Category Archives: Choosing a boat

Choosing a boat

Luckyfish Syndicate NEWS!

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All shares sold, join the waitlist for next opportunity

Own a quarter share in this high quality, well-appointed Tiki 38. This is your chance to get sailing in a Wharram now, at an affordable price and enjoy twelve weeks of Caribbean cruising each year. Six in the high season and six in the low season.

Currently in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, Luckyfish is ideally located for some sensational adventures in 2020. And the season is about to start!

Fly to Guatemala City and enjoy some of the Caribbeans best cruising with family and friends. Just 150 miles east from Livingston at the mouth of the river you have the treasures of Roatan, Utila and Guanaja.  

Or go north on an inshore protected route along the Yucatan peninsula and savor the barrier islands and bays of Belize and Mexico. That’s just year 1. Year 2 you and your co-owners can stage across the Caribbean via Cuba, the BVI’s and down the Windward Island chain to “Hurricane” season in Grenada where you will have great low season access to St Vincent and the Grenadines including such gems as the Tobago Cays, Bequia and Saltwhistle Bay. You write the rest of the story.

Boat and Area Briefing

To get our new co-owners off to a good start, join Stew and Zaya for a boat and area briefing during Jan-Feb 2020. We will be available for 2 months to spend time with you familiarizing with boat and area to whatever extent you need.

Airfare Price Guide

Here is a price guide for return airfares from USA, UK and Sth Africa:

Atlanta to Guatemala City return 15 Jan to 2 February 2020

London Heathrow to Guatemala City return 15 Jan to 2 February 2020

Cape Town to Guatemala City return 15 Jan to 2 February 2020

INVENTORY

Luckyfish is ocean ready and proven. She is a fast, safe passage maker. Her extensive inventory includes equipment of the highest quality:

Specs, Equipment and Information

Twin shallow draft keels

Launch Date: 26 April 2012

Builder: Dan Hardwicke, Sth Africa

Build Time: 3 years 1 month

Current owner since: October 2014

Miles sailed since launch: 11,500NM

Dimensions

LOA: 11.6m

Beam: 6.2m

Draft: 1.0 m

Displacement (laden) : 5100kg

Coatings

Exterior:

Gurit SP 106 Epoxy

Intershield 300

Interguard 263

Interguard 276 above waterline

Interthane above waterline (sprayed on upper hull panels, mohair roller cabin tops)

Interior:

Gurit SP 106 Epoxy

Interguard 276

Interthane 990 rolled

Bilges:

Danbolin

Below waterline:

Gurit SP 106 Epoxy

Intershield 300

Interguard 263

Coppercoat Hull 2015 – good for another 5-10 years

Safety Equipment

Arimar 4-pers liferaft – service due Nov 2019

Medical chest Cat 1

Bosuns chair

Jack Lines

3 x Deck Harness Lifejackets – Crewsaver ErgoFit OC Lifejacket inc Hammar 290N and spare Hammars

Storm Gear

16′ Fiorentino Offshore Anchor, Para-Ring, Fast-PAK stowage bag, stainless swivel, 50′ Trip/retrieval line, 1/2″ yellow polypropylene  line with support float, vulcanized chafe protection (Complete Para-Anchor Set-Up)

Jordan Series Drogue – Sailrite kit assembled with 80 cones for testing and 80 cones in reserve. 95m of 16mm custom made nylon double braid rode and bridle.

2 x ¾” SS eyebolts mounted inside hulls near transom

Engines

Total Power: 19.8 HP

Engines 1 & 2:

Engine Brand: Yamaha

Year Built: 2011

Engine Model: FT9.9GEP (Electric Start, Electric Tilt)

Engine Type: Outboard

Engine/Fuel Type: Unleaded

Engine Hours: We keep a fuel log but not engine hours. Engine hours are around 350 each. Fuel efficiency is 18 hrs per tank at 6.5 kts (two engines) or 18 hrs per tank at 4kts (one engine). Boat has burned around 115 US Gallons per engine over 11,500NM. Engines will receive a full service in Dec, 2019.

