Boat Tour

When we purchased this Corbin 39 (Hull #175) from her original owner, she had been commissioned and cruised in Florida and the Bahamas already under the name STARGAZER V. We knew when we bought her that we would completely refit her from stem to stern, masthead to keel and we figured that it would take three years. Well in the end it took eight years, one and a half of those a full-time effort. The part-time effort involved weeknights, weekends, holidays and vacation time, and a lot of help from our friends. We did not keep track of the man hours nor the money spent because our maxim was that this was to be our long-term home that had to be inexpensive and easy to maintain, easy to operate, comfortable, and above all else safe and reliable. It was not an investment for profit, but in life style. We renamed our home H2OBO, a.k.a. “Waterhobo”, and shoved off July 1, 2010.

The following documents the result of our efforts. For general information about Corbins, check this link to the Corbin Owners web site. Where our boat differs from the general specifications that you will find there are that she weighs around 30,000 lbs. fully loaded, draws 5'10” and has a 53' mast. Apart from the hull and deck, the only original items on the boat are the bowsprit, hatches, stove, two bronze water pumps and a few bulkheads, the rudder, chainplates, the genoa and the mainsail, two Enkes winches, a Harken traveller, and a Harken jib furler. Everything else was ripped out and replaced or added if it did not exist.  At this point I would like to acknowledge all the people that helped us achieve our dream and they are too numerous to name. Nevertheless, most of the stainless work was done by Doug Guerula at Klacko Marine and some of the smaller jobs by Gord Martin, and I am grateful for their skill and artistry. Scott Hoover and Lori Moffat also provided us with a lot of very useful gear after they returned from their Atlantic circumnavigation. We would also like to especially thank Drew Taylor who went well above and beyond the call of duty helping us.  To the others, whether it was technical, physical or morale support, thank you very much.

WARNING: A lot of geeky, technical stuff follows.

Ground Tackle

The ground tackle is critical to the safety of the boat. In our experience up to this point, land is the greatest threat to the boat and a good anchoring system will keep you away from it.

Anchors

Originally the boat came with a collection of fluke anchors and one 65# hinged plow anchor (CQR copy). We felt that there were better alternatives and looked into the family of fixed-shank scoop anchors, examples of which are the Spade, Rocna, Buegel, etc. Some of these employ hoops that stick upward from the scoop, which would not fit under our bowsprit. We looked around for hoopless ones and found one manufactured in Brazil, called a Raya. It claimed to have all the attributes that we desired and moreover, it was light and disassembled for stowage on a long passage.

It worked very well in all conditions from Toronto to Florida, but when we got to the Bahamas and encountered Turtle Grass, it was a different story. Our secondary anchor was a 45# claw anchor (Bruce copy) and we were not happy with it either. So we made some changes and this is what we now have. The primary anchor is a 73 lb. Rocna 33 carried on top of the modified bowsprit attached to 275' of 5/16' hi-test chain. We have a bow shackle at the anchor with 3' of chain connected to a 2-way anchor swivel which is connected to the rest of the chain. The reason for this is that anchor swivels are not at their best with a sideways load on the attachment point, so the bow shackle will hand that and keep the anchor swivel inline with the load. This takes care of any swinging at anchor due to winds or current.

The secondary anchor is a 55 lb. Delta on a chain/rope rode consisting of 40' of 3/8” BBB chain and 300' of 3/4” nylon 3-strand rope connected by a hi-strength bow shackle. It is an emergency anchor that would only be deployed if for any reason the primary has failed while set or failed to deploy.

I would not deliberately set out both anchors for fear of entwining the rodes in the event of the boat swinging around 360 degrees. The anchors can not be raised if the rodes are entwined. You would have to circle your boat around the rodes to unwind them or somehow pick up one of the anchors from the bottom and physically unwind the roads – neither of which sounds appealing. If I thought that extra holding power would be needed from a second anchor, I would use two anchors inline. Specifically, I would attach the spare Raya anchor, which is disassembled and stowed in the chain locker, using 30' of chain and two bow shackles to the attachment point on the Rocna provided for this purpose. The Rocna web site has an excellent description of how this procedure works. The advantages of this arrangement are that I have the holding power of about a hundred pounds of anchors deployed and my Delta 55 is still available for deployment in an emergency.

While it sounds like a lot of weight in the bow – 130 lbs. of anchors on the bowsprit, 300' of chain and a spare anchor in the chain locker – it is not over-weighted; we have never yet taken any water over the bow. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the chain locker is under the forward bunk so that the bulk of the weight is aft of the stem. Loading under the bunk means that the chain has a tendency to pile up and prevent the windlass from doing it's job. But there are two hatches under the mattress to access the chain locker and knock down the “chain castle”, which we have to do every 100' of chain.

