Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Keys Rigging

Keys Rigging was here most of the day Monday replacing the gull striker shroud and tuning the rigging.  We had a couple of other issues with bolts instead of clevis pins being used and they replaced those as well.  Good group and very reasonable.  We decided to pay for assurance instead of always wondering if we were going to lose another mast.

For those who don't know.  The dolphin striker is used on the bowsprit of sailboats to help with distributing angled loads for the sprit.  Picture below.  Rich (Snow Goose) told us that in the old days, there would be a harpoon tip added to the dolphin striker which would impale a dolphin who decided to jump in your bow wave and provide fresh meat for the crew.

When cruising cats started coming out, some wise guy decided to call the appendage  a gull striker.  This is because it faces skyward.  Now, everyone knows what you mean when you say gull striker.  It was explained that it actually forces a concave shape to the aluminum cross member and that when you load up the rig, it brings it straight.

Just came down from the top of the mast.  We finally have a functional anchor light.  We bought a neat product from a manufacturer in Key West, Stektronics.  It is a low cost LED anchor light and the best part is the boards are replaceable.  That is what makes it unique and appealing to me.

 Dolphin Striker is the steel rod pointing down towards the water.
 Certainly not as glamorous and the blunt top makes it hard to impale anything.  The gull striker is the bracket in front of the roller furler.  We had the steel cable replaced due to a crack forming in one of the toggles.      

Monday, January 21, 2013

Great Weekend!

Saturday a group of 10 of us headed down to Key West for the Seafood Festival. We enjoyed the bands, vendors and the food was just ok. We stayed for a couple of hours. Then to Duvall St and Mallory Square for the rest of the day.
Sunday Roy and I enjoyed a light air day of sailing, then we grabbed a mooring ball at Sombrero Reef to snorkel. We saw a lot of different fish we have never seen before.  I actually drove the boat up to get the mooring ball at Sombrero Reef and our mooring ball at Boot Key. I did a great job I  must say.


Great Sunset!

Rooster on Duvall St.

Bonnie & Sid








Kent & Jane

Roy, Kent,Jane,Bonnie & Sid

Banyan Tree

Friday, January 18, 2013

Paradise!!!

It's been along time since we posted!!
We live a tough life living in Paradise!  Marathon has been absolutly amazing for working on Yasmine Ann. We have West Marine and Home Depot in walking and biking distance along with Publixs.
We are enjoying all the wonderful sites in Marathon, Sombero Beach, 7-Mile bridge for walking or riding bikes &  many great restruarants, Hurricane's (Thursday night Happy Hour), Sunset Tiki Hut, Burdine's (great tuna & fried key lime pie), The Island Fish Co. (Pat's Washer's wonderful recommandation for girl's day out) and many more great places to eat.
We have meant so many incredible people, Bonnie& Sid on FIU, Anna & Rich on Snowgoose, Kent & Jane on Carina, and Jenette & Steve on Endless Summer.  Steve plays with Eric Stone from Lattitudes, they played at Salty's Tikki Hut last weekend everyone had a fantastic time dancing and listening to the two of them play.  Thanks to Jeanette we had front row seats!



                      Pat, Bonnie & Yasmine
                                         
                      Happy Birthday Pat!
 
                                         


                       Sid & Bonnie
                                          Rich & Anna
                               Sid & Bonnie trying out our Kayak!


          Walt,Pat, Roy, Yasmine, Rich, Anna, Sid & Bonnie

Friday, December 14, 2012

Yasmine Ann

It has been a week today since we took possession of our catamaran.  We spent the first 4 days at the city marina at Fort Lauderdale.  Lots of cleaning and finding places for our stuff.  Seems to be plenty of storage, for now!!!

On Tuesday, we set sail for Marathon to meet up with Pat and Walt from Waves of Grace.  This is their third winter here and I can see why  We arrived on Wednesday and Pat had made us a welcome dinner.  Both Pat and Walt have gone out of their way to show us the town and things to do here.  We love it and look forward to getting Yasmine Ann into tip top shape while enjoying the beautiful weather and great company.      

