Introduction to The Boat & The Crew

The Boat

The Boat is the Molokai version of the Hans Christian 41′ traditional cutter-rigged auxiliary sailing yacht designed by Scott Sprague, and was built by Hans Christian Yachts in Taiwan in 1985.

The Captain chose her after many months of research. His main concerns were – and are – safety and comfort. Hans Christians have an excellent reputation as being both seaworthy and sea-kindly (Non-sailors: ‘sea-kindly’ means a boat’s motion is relatively smooth and comfortable, i.e. less likely to cause sea-sickness) and we both like the traditional shape: low, sleek and close to the water, and reassuringly sturdy old-fashioned construction.

All of The Boat’s joinery is teak and the upholstery is dark green velvet. She’s light inside, having twelve portholes and a large butterfly hatch amidships, and feels unusually spacious thanks to a large bevelled mirror on the forward bulkhead in the main salon.

Description:

In the forepeak (the sharp end!) is a chain-locker split into 2 compartments and immediately aft of that is a centreline-mounted manual head (‘loo’ or ‘toilet’, and the ‘manual’ bit means we need to hand pump to empty it) with lockers to starboard and port. Aft of the head, to port, is a tiled stall shower with a teak bench to sit on. Opposite is a sink with hot and cold water set in a marble counter, with storage above and below. Aft of the head, shower and sink compartment and separated from it by a bulkhead with a teak door, is the main cabin, which has a double Pullman berth to port. At the forward end of the berth are two deep shelves. Below the berth are six deep drawers. Opposite the bunk is a large hanging locker with a single shelf above.

Immediately aft of the main cabin, and separated from it by another bulkhead and teak door, is the salon. To port in the salon is a U-shaped settee surrounding a large pedestal-mounted table. Above the settee are two glass-faced lockers on either side of a book shelf. To starboard, opposite the salon table, is a seven foot long settee that becomes a sea berth; above it are two more glass-faced lockers with four small bookshelves between them. Aft of the sea berth is the chart table.

Opposite the chart table, to port, is the galley. It has a gimballed three-burner Force 10 range and oven/broiler, and a double sink amidships with stowage underneath. The sink is supplied with hot and cold water, and there are fresh and salt water foot pumps. The counter tops are marble. Forward of the stove is a freezer, and aft of the stove is a large refrigerator and cabinetry for more stowage.

Aft of the galley bulkhead is the aft cabin* with a double berth, a small hanging locker and (very) small settee. Opposite the aft cabin to starboard are a manual head and another sink with hot and cold water. The companionway ladder rises up amidships between the aft head and the aft cabin.

The cockpit is smallish, though adequate for two people. Aft of it, mounted on the stern, is a stainless steel cat’s cradle consisting of: the radar arch, bimini supports, Monitor wind vane, and supports for the wind generator, Yanmar outboard, and stern anchor.

*henceforth to be known as ‘The Captain’s Lair’

Specifications

LOA: 51.5 feet
LOD: 40 feet 11 inches
LWL: 35 feet 10 inches
Beam: 13 feet 3 inches
Draft: 6 feet 5 inches

Displacement 33,500 lbs 36,000 lbs laden cruising
Ballast: 12,500 lbs
Bridge clearance: 60 feet

Sail area: 1155 sq.feet.
Mainsail NZ LeisureFurl in-boom furling; yankee and staysail on Pro-furl furling systems; storm jib and trysail.

Engine:
Yanmar 4JH4-TE 75 HP diesel; Kubota 8HP auxiliary engine

Bow thruster;
8hp SidePower

Tankage:
130 gallons water in two tanks; 130 gallons diesel in three tanks.

Electrics:