I already mentioned the Raya which is kept as a spare anchor. The last anchor we have is the Fortress FX-37 which we got in trade for our claw anchor. It is mounted on the stern and attached to the boat with 40' of chain and 150' of nylon rode. This anchor is essentially an “emergency brake” and can be deployed by simply throwing it overboard. It can also be used as a kedge anchor since it is made of aluminum and light enough to be carried away from the boat in the dinghy. We could also use it to keep the bow to the swell, if necessary. The chain and rode is carried in a special locker built into the stern.

Windlass

Our windlass is a Maxwell 1200 watt vertical capstan with chain gypsy model. With it we can weigh both our anchors, kedge ourselves off shoals sideways and lift a person to the masthead. We have up/down switches at the windlass, on the cockpit pedestal, and near the chain locker to facilitate launch and retrieval in a variety of conditions. For the primary anchor and integrated into the windlass bass is a Maxwell heavy-duty chain stop. To take the load off the windlass while at anchor, we use a nylon bridle to snub the anchor chain.

Foredeck

The foredeck consists of rollers to carry and launch both anchors. There is also a stout, old-school samson post for snubbing the anchors, docking and for tows. The anchors are secured to the boat with turnbuckles with hooks on them. These can be tensioned so that there is no play of the anchors while underway. There are also stout cleat/chocks on both sides of the bow to help handle multiple lines.

Anchoring Procedure

When we want to set the hook, we pick our spot, making sure to that we will have enough water at low tide under the boat for the entire swing area over which we might swing at anchor. In the Bahamas, you can usually see the bottom and can pick a spot with sand, but here in the Med we have not had that luxury, so we rely on our charts to tell us what is on the bottom. Sometimes we are not so lucky. Since we have an all-chain rode, we typically set with a 3:1 scope, so we motor around the spot in a circle with a radius equal to the scope while keeping an eye on the depth gauge. If all looks fine, we motor into the wind towards our spot with the aim of being stopped over top our spot. We then lower the anchor to the bottom, either free-fall or with the windlass (this is when you should also set you anchor watch waypoint) and pay it out as the wind takes us aback. As we drift back, I will use the brake on the windlass to apply a little pressure to the anchor in order to get it to set and then release the brake so as not to pop the anchor out of the bottom. While this is a little finicky and not absolutely necessary, what is absolutely necessary is NOT to pile the chain up on top of the anchor. This could possibly foul the anchor and prevent it from setting. Once all the desired scope is out, I engage the chain stop, shut off the engine and have an “anchor setting cocktail” with Maggie. This gives the anchor about 15 minutes to set and us a chance to refresh ourselves. With the drinks drunk, we pick transit points on shore which will tell us if we are dragging and we start up the engine and reverse the boat at idle. The anchor should be holding the bottom at this point, which is confirmed by checking the transit points, we then slowly increase rpm to about 2000. If the anchor is still holding, we will sleep well and not worry if we leave the boat and go to shore. The last thing to do is to snub the rode with our snubbing bridle and shut off the engine.

We have our chain marked off every 50' and I am going to try some coloured plastic bits that fit inside the links and are reputed to work well. I have used paint, which comes off in no time, and zip ties, which also come off and also can cause the chain not to fall freely through the chain hawse in the windlass.

In clean water, I will usually snorkel on the anchor or go over it with the dinghy and our glass bottom bucket to visually confirm the set for extra piece of mind. I have on more than one occasion inspected someone else's anchor to find that it was not properly set. The worst offenders are the boats with undersized anchors that race directly to a spot in the anchorage, dump all their anchor rode on top of their anchor, shut off the engine, launch the dinghy, and head for shore. We have seen it happen more than once; that is when I get nervous.

Rigging and Sails

Sail Inventory

H2OBO is a cutter rigged sloop, so she carries a mainsail and two head sails – an inner and an out jib. The outer jib is on a Harken Furler that is originally came with the boat and works reliably. For it we have a 135% genoa, which came with the boat, and a 100% yankee-cut jib. We purchased the yankee new and I regret not specifying a foam luff when I ordered it. As it turns out, the genoa is more versatile because we can furl it to a smaller area than the yankee, which makes it more useful for a wider range of wind speeds than the yankee. A sail is cut to resemble a wing in its cross section, so it will not roll flat but rather the head and the tack will be tight and in between there will be slack sail that increases with the amount that is furled in. The problem with this is that the loads are unevenly distributed on the sail and the sail won't retain its wing-like shape which is important for sailing close to the wind. The foam takes up the slack to help counter this problem. One of these days, we will add foam to the yankee's luff.