         Fort Lauderdale strip along the beach.
                                       Local wildlife
               Leaving Fort Lauderdale
         Our fist sunrise at anchor in Rodriquez Key.
 Wake during 8+ knot sailing.  Wind was blowing 25-30 on a beam reach down Hawk Channel.
       Now that is a Happy Admiral
 My GPS to use when working below.  8.1 knots in this picture.  Max that day was 8.8.  Yumsuch would be doing the same, but the next picture tells the difference.
     Notice the bottle of water sitting still on the table.
       Now that is an office with a view.
      Waves of Grace right next door.


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Sold and Bought

Mixed feelings.  We were shocked to have an inquiry, from the last blog posting, within 2 hours of publishing.  That was on a Monday and by that Wednesday we had the deposit in hand for Yumsuch.

A great guy from Baltimore, who works for a company that is involved in electric automobile engines, is the new owner of Yumsuch.  He purchased her for the electric propulsion.  He wanted a completed live aboard size vessel, that also was electric.  Yumsuch fit the bill perfectly.  She passed her survey with flying colors and splashes on the 5th.  We plan to spend a couple of days with him to show the systems and bring her for a sail.  In the spring, he plans to bring her to his home near Annapolis, so we hope to be able to see her there every year.  He plans to work with his engineers to fine tune the propulsion system and the batteries to see what they can accomplish.  We look forward to seeing the changes over the years.  She has been a great boat for us and will be missed.

Selling Yumsuch so quickly allowed us to look at a higher price range.  We had already decided on a Lagoon catamaran due to the vertical windows in the salon.  It answered our needs to have visibility all day while I worked.  Most other cats require sun shades on their angled windows.  So we went back to one of the original boats we viewed, a 2003 Lagoon 410 S2.  It is an owners version, so the starboard hull has a queen bed and a three piece head, vanity and shower area.  There is also a desk, with shelves, for all of my work stuff (another priority).

We had our survey and sea trial yesterday and approved it for purchase, so we will close right after we finish with Yumsuch next week.  We have already made plans to hook up with Pat and Walt in Marathon in the next couple of weeks.  Yasmine Ann (new boat name), sails well.  The polars show she is about the best sailing cat that Lagoon has ever made, so we look forward to tweaking everything to get the best she can provide.

More pictures will follow.  Not sure what we will do with blog name or make a new one.    

Sea trial with captain and surveyor.  You can see one of 3 - 120 solar panels on the hardtop.  

Monday, November 12, 2012

1990 Nonsuch 33 by Hinterhoeller with carbon rig and electric propulsion


This boat is ready for cruising!  We have been living aboard for the past year and half and have sailed nearly 5000 miles.  She is completely refit and loaded with everything you need to go cruising in comfort.  The newest addition is a brand new, custom designed and built composite mast and wishbone boom from Composite Engineering in Massachusetts.  She was just delivered in June and we have sailed extensively in the Mid- Atlantic and down to the Southeast.  Nonsuch's are fast, stable and yes, they can point as high as any other sloop rigged boat.  Her long waterline of 31.5', provides a 7.4 knot hull speed, and we have surfed up to 11 knots with her.  A dream to sail with her fin keel and newly balanced rudder.  

We have owned her 10 years and have replaced nearly every mechanical and electrical components.  She is powered by a Lynch 13KW, 72VDC electric motor and is capable of speeds up to 7 knots.  Quiet running with all the tremendous torque from 1 RPM and up.  Recharge your batteries while sailing, through regeneration, and have all the power you need to motor back to your slip or mooring.  Have to motor a long distance?  Fire up the Honda 2K generator and run like a hybrid.  We enjoyed a 2400 mile sail out the St. Lawrence, from Lake Ontario to Boston, and only burned 5 gallons of gas in the generator.

Upgrades and improvements include:

