From vintage yacht to ocean cruiser

What does it take to refit an 30 years old boat and make it a modern ocean cruiser and home for five?

It is good to start by saying that every boat is case of it´s own and every boat is different. This is a story of 1982` Swan 57 s/y Panacea.

We bought Panacea after she had been lying on hard for four years in Turkey, so it was expected that there was lot to do before she was ready to be launched. Prior to our purchase many upgrades had been done already during 2004-2006 when the hull was stripped and sealed, hull and deck were painted and new teak deck was installed as well as all interior re-varnished. However, we had heard and read many horror stories about buying an old boat abroad and were of course somewhat worried about what we would find.

Here is the list of works already completed on Panacea.

I was worried about the engine that had not been running in four years. Luckily cylinders were not jammed and we found no major trouble with the engine. Naturally diesel was all black and contaminated and all tanks had to emptied and flushed before they could be used.
Extra fuel filter with water separator was added to the fuel system.
Batteries were dead and had to be replaced. We chose six Trojan Deep-Cycle 105 ah batteries for and one separate battery 120 ah for starting the engine.
Battery charger was original and did not provide sufficient output and it was replaced by new MasterVolt Charge Master 24 v charger.
We added new Waeco Sine Power 24 v inverter for charging pods and pads while offshore.
There were no holding tanks and they had to be built. Two stainless steel tanks were constructed and located under the bunks in fore and aft cabins (70+100 liters)
Original toilets were changed to electric and plumbing was renewed.
Galley got new three burner stove and oven.
All pumps (bilge and fresh water) have been replaced.
Lifting anchor was a major pain in the ass due to old windlass with bad wiring. No power what so ever, so new Lofrans 1700 w windlass and new wiring was installed.
Hydraulics in the mast; backstay and boomvang had served long enough and were replaces by new ones. Not so easy task to get right kind of spares from USA to Turkey.
New wiring and lights in the mast and new running lights.
Major service to all winches with multiple replacement parts
Major inspection was done for the rigging as every single part was detached, checked and replaced when needed. Mast was also painted.
Harken Battcar system was installed for easy handling of the mainsail.
Mainsail got full battens and lazy bag system.
Most of the running rigging and all sheets have been changed.
Guard rail wires were renewed and ”entrance doors” were constructed on both sides of the boat for easy swimming and emergency access.
There was no bimini, so new was added.
Foulding mast steps to first spreaders.
New Plastimo offshore liferaft.
New dinghy with 10 hp outboard.
New Raymarine VHF.
New Raymarine Evolution autopilot.
New stainless steel arch in the aft with two Victron 130 w solar panels and Rutland 914i windcharger.