For inner jibs we have a 100% staysail and a storm jib and both are to be hanked on. I have not installed a furler on this inner stay to make it easier to hank on a storm jib when necessary, and I am glad I did. When it is time to hoist the storm jib in 40+ knots of wind, I don't think that I could do it quickly and safely on a foil. I also don't think that a furled jib is the same as a storm jib if you compare the construction of the two and the uneven forces on a furled sail.

The vast majority of “bluewater” cruising yachts we see have a cutter rig because of the extra sail area in lighter winds and smaller sail area that remains when the outer jib is furled away. It also means that you have a few extra wires holding up the mast.

The mainsail is fully battened with 3 reefs and we had it newly made by Mack Sails in Florida before we crossed the Atlantic. As I have mentioned in our blog, we had to install an external track system, this one made by Tides Marine called Strong Track, and it looks like it will do the job nicely.

We have opted for not having a trysail. since these sails are primarily used for heaving-to in storms. In a situation where we could not run under storm jib alone, we would deploy our Jordan-series drogue from the stern. This also saves us from having to install a separate track on the mast and the space on deck of having the trysail bagged and ready to fly.

Our final sail is an asymmetrical spinnaker, or gennaker, with a dousing sock. We have used it extensively and would not be without one. We do not use a whisker or spinnaker pole, but have boomed out the genoa with the boom (with the mainsail doused), and flown the gennaker on the other side in very light winds.

Standing Rigging

All the standing rigging consists of 5/16” s.s. 1X19 wire rope with Hayn Hi-Mod swageless terminals. The backstay is split with one of the legs insulated for a shortwave antenna. The inner stay is removable and employs a Johnson Hyfield Lever. We made it removable so that if we had to do a lot of tacking with the genoa, we could move it out of the way. I don't know if I would bother with this feature if I had to do it again, because one can always easily partially furl the genoa to tack or gybe it.

The mast is a double spreader rig with lower, intermediate and upper shrouds. There are also removable running backstays to offset the force exerted by the inner jib.

Running Rigging: At The Mast

All the halyard and reefing work is handled at the mast enclosed within a substantial mast pulpit. We employ slab reefing on our triple-reefed main. An Anderson 28 self-tailing winch in tandem with triple sheet stops on the mast end of the boom secure the three reef points on the main. This set-up allows one person to handle taking in or blowing a reef at the mast in the safety of the mast pulpit area. The same winch also handles the outhaul on the main.

There are two main halyards , and one inner jib halyard on the port side of the mast managed by an Anderson 40 ST winch. There are also two jib halyards on the starboard side with another Anderson 40 ST winch. There are also Garhauer clutches for all these halyards. There are also two externally lead spinnaker halyards, which are also used for hauling the dinghy and lifting crew to the masthead with the windlass or one of the mast winches.

Finally, we use a Garhauer rigid boom vang that is also controlled at the mast.

Running Rigging: In the Cockpit

The sheets for the outer jib are led back to two Anderson 58 ST winches mounted on the cowl via a pair of Garhauer fairlead cars mounted on tracks running along both gunwales. There are also a pair of Enkes winches that serve to handle spinnaker sheets and as spare jib sheet winches. These Enkes winches are also handy for winching in the secondary anchor rode if single-handling the boat.

The mainsheet runs through a Harken traveler and blocks mounted on the pilothouse, through Spinlock double turning blocks with built-in cam cleats. The mainsheet is double ended, so it can be trimmed from either side of the cockpit. On the pilothouse are mounted two Anderson 46 ST winches that manage the mainsheet and the inner jib sheets, which are led from the deck, through fairleads on the pilothouse hand-holds, and through the Spinlocks. Everything can be locked off so that the winches can be used for other tasks.

The inner jib sheets are lead through track mounted fairlead cars on the deck and back to the cock pit. Many cutters (e.g. Island Packets) employ a club-footed boom to make the inner jib self-tacking. We chose not to do this to keep the fore deck clear and safe. We have also found that when tacking through the wind, by leaving the inner jib backed while tacking the outer jib, it helps bring the bow through the wind. Once the outer jib is set, the inner jib is easily tacked.

The jib furler line runs along the starboard side and through a turning block so that, if required, the load can be taken up by the Enkes winch. The running backstay lines run along the gunwale back to the cockpit and can also be taken up on the Enkes.

Deck Layout

We chose the Corbin because of its pilothouse design and a helm station down below, in addition to the one in the cockpit. This means that the deck has to be flush so that there is forward visibility for the interior wheel. We have come to really appreciate this feature on the many occasions when the cold, wet wind was blowing and we could stay below and look out the windows. Windage is reduced since we do not require a cockpit enclosure.

