned to the element she had been built for.
After more than twelve years on the hard, Dream Maker was splashed for a single day so she could move from St. Augustine Marine Center to Oasis Boatyard and Marina. It wasn't the return to sailing I had imagined, but for a few hours she floated again.
Restoration often looks like destruction long before it begins to look like progress.
The old engine, generator, fuel tanks, water tanks, bathroom equipment, portlights, wiring, plumbing, and failed systems came out. Dream Maker increasingly looked less like a finished boat, but every removal created room for the vessel she was becoming.
The goal stopped being to make Dream Maker seaworthy. The goal became to build her for the life ahead.
The restoration evolved into a complete modernization. The cockpit and top deck were redesigned, the bowsprit was removed for overhaul, bilge stringers were redesigned for the arriving 60 kW electric motor, new tanks were installed, and the systems architecture began taking shape.
Sometimes rebuilding requires removing the very things that make something recognizable.
Dream Maker was demasted and the rerigging process began. For a classic ketch whose two masts define her silhouette, seeing them come down made the scale of the restoration particularly visible.
Progress can slow without the dream disappearing.
A dramatic change in my financial circumstances slowed the restoration almost to a stop. The work continued, but at a much different pace. Dream Maker remained unfinished, and the original timeline disappeared, but the destination never changed.
Long before Dream Maker could carry me across the sea, she carried my imagination there.
While restoring Dream Maker, I spent countless hours imagining her underway. My search for a modern fictional sailing adventure eventually led to an unexpected idea: perhaps I could write the story I wanted to read. That idea became The Taíno Amulets.
After years of removing things, some of the most satisfying days were the ones when Dream Maker began becoming whole again.
The port deck was completed. New Samson posts were rebuilt and installed. The bow decking was finished. The cockpit decking was rebuilt. Progress remained slower than originally planned, but increasingly the restoration began producing visible signs of renewal.
Some histories aren't erased. They're simply waiting beneath the surface.
While sanding the teak trim and removing the painted Dream Maker names from the bows, an older name appeared underneath: Odyssey. The previous name had never truly been removed—only painted over—revealing another chapter in Dream Maker's history and an unfinished renaming ceremony.
The Complete Record
Not every project needs to become a story.
The Restoration Log is the working record of Dream Maker's return—what was removed, rebuilt, replaced, redesigned, installed, and sometimes reconsidered along the way.
Sanded, recaulked, and refinished the teak companionway hatch.
Installed an air compressor in the forward workshop area.
Began sanding the teak rub rails, bow decorations, and painted Dream Maker names.
Converted the forward V-berth into a dedicated workbench and restoration workspace.
Prepared the bilge structure and installation areas for the future 48V propulsion battery bank.
Completed the restored bow deck.
Rebuilt the cockpit deck as part of the redesigned cockpit structure.
Rebuilt and installed new Samson posts at the bow.
Completed the restored port-side deck.
Installed the 12V battery-management system and primary 12VDC distribution backbone.
Installed the charging architecture for Dream Maker's 48VDC propulsion battery system.
Removed the old bottom coatings and sanded the underwater hull back to bare fiberglass.
Installed the initial 12VDC lithium house battery bank.
Installed the Victron Quattro and 12VDC battery charger.
Installed freshwater pumps and freshwater reservoirs.
Removed the failed refrigerator and freezer as part of the galley renovation.
Installed new fuel lines and the electric fuel-selection system.
The new 18 kW Piccolo generator arrived for the redesigned onboard power system.
Refinished and repainted the bilge in preparation for installation of the new mechanical and electrical systems.
Installed the new plastic freshwater tanks.
Cut new required through-hulls and permanently filled unused legacy through-hull openings.
Installed two new aluminum fuel tanks to replace the original black-iron tanks.
Removed the masts and began the rerigging process.
Removed the original Samson posts as part of the bow and deck reconstruction.
Dream Maker's 60 kW electric propulsion motor arrived. Bilge stringers were redesigned to support the future installation.
Removed the bowsprit for overhaul and restoration.
Began redesigning the upper deck and cockpit, including cutting out the aft section of the cockpit.
Removed the aging portlights in preparation for future replacement.
Began opening and rebuilding Dream Maker's badly deteriorated cored decks.
Removed the old head, sink, and tub as part of the planned interior renovation.
Removed the deteriorated black-iron fuel tanks and aging water tanks.
Splashed Dream Maker for one day to move her from St. Augustine Marine Center to Oasis Boatyard and Marina.
Removed Dream Maker's original engine and generator to make way for the redesigned propulsion and power systems.
Began removing the salon sole and stripping failed systems from the boat, including wiring, plumbing, and deteriorated A/C vents.
The Work Continues
Dream Maker is still being rebuilt. Return to the main page to see where she is today and what comes next.
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