Full cockpit enclosure    
Nexus wireless wind with speed depth and server for custom programming (2010)
Simrad DD15 below decks autopilot with AP 24 interface and heavy duty drive computer (2011)
Three 10 lb propane tanks
Rail mount Magma Catalina grill attached to propane. 
2 Kyocera 85 Watt solar panels with Blue Sky MPPT controller (2008)
Superwind wind generator with discrete controller (2010)
7" Standard Horizon Chart Plotter (2011)
All new running rigging (2010-2012)
New Spade 44 lb anchor with 35 lb CQR.  Both mounted in bow roller (Spade 2012)
Custom Hood stainless steel ports with shades (2005)
All teak swim platform
All exterior teak is finished with Interlux Schooner varnish (2 new coats added every 8 months)
Brand new stainless steel stove and oven by Dickinson (2011)
Custom copper countertops with custom copper sink (2009)
Built in Engel freezer on pull out drawer (2009)
7 cubic ft of refrigeration with high efficiency, Isotherm, 2 stage compressor system. (2009)
400 Amp hour AGM house bank by Lifeline (2010)
225 Amp hour AGM engine bank by Energy One. (2008)
New teak and holly cabin sole (2009)
All new leather upholstery with spare set (2010)
Custom Tempurpedic mattress for master stateroom. (2007)
Led lighting used all through interior and exterior (2009)
Raritan Elegance full size vacu-flush head (2009)
Precision Temp stainless steeI instant hot water heater (2009)
Propane fireplace that heats the whole boat. (2009)

Click for Original Brochure for Nonsuch 33:


Some additional features from the standard Nonsuch 33 are:
Old 48 gallon fuel tank was used as a male mold to create and additional water tank.  Vessel now carries 150 gallons of water.
Maxwell Electric Halyard Winch
Maxwell Anchor Windlass
Caribbean style bimini, with a soft dodger, allows for full head height entrance to companionway and a clear view to top of mast from the control lines.  Also there is a clear window above helm for sail trim.  All canvas was done in 2004, but has been maintained and repaired professionally.  Until 2011, she was kept in Lake Ontario and stored in a barn during the winter months.
Haarstick mainsail that was original built in 2002.  With the new mast, she has a new luff and has been recut for stiffer mast.  Haarstick has maintained and inspected this sail yearly and says there are several more years left in it.  With the new rig and cut, we have are able to point as high as 30 apparent in flat water.  We have always seen 40 apparent in all conditions.
Custom cockpit cushions with lounging pillows. (2011)
Dinghy davits that can support up to 300 pounds. 
Total of 5 charging systems:
·         Original Heart 50amp charger/1000 Watt Inverter with interface.
·         Blue Sky solar charger with LED readout
·         Superwind charger and load resistors
·         Zivan High Frequency 72VDC, 30 amp charger for engine bank
·         Quick Charge 72VDC, 10Amp battery charger for engine bank
·         Lynch motor controller that allows the engine bank to be charged while sailing.
All through hulls and sea cocks have been replaced with Bronze or stainless steel
2008 bottom was stripped and barrier coated with 4 coats and Micron CSC was applied.  She is currently on the hard in St. Augustine, but will have her bottom repainted for launch after the holidays.
As you read through the list, it does not say enough about what has been done to this boat.  She was purchased in 2001 with the intention of keeping her for the rest of our lives.  So while she was wintering, in an insulated barn, we have done everything we could to ensure she was fit for that lifetime.  We also wanted to make sure we had all of the creature comforts of home while cruising.  She truly is a remarkable example of a 33 Nonsuch and has been an exceptional boat for us.  Living aboard full time, and still working, has driven us to find a vessel with more personal space.   We never wanted for more storage space on Yumsuch, but needing an office has become the driving force to sell her.  Including the new mast, she has had over $120,000 in upgrades over the past 11 years.  There is absolutely no work needed to go cruising! 
Feel free to email with any questions or for more pictures.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Update

We wanted to let everyone know where we are.  The boat was hauled on Monday in St. Augustine, FL.  This was after 8 days in Fernandina Beach waiting for Sandy to officially leave.    Besides some barnacles on the metal, no problems seen.  We have hauled for the bottom paint to be updated, drop the pitch back one notch on the prop, and take care of properly preparing and painting the underwater metals for the saltwater.  

Since we don't plan to go back to the boat until after the holidays, we will leave it ashore until after Christmas.  Then we plan to head to the Keys for the rest of winter.

We will be putting Yumsuch on the internet marketplace while we cruise.  Pass the word to anyone you know.

    

 Another beautiful sunset on at one of our many anchorages we visited on the way down through Georgia.  I believe we are anchored at Lanier Island near Brunswick, GA 
 Submarine base near Cumberland Island, GA.    
 Cumberland Island Anchorage.  This was two days before Sandy.
 Saw our first air boat right after we crossed over into FL.
Ever vigilant Yammy finally caught a dolphin jumping.  This was at our dock at St. Augustine.