Since there is no coach house, moving around the flush deck is made safe and easy by incorporating ample hand-holds. We have installed generous mast pulpits to make deck work safe.

Lockers

Built into the forward deck are two large, water tight, sail lockers. There we can stow our sails, rope rode, spare anchors, scuba/snorkeling gear, ground tackle accessories, other miscellaneous gear, and a locker for easy access to our anchor winch.

In the cockpit, there is a full depth starboard locker with a built in rope locker to hang spare ropes. In this locker we can store all our jerry cans, fenders and miscellaneous stuff. On port is a shallow locker that contains chemicals and equipment needed for sailing. The cockpit sole lifts and provides access to the engine room, which is where we can store the dinghy and the drogue. There is also a lazerette in which we have our propane locker and stern anchor rode locker. Storage on board is such that we carry nothing on deck during a passage.

Ventilation

There are eight hatches in the deck that provide light and air circulation when open. When they are not we have five dorade vents that we cast in fiberglass to provide fresh air down below.

Pulpits

H2OBO has a pass-through bow pulpit with a built-in seat to provide easy access at a Mediterranean mooring and the best seat on the boat when sailing. There are also large mast pulpits that allow us the free use of both hands for halyard and reefing work. The stern pulpit has a hard rail that goes to the boarding gates, an integrated solar panel arch, a bimini frame, a radar post, and a wind generator post. Attached to the wind generator post is a clever removable davit designed by Klacko Marine to hoist and mount the outboard engine onto the stern pulpit. We also have a boom gallows over the companion way that has a hand-hold and also serves to extend the bimini.

Cleats

Something rarely seen these days on a sailboat is a large oak samson post on the foredeck, that is tied in to the inner stay chain plate. This provides an extremely strong anchor point for various purposes. We also have on the bow two combination chocks/cleats that work nicely on their own or with the samson post. At midship we have bollards that reach up over the gunwales and on the stern there are a couple of large Herreshoff cleats mounted on top of the gunwale.

Drogue plates

On the gunwale at the stern we have installed two very strong plates to which we would attach our Jordan series drogue in the event that we were caught in a survival situation at sea and needed a safe way to handle it. The forces at play are significant when you that consider that the drogue would keep the 30,000 lb boat from sliding down a waveface.

Mechanical Systems

There are several mechanical systems required on a boat. As with everything, there are trade-offs and decisions to be made so that everything fits into confined spaces. Trying to make all these systems work together and easily maintainable is a challenge.

Propulsion

We installed a new Volkswagen 65 hp diesel engine that was marinized by Pathfinder in Quebec. It is mounted under the companion way so that it can easily hauled out of the boat with a block and tackle attached to the boom. This is an automobile engine so the block is comparatively light and parts are available from non-marine sources world wide.

We use redundant Racor 500FG fuel filters with a selection lever and vacuum pressure gauge built in as our primary system. We have another one as our secondary unit with a 2 micron filter. There is also a priming bulb and bypass valve plumbed into the fuel line. Access to the engine is made by lifting the companionway stairs as well as from inside the engine room.

The transmission is a Hurth V-drive, so the engine is actually mounted backwards in the boat with the pulley end facing aft into the engine room.

We carry 85 gallons of fuel in two stainless steel tanks under the pilothouse sole with valves to select which tank supplies the engine.

The propeller shaft is 1 1/4” with a Lasdrop dripless shaft seal to keep the water out. We also have installed Spurs Line Cutters to prevent lines entangling the propeller.

The propeller is a Variprop DF 112 3-blade feathering model that permits setting pitch independently for both ahead and astern.

Steering

The rudder is skeg-hung and is controlled by two separate wheels. The cockpit helm is a cable-and-quadrant variant while the inside helm is hydraulic. The hydraulic gear is a Kobelt helm pump and ram connected to the rudder post via a tiller arm that is separate from the cable quadrant.

The self-steering gear is a Cape Horn which connects to the same tiller arm to which the hydraulic ram is connected. The Cape Horn is primarily for steering to a specific angle to the apparent wind, which means that if the wind changes directions the boat will follow that change. Sometimes it is desirable to steer to a magnetic heading instead. The Cape Horn design cleverly allows a small tiller pilot , in our case a Raymarine ST1000+, to replace the wind vane with a simple connection to the Cape Horn's quadrant. This uses the power of the Cape Horn's servo-pendulum while only using milliamps of power for the ST1000+. It has worked very well for us, but does tend to wander more than a dedicated electronic autopilot would.

