About our Boat
While I have always been interested in boats and raced on Sydney Harbour for many years, going cruising is a totally new experience!
So what kind of boat do you buy on a limited budget to go cruising for an extended period of time with a partner who doesn’t sail, is a bit of a princess and somehow avoid getting divorced? (she is gorgeous and I couldn’t wish for anyone better)
I started researching a few years prior to retirement and quickly came to the conclusion that it had to be a catamaran. Why? Because there is plenty of room and it is stable as possibly in a very unstable environment. You sail flat, not at 30 degrees. At anchor there is not much rolling motion and most likely we will be doing that for most of the time. Additional to that, they sail faster, at least on a reach or down wind and I have no plans to be beating into the wind if there are any other options.
Having a budget of around A$150k, the only realistic option was an old boat that has fully depreciated. The main downside is that they all need a lot of work and TLC. The upside is that if you have time and skill, you can do most of the work yourself. You are free to customise to your needs and when something goes wrong in the middle of the ocean you probably know exactly what to do.
There are a lot of old boats around so you need a very clear idea of what is absolutely essential and what you can compromise on.
Firstly, you both need to like the boat. It must be comfortable to live and to sail.
Secondly we absolutely had to have the following:
- Very sound solid construction that will handle rough weather
- Fibre glass hulls and decks. (composite construction may be strong but once water gets in is a nightmare to fix)
- Inboard diesel engines
- Lots of protection from the elements, sun, wind and rain.
- Easy sail handling for solo sailing – a cutter rig with mast aft is ideal because the sails are smaller and there are plenty of options to reduce and balance your sails.
The boat we settled on is a Stratos 12 designed by Robin Chamberlain, built by Jeff Jackson on the Brisbane River, in 1981. It needed a lot of work as it had stood for many years neglected by an elderly owner. But after all the time and effort put in we believe it is a great boat and expect it to stand the test of time.
Details below:
- Name: Water Lily
- Home Port: Sydney
- Length: 40 feet / 12.00 meter
- Beam: 20 feet / 6 meter
- Draft: 3 feet / 1 meter
- Displacement: 11 Tonnes
- Keel / Ballast: Mini Keels
- Hull Material: Fibreglass/GRP
- Deck Material: Fibreglass
- Engine: 2 x 27HP 3 cylinder Yanmar Y3GM
- Fuel: 500 Litres in 4 separate tanks
- Water: 500 Litres in 4 separate tanks
- Galley: 4 burner gas top
- Refrigeration: Gas upright fridge/ 24V Top Load Freezer/fridge.
- Accommodation: 3 x double cabins
- Shower: Gas Hot Water System.
- Toilet: Electric with macerator.
- Dinghy: 10 ft solid fibre glass construction with oars
- Covers: Fully enclosed aft cockpit and sun awnings.
- Ground Tackle: 1 x 50lb plus 1 x 40 lb CQR anchors. Approx. 80 metres of chain and Muir windlass
- Electrics: 12 volt 6 x 110 amp hours deep cycle batteries with charging system, smart regulators and complete 240 volt system with safety protection.
- Navigation: Coursemaster 500 Auto Pilot, Wind speed and direction, Radar, Depth Sounder
- Radios: VHF and HF
- Sail Inventory: Main, furling Genoa, furling Staysail and MPS.
- Mast / Rigging: Aluminium mast with stainless rigging. Running backstays
- Deck Gear: 7 x HQ Winches and trim fittings.