6.5 kts @ 18 hours x 2 tanks 117NM / 12.6 gal (48L) =   9.28NM/gal and 0.7   gal/hr

4.0 kts @ 18 hours x 1 tank    72NM /    6.3 gal (24L) = 11.43NM/gal and 0.35 gal/hr

Drive Type: Long Shaft

Engine Power: 9.9HP

Cruising Speed: 4 to 7 knots.

Maximum Speed: 8.5 knots under power in smooth conditions.

Tanks

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 (120L + 60L) + 90L Jerries – (total 43Gal.)

Fuel Tanks: 4 x 6.3 US Gal (24L) Tanks, Total Capacity 26 US Gal (96L)

Electronics

Complete B&G navigation on NMEA2000 backbone incl:

Simrad 4G Broadband Radar

Zeus Touch 12” Chartplotter with C-Map, Navionics and Explorer Cards for Sth Africa, Caribbean and E Coast USA and SailSteer.

NAIS 400 Class B AIS transceiver with transmitter on separate bimini mounted VHF antenna

External GPS-500 GPS Antenna for NAIS and positioning

Rate compass (Flux Gate enables radar imagery overlay on charts)

Triton Wind Speed and Direction, Depth, Temp

VHF ICOM IC-M32 Handheld Marine Transceiver

VHF ICOM IC-M12 Class D DSC Marine Transceiver

Iridium 9555 Satellite phone

EPIRB Ocean Signal E100 New Battery 2019

RedPort Satellite WiFi Optimizer and Firewall

Marine Dual USB Sockets in cabins and pod

Ubiquiti BulletM2 Titanium 2.4GHz 802.11n/g Outdoor Radio WiFi booster antennae

Linksys AC1200 Wi-Fi Wireless Dual-Band+ Router

Self-Steering

Dual, horizontal-axis, trim-tab vane steering system per Wharram plans

Sails

All sails original and by Jeckell sail makers. Maintained in top condition:

Cruising Asymmetrical spinnaker with chute. Good for up to 25kts

Staysail on wire luff. Fly it anywhere.

Furling working jib on Plastimo 800 furler

Foresail (Wharram Wingsail)

Mainsail (Wharram Wingsail)

Ground Tackle

Windlass: Lewmar Pro series 1000 electric windlass with dual remote control at helm and forward

Primary: Rocna 20kg on 40m Aqua4 HT 8mm chain and 60m Liros 14mm anchorplait

Secondary: Fortress FX-16 on 15m Aqua4 8mm chain and 50m Liros 14mm anchorplait

Storm: Fortress FX-55 on 10m 10mm chain and 60m Liros 18mm anchorplait, s/s eye splice each end

Primary anchor bridle: Liros 12mm anchorplait with PVC anti-chafe

Rigging

Standing rig surveyed in 2018 and in good condition. Will need replacing in 2022 for insurance purposes.

Accommodations

Number of single berths: 2

Number of double berths: 2

Number of cabins: 3

Number of heads: 1

Number of bathrooms: 1

Seating Capacity: 6

Fitted sheets, blankets, pillows, other linen etc

Fans in cabins

Cockpit/Pod

Optimised for easy sail handling and day-to-day living

Four Lewmar evo 32 two speed winches with covers,

Lewmar SS wheel

12v and 110V power

Two full length benches and fold out two leaf table.

Spacious cockpit lockers on 4 sides

Quality Australian Sovereign SS BBQ

3 x 5kg composite gas bottles

Roll down storm enclosure

Whale bilge pump with roaming hose

Foremast Case

Reinforced with storage holding warps, chain, secondary warps and chain, boat hooks, gaffs

Lewmar 28 self-tailing two speed winch to tweak foresail halyards and gaffs

Bimini

Nida core bimini doubles as rain catcher directly to water tanks

260W solar panels

Handholds all round for safe deck movement

Head

Stb Forward: Jabso Manual Head

42l holding tank, which is bulkhead mounted and gravity discharged

Port Galley/Salon

Plastimo Neptune 2500 Stove, Grill, Oven

Engel MT60F-U1-C AC/DC Portable Dual Voltage Fridge/Freezer Battery charger (60 Qt / 60L)