Refrigeration

Refrigeration on board consists of a custom fiberglass liner that we moulded to fit the space available surrounded by 6” of insulation all around. The volume is approximately 6.5 cubic feet, two thirds of which is freezer and the remainder a spill-over refrigerator. The heart of the system is a Frigoboat Keel Cooler unit with an evaporator plate in the freezer with a Smart Speed Controller to minimize power consumption. The system has worked very well, runs quietly and makes ice.

Heating

There is a Webasto diesel furnace mounted in the starboard cockpit locker that provides cabin heating via 4 radiators throughout the boat. The furnace also heats the water in our 7 gallon hot water tank through a heat exchanger. The furnace draws diesel from the main tank.

Watermaker

The watermaker is an Aquamarine 24GPH belt driven modular unit. The belt is driven directly from a pulley on the engine and is easily accessible from within our engine room. The control panel that comes with the unit is mounted in the pilothouse by the companion way stairs. There is a test station that drains into the cockpit. We have sized the system in conjunction with our 60 gallon fresh water tanks so that we need to run the engine for about 2-3 hours per week to make enough water. During this time we are also charging the batteries. The watermaker can be run at anchor or while underway.


Cooking Gas

We have two 17lb. fibreglass propane tanks in a locker that is accessible in the lazerette under the helm seat.  It is sealed and vented overboard.

Electrical Systems

Power Generation

The electrical system is almost exclusively 12 volt, and we do not rely on a generator. There are three sources of electrical power generation: engine alternator, solar panels, and a wind generator. Regulating the power to optimize output has been a challenge but here is the latest configurations. The goal is to be able to charge the batteries without needing to run the engine without giving up the electrical luxuries on board, like the stereo, computer and movies on our 19” monitor.

The 120a engine alternator is regulated by an external Xantrex 3-stage regulator. The internal regulator on the alternator had to be disabled. We carry a spare unit.

There are actually 4 solar panels: two 85w and two 50w. They are all mounted onto the arch/bimini bracket in the cockpit. We learned that a little shadow on a panel has a very deleterious effect on the output of the panel, so I have remounted the panels to try to move them out of the radar dome's shadow. I originally had two Flexcharge 7a PWM charge controllers each handling a pair of panels but I felt we weren't getting the full benefit from them. So I will install a single Blue Sky 20a MPPT charge controller and beef up the wires running from the panels to the battery. MPPT technology purports to boost power output from the panels by up to 30%.

The wind generator is a Rutland 913. Output is low on these units but they are quiet and robust. With 15 kts of wind, we see around 2.5 amps being produced, and the output is regulated by a Flexcharge contoller.

Batteries

The house bank of batteries is comprised of 4 Crown golf cart batteries with a capacity of 450 amp hours. There is a 12v deep-cycle battery dedicated to the radios, an Optima Yellow Top battery dedicated as a starter batter, and Optima Blue Top that powers the windlass. The windlass battery is located under a settee in the forward stateroom, while the remainder are under the sole in the pilothouse. The 120 amp engine alternator is connected directly to the house bank. The charging of all the other batteries is accomplished through Blue Sea System 60a automatic charging relays. The main battery switch has a large rotary switch for the engine battery and a 100a magnetic breaker switch to provide DC power to the electrical panels. There is also a separate switch to crossover the house and starter batteries in the event of one or the other flattening. There are also remote switches to crossover the windlass and radio batteries with the house bank. The house batteries are monitored with a Xantrex Battery Monitor.

Electrical Panels

The main DC panel is at the navigation station and there is a pony panel in the galley. There is a separate AC panel housed in its own compartment along with the galvanic isolator and battery charger, so that AC wiring is completely separate from DC wiring.

Entertainment

The entertainment system has a Fusion MS IP500 stereo with four stereo speakers in two zones – one in the salon and one in the pilothouse. Music is played back through an iPod that is inserted directly into the stereo and controlled through the front panel.

A 19” Skyworth 12v monitor is mounted on the bulkhead in the salon and it has a built-in TV tuner and DVD player. We also watch video through the WDTV decoder. Several hundred movies are stored in .avi format on three separate USB drives.

Lighting

We have found IKEA to be an excellent source of furnishings and equipment for the boat. We have made extensive use of their LED lights throughout the boat. The color of the lights are switchable from white to red and several other colors. This has addressed our night lighting needs when under way and the requirement for low power consumption. For bright, warm lighting we have installed halogen lights through the boat on dimmer switches as well.

Ground

A ground bus runs around the periphery of the boat so that wiring runs can be minimized by not having to return negative wires back to the panels. The ground to water is made through copper bars through-bolted on either side of the hull under water, which is also bolted to the base of the mast compression post.

We have not bonded the metal underwater for corrosion protection and rely on zincs on the prop shaft and the propellor. The engine is isolated from the water with a flexible shaft coupling.

