Image: Last Dance at anchor in Old Dave's Harbor, Lake Superior
If you were considering buying a car built in 2011, all of it except for tires, and maybe brakes, would be original to the time it was built. The differences between two 2011 cars would be mostly the amount of miles that had been driven.
Boats are different, older boats even more so. Much of the equipment on larger boats is installed after the boat reaches the dealer, a process called "commissioning." Then, over the years, some systems are replaced, are new, not just rebuilt. As more and more of a boat becomes new systems, how can you judge its age? It becomes a more complex process.
Last Dance has had some systems replaced with new equipment, most during two major upgrades.
1995
New:
135 hp Perkins diesel engines
8 Kw Westerbeke generator
Fuel tanks, aluminum. two at 225 gallons each, replacing original mild steel tanks
Naiad Stabilizers
Windows and port lights
2010
New:
Shafts and props
Chartplotter, radar, depth sounder transducer
Sanitation system: toilets, hoses, valves, black water tank
Holly and teak floor in salon
1976
Then there are some who argue that old is better than new. Hulls built in the '70s were solid fiberglass, laid in many layers to a thickness much greater than engineers now require. Many newer boats have a sandwich construction hull with two thin layers of fiberglass separated by a layer of foam or balsa wood.
So, what is the effective age of Last Dance?