Top loading 40qt / 40L day fridge built using 80mm foam and Danfoss compressor

12v power and undercounter lights in galley

Sea water pump in galley

Quality Lewmar hatches and ports

Starboard Main Cabin

Double cabin

Flip up writing/coffee table

12V Fan

Mattress hinged to allow easy access to large storage under bunk and 135l water tank

Full compartment for spares, charts, clothing

Lewmar 600 x 600 hatch above the bunk

As with other cabins all deck hatches have external covers

Portlights have privacy/solar screens

All mattresses come with two sets of under and over cotton fitted sheets

Hanging wardrobe opposite nav area

Storage in cabin step

Red nav table light

Barigo clock and barometer

12v power and undercounter lights

Singer 4452 Heavy Duty sewing machine

Electrical Equipment

12 V Electronic Battery Charger

Extension Leads

110V/240V Step-up Step-Down Transformer

1 x 1000W 12V-240V inverter

1 x 1000W 12V-110V inverter

110V LED cockpit pod lighting

Engine start and windlass battery New 2018

House batteries Port hull (watermaker, fridges, freezer) 3 x 105Amp Deltec BD-N105_LFS REPLACED IN 2020

House batteries Stb hull (navigation) 2 x 105Amp Deltec BD-N105_LFS REPLACED IN 2020

Port hull Lazarette: Echo2Tec 12V Watermaker – 60L per hour @ 27Amp/hr

Renewables

260W Solar panels and 3 x solar controllers (port & stb banks + engine start/windlass)

300W Watt & Sea hydrogenerator with 12V MPPT converter

500W Rutland 1200 wind generator with hybrid MPPT 20A solar charger controller (spare capacity)

Outside Equipment/Extras

Cockpit shower

Cockpit cushions

Swim Ladder/Dinghy boarding ramp

Takacat 260Lite Tender with 5HP Yamaha Outboard

Radar reflector

Cockpit table

Teak cockpit pod

Covers

Storm enclosure

Sail bags for staysail, spinnaker

Lazy bags for fore and mainsails

5 sunbrella winch covers

6 Lewmar sunbrella hatch shade covers

Mooring

8 x large fenders, all necessary mooring warp

Extras and Spares

building plans for Plan # 111

full spares kit for head, winches, watermaker, outboards

Why co-ownership?

If you have followed Luckyfish on YouTube since she left South Africa you know that Stewart and Zaya shared the journey so people could see what is possible on a “reasonably priced catamaran”.

Five years later many wonderful people have been inspired to write their own stories, from buying and re-fitting second hand Wharrams, building new ones, even restoring their own loved and lost ones.

It’s time for us to move on now. We have a baby, Leo, now 4 months old and less time to dedicate to Lf. With him has come a new dream, Project X. We will be adopting every clever design feature we have learned from James Wharram and incorporate it into the new boat. She will be a legacy yacht, designed to circle the world in perpetuity, or at least the next 100 years.

But, Project X is a yacht way more than we can afford. And we don’t want bank finance. We think we have found one solution that can work for everyone and we want to apply it to Luckyfish too. In fact, its an extension of the principles that got the Luckyfish story started in the first place.

After months of research and phone calls and video skype meetings with everyone from specialist marine legal experts to leaders in yacht syndication, we think co-ownership is not only a solution but something that is quite simply “the future”.

Done right, it works. Done wrong, well… we have all heard the stories.

The Luckyfish syndicate will be done right. Each co-owner knows where they stand legally right from the start, follows the rules of the agreement and if there is a dispute, there is a clear path to resolution or even arbitration if necessary.

The syndicate will have a Yacht Manager and a Finance Manager elected from the syndicate. They will be retired or replaced if so chosen by the members, yearly.

Luckyfish will have her own secure website for owners to access. The website hosts the owners forum to discuss calendar bookings and swaps and boat topics such as routing and equipment upgrades. With a real-time booking calendar and real-time transactions and accounts for the yacht, owners can check the up-to-the minute status. Use the photo gallery to show your family and friends what they can expect from their cruising holiday with you.

Express your interest today by contacting me stew@svluckyfish.com or add me on Skype stewart.w.coates Let’s keep a great syndicate going!