For lightning protection, we have connected the upper shrouds from their chainplates to the underwater ground plate with 4” flat copper ribbon. The uninsulated leg of the split backstay is connected to its own underwater small copper bar. The forestay makes a circuit to the water through the bowsprit and the bobstay. The literature on bonding and grounding does not clearly specify the best solution, so this is our own stab at solving the problem that has not had any problems so far.

Inverter

We have a 1700 watt inverter to provide AC power in the event we want to run the power tools, the Sailrite sewing machine, or the hand blender.

Battery charger

We have a Victron Energy 20 amp battery charger that automatically senses input voltage between 110 and 220 and transforms the output power to 12 volt DC. This is working well in Europe where we can plug in to shore power by simply adapting the shore end plug to the country we are in.

Galvanic Isolator

We have a Guest Galvanic Isolator to protect the metal underwater from electrolysis while plugged in to shore power.

Plumbing

We have designed the plumbing system to minimize the number of thru-hulls in use. This requires the use of manifolds to collect and distribute both fresh and raw water. There are only three thru-hulls installed. One is dedicated for engine use; one located in the galley for raw water intake, and one is located in the head to empty the black water tank.

One manifold is located under the galley sink and takes raw water and distributes it to the galley hand pump, to the head, and optionally to the engine in the event that the engine thru-hull becomes clogged. The other manifold is located in the head. This one one directs fresh water to the sink in the head and the deck wash pump. It also directs raw water to the Lavac toilet for flushing and the deck wash pump.

Tankage

Seventy five gallons of fresh water is held in three integrated tanks that have been coated with food-grade epoxy. Two large wing tanks are located under the pilothouse sole and they feed into a bilge tank from where the water is picked up for distribution.

There is a small grey water tank in the bilge that drains the galley sink, the refrigerator, the head sink and the shower drain. This tank is pumped overboard with the manual bilge pump that doubles as the emergency manual bilge pump, located beside the inside helm station in the pilothouse.

The black water holding tank is installed in the head, behind the toilet and above the water line. It is emptied by simply opening the seacock valve when at sea; no pumps are required.

Pumps

We use a Flojet water pressure pump for the fresh water system, a Flojet deck wash pump, and a Flojet bilge pump. We also have an emergency bilge pump with the float switch set to go off at a level above the Flojet bilge pump float switch. Both pumps are located in a easily accessed sump located under the sole in the salon.

Living Space

Since we gutted the boat the year after we purchased her, we were able to rebuild the interior to suit our requirements. Our intent was to create a living space for two people that was spacious, efficient and had sufficient storage for all our stuff. Since this is our only home, everything had to fit neatly. We also wanted to make it safe with hand-holds everywhere.

Stateroom

H2OBO has only one stateroom and that is in the bow. The bed is a double bunk on the starboard side and there are several storage lockers under the bunk and in cabinets beside it. The large escape hatch is above the bed. This becomes the guest room when a couple comes for a visit. On a passage, since one of us is always awake, neither of us sleep here because the motion would be uncomfortable. The person off watch sleeps in the pilotberth. We can then use this bunk for storing bulky items like the dinghy.

Head

The head is just aft of the stateroom and is equipped with a Lavac head and a sit-down shower. Instead of a door, we made a fabric divider with a zippered door that snaps onto the bulkhead. By not having a wooden, hinged door we save some weight and don't require space in the passage way to swing a door, thereby enabling us to increase the usable space in the room. There are three large cabinets for toiletries and towels.

Saloon

The saloon is the main living space that has seating for 5 (or 6 in a squeeze), a pilot berth, a library, an entertainment centre, and a fold-away dining table and a lot of storage space. The seating consists of an L-shaped settee that also doubles as a single bunk, and there is also a loveseat.
The dining table in the raised position allows easy access to the bilge and bilge pumps. Lowered, the table allows for three people to dine and has fiddles to keep the food on the table while underway. With the table unfolded, the love seat provides seating for two more at the table. Built into the table is storage for about thirty bottles of “refreshment”, and under it is housed the sewing machine.
On either side of the love seat are two cabinets with six full-sized drawers, and underneath the loveseat is more storage. Above the love seat, we use a 3/4” nylon rope as a hand-hold and clothesline.
The pilot berth is behind the love seat and is our off-watch berth. It has it's own foot locker and a full height lee cloth that provides security and privacy for the occupant. A net shelf also provides space for personal effects. There is a large space under the berth for bulk storage.
Behind the settee, there are book shelves with enough space for dozens of books. We use lifelines to keep everything on the shelves. The entertainment centre is located beside the bookshelf and the monitor is mounted to the bulkhead with an articulating arm.

Galley

Since Maggie and I like to cook and eat almost all of our meals on the boat, the kitchen had to be functional. There is a gimballed 3-burner Force 10 propane stove mounted on the port side, with storage behind for large trays and pans and underneath for our cast iron cookware. A counter top folds down on top of the stove for extra counter space.
The counter has a single sink and a fiddle all the way that holds water. We can spray down the counter and squeegee the water into the sink. This way we only need a single sink. There are two manual pumps: one for drinking water drawn through a charcoal filter and the other providing sea water. There is also hot and cold water from the tap.
There are large cabinets under the counter for pots and Tupperware and seven olive barrels that we use for bulk food storage. These barrels are water and bug-proof. Above the counter are cabinets for food and spice storage. At the end of the counter is the dishware cabinet that was built to fit the dishes.
On the port side of the galley is the fridge/freezer, knife block, bar, and more storage. The refrigeration compressor is housed in a box at the base of the fridge that can be easily accessed for servicing.

Pilothouse

We like having the pilothouse for a dry, safe place to remain for our watches. It is also very sunny and feels separate from the salon area, providing a semi-private spot to read or work on the computer. There is good visibility all around and easy access to the cockpit up the companionway stairs. The windows are made of 1/2” polycarbonate plastic held in place with stainless steel trim.
To starboard is a settee that can also sleep one person. Underneath is storage where we keep food and a life raft and the ditch kit. There are also lockers behind the settee, another bookshelf where we keep most of our cruising reference books, and the first aid locker.
Facing forward is the inside helm station and engine panel. Beside the wheel is the manual bilge pump handle. Sophie's favourite spot to sleep is on the large dash in front. There is a dash that goes around the sides with fiddles to provide hand-holds.
To port is the navigation station. The desk is angled and large enough to spread a 3'x2' chart with a large storage under the lid. The panel has various electrical switches and the plotter. The whole panel is on a hinge to allow easy access to the wiring behind. Under the dash and above the desk are built in the VHF and shortwave radios and a chart locker. Under the desk there is a file cabinet and more storage. Also under the desk is the tool chest that can be detached from the bulkhead and carried out and a stool/magazine rack that is chocked to the bulkhead.
Aft of the desk is the wet locker where we keep our foul weather gear. Beside it is a small door to the engine room.

Engine Room

The engine room can be accessed through the small door in the pilothouse or by lifting up the cockpit sole. There is enough room in there for me to crouch behind the engine. Besides the engine, from there I can service the watermaker, steering apparatus, Cape Horn quadrant, hydraulic ram, and the wiring for the solar panels and wind generator. On the port side are two large lockers where we keep an assortment of spare parts and supplies.

Miscellaneous Construction Notes

Ceiling

We have lined the ceiling with ceder tongue-and-groove siding that you find in DIY department stores.  It is painted white.  It looks quite good, is easy to repair, and the backing will never break down since it is fastened to the ceiling with brad nails.

Soles

The soles are made from marine plywood to which 5/16" thick teak strips and been glued with epoxy and the gap between the strips have been filled with epoxy thickened with Cabosil and microbubbles.  It has a classic "teak and holly" look.  All the floor panels are removable to give access to the hull and bilge.

Rub Strake

Along both sides of the hull are attached a 3" x 3" rubber rubstrake.  This was sourced from a company that sold  loading dock bumpers.  The strake is hollow and is attached by inserting a tapped stainless steel bar inside.  Bolts go through the hull and into bar to secure the bumper.

Keel Bulb

We affixed a 1200 lb. lead bulb fabricated by Mar Keel to give H2OBO her 9200 lbs. of ballast.  T'his we a big job that we did ourselves with the assistance of a forklift.

Electronic Equipment

Navigation

For electronic navigation we have a Northstar M121 chart plotter. It uses CMAP MAX charts on MicroSD chips. Even though this model is an older one, it is somewhat buggy and a little slow. We got it because the price was right and because it would work with Navico's, at the time, new 24 nm. broadband radar. The radar is worth the bugginess of the chart plotter because it has a high resolution, very low power consumption (less that 2 amps), and instant on with no warm up. The radiation from it is less than that of a cell phone. The chart plotter comes with a GPS receiver
We also have Navico's AIS transceiver, which in our opinion is an indispensable piece of equipment for anyone sailing anywhere at night where there is a possibility of commercial traffic. The transceiver has its own GPS receiver as well, which provides redundancy.
We have a Raymarine ST60 Tridata head for depth and speed, with a repeater in the cockpit. A fluxgate compass provides heading information to the M122 and they all talk to each other on a NMEA 0183 network, but need a Noland A43 Mux to make it all work. This old networking protocol leaves a lot to be desired, but is necessary because of the age of the M121.
All the navigation equipment is located at the navigation station with the exception of the ST60 repeater in the cockpit. This way nothing can be stolen and is in a much drier location.