Choosing a boat, Link, Market forces, Quote, Reflections

Practical Sailor – Sanctuary in a world gone mad

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Greg King, Publisher of Practical Sailor, really rang my bells this morning with this gem of “Pressure-selling”. Although, it would be wrong to lump his piercing piece of pen-craft in with the marketing drivel normally associated with the term. In this instance, he is merely stating a lot of long overdue truths. Take this for example:

” Historically, the sailing industry has been close-knit,
dominated mostly by small well-established companies. Many of these were old, family run
businesses, some dating back to the age of sail.

The owners of these companies were passionate about sailing and cared about making
quality products. And they stood behind them. They felt a shared sense of duty to fellow
sailors.

Sadly, in an era that emphasizes get-rich-quick schemes, the unspoken pact among
sailors is swirling down the scuppers. “

Go ahead and read the whole piece here: practical-sailor-breath-of-fresh-air

It’s packed with truisms that will make you as happy to read as you are sad for a world rapidly being lost for dreamers and sailors alike.

It worked for me, and I promptly signed up for another 12 months for the online magazine. No, not because I read it that much. Luckyfish is not very gear hungry, (although when I need information I know I can trust this publication more than any other sailing news source). But simply, to support the message that Practical Sailor stands for, in a world going mad around us.

NB. We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Practical Sailor. As if I need to tell you that ! Spread the Love.

That’s why I sail,

Stewart.

Boat design, Choosing a boat, Market forces, Reflections

In NZ, sailing is for everyone.

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Growing up and learning to sail in New Zealand taught me many lessons. One lesson that stands out is that sailing is not just for the wealthy.287_1-red

Kids learn to sail for next to nothing by sailing on friend’s boats or by joining a club and using club training boats. If you want your own boat and can’t afford to buy one, you build one. The wonderful thing about New Zealand sailing culture is that it is no different to rugby or cricket. It is open to everyone.

This may be why I don’t understand the push towards ever larger and more expensive cruising boats. They seem to be driven by design criteria that bear no relevance to the essential pleasures of cruising under sail.

That kiwi culture is in total harmony with the achievements of Moitessier and Wharram who turned the “yachting establishment” on its head by completing amazing voyages in simple affordable boats. They gave rise to a generation of dreamers who could now see the possibilities.

“It had to snatch these dreams away and place them back out of reach”.

No sooner was this “can-do” generation of home-builders underway, the “pleasure boating industry” sprang up. Marketing departments went into overdrive from annual boat shows to quid pro quo magazine advertorials, clouding the concept of escaping under sail with the very material adornments, even financing arrangements, we were escaping from.

It was almost as though the establishment would have none of this new found freedom and independence. It had to snatch these dreams away and place them back out of reach.

No sector is this more true than the cruising catamaran. Over the last twenty years, the catamaran construction industry has learned three major commercial lessons that have formed the range of craft we see available today.

Firstly, in the early naughties, cat builders were increasing efficiency and churning out boats. But they were running into a sales problem. They couldn’t compete with models built in earlier years that were readily available on the second hand market. These were models that refused to depreciate or die. Manufacturers had to take steps and sadly, as many surveyors and cat industry professionals will tell you, the post 2003/4 boats lack the construction quality of their predecessors. A form of in built obsolescence has taken over and that’s sad.

The second lesson came from the principle known as “economy of scale”. Labour constitutes at least half of the construction cost of a catamaran (any boat for that matter) and there are almost the same man-hours in building a 45 foot cat as there are in a 38. A builder can sell the 45 for almost twice the price of the 38 which equates to much better profit margins on bigger boats. No surprise then that marketing is directed at 40 footers and up. These are enormous boats, far beyond many of our needs.

The third lesson is volume. If the industry is to keep growing, how to make these boats appeal to a wider market? Charter industry relationships formed and flourished. Negative gearing, ownership and owner-use plans sprang up, entwining the financials with realising the dream. For many, this has become a clever solution to what has become an expensive problem and has lead to a boom in boat sales.

I’ve found that a bit of critical thinking goes a long way when you are trying to drown out the marketing buzz and listen to your inner voice. It’s useful to remember the ‘drivers’ that dictate the conversation we are having today about boat design, size and price, and contrast these with the reasons that attracted us to sailing in the first place. After all, sailing should be for everyone.

That’s why I sail,

Stewart.