Radios

Our VHF radio is a Northstar Explorer 721, which has a nifty graphic barometer display on its screen and talk to the M121 plotter.
Our shortwave radio is an ICOM M802 model with the matching autotuner. The antenna is one leg of the split backstay and works well. We have a Pactor modem and use our ship's computer to control it. We use Airmail, since I have a ham license (call sign VA3HOB), for downloading weather data and emails when we are out of WiFi range.

Computers/Communications

As the ship's computer, we have a 12v fanless car PC with a 10” monitor built in to the navigation station that receives GPS data from the NMEA network. It runs Fugawi navigation software and serves as a back up to the M121 chart plotter. The WiFi antenna is a 15 db omni-directional unit that is mounted on the radar arch. It is connected to the ship's computer via an Engenius panel antenna that uses a powered Ethernet wire to an Ethernet port. While it is running, the computer uses less than 2 amps of power.
With a decent WiFi connection, we can make phone calls on board with our MagicJack. Since the MagicJack contains all the hardware it needs in the USB dongle, it isn't as resource hungry as running Skype, so we can more easily make calls, albeit without video. But on the boat with a WiFi connection, video is rarely possible anyway. Most of the WiFi connections that we make are to free open networks, so bandwidth is not that great.
Our HP mini netbook is portable, also runs Fugawi and uses a GPS dongle. This is a back-up to our back-up. We also have an old hand-held Garmin GPS and paper charts as the ultimate fail-safe method of navigation. Well, that is not quite true because we also have a sextant.

Recently we bought a Kindle eBook Reader with the 3G option and love it. We now have a library of over 5000 titles and access to emails and an internet browser anywhere in the world within cell phone range with NO monthly charge – awesome and perfect for cruisers.

Safety Equipment

We have the standard safety equipment for an ocean crossing.

• A four person Winslow life raft, 
• comprehensive First Aid kit, 
• a non-self launching EPIRB with a built-in GPS transmitter, 
• a Ditch Kit, 
• flares kit, 
• two fire extinguishers,
• jacklines
• two hand-held VHF radios

Getting Ashore

Since we did not want to have anything lashed to the deck on long passages, we chose to have a dinghy with a high-pressure air floor that we could stow. Of course, there are trade-offs with every decision. While we can fold the dinghy very compactly and store it below, the quality of the dinghy that we bought has resulted in some serious problems. We got one of the low-priced models from HMP in Toronto and we have had nothing but troubles with it. The biggest drawback to an air floor dinghy is that if the high-pressure air floor is compromised, the dinghy is virtually useless: nothing can be carried nor will it plane any longer. Also, one has to be very careful when approaching shore to avoid punctures from sharp objects and reefs.
Now that we are in the Med and the passages are shorter, we will look for a hard bottom inflatable dinghy (a RIB) large enough for our 15 hp. two-stroke engine. It is nice to have the speed in the dinghy to plane in rough conditions to make for a drier ride and to be able to cover longer distances for expeditions away from the mothership. A hard bottom is also better for carrying loads while provisioning, fishing and scuba diving.
We are comfortable towing the dinghy on short passages (less than 3 days) and can be done so safely with a proper towing bridle. However, we never tow the dinghy with the outboard attached. The outboard is always stored away on the stern pulpit.

Conclusions

Now that we are here, cruising and living on our boat, all the hard work is behind us and already a distant memory but not forgotten. Once we began working on the boat, it took up almost all of our spare time. We have wondered if we should have bought a completed boat instead of building one; there are, of course, trade-offs. The completion would take 9 years rather than the 2 or 3 I initially estimated, and the question often put to us is “Was it worth it?
We gave up leisure time with our friends and family but saved the money that has enabled us start our adventure early. Now we have a virtually new boat, customized to our specific requirements. We know the quality of construction and how to repair anything that might need it and are completely self-sufficient, but it took a single-minded effort to attain it that was often stressful.
We have seen examples and heard stories of people who dreamed of doing what we are doing and for whom that dream never came true due to bad luck with respect to health, relationships, or money. We have had good luck so far and are very thankful to have been born in a country where we had the opportunity, have the support of friends and family, and have good health.
Nevertheless, I think that infrequently do dreams come true relying on luck alone, without hard work and sacrifice. While we are still adjusting to our new life, we are out here seeing the sights, having the experiences, and making new friends, and we can say that “Yes, it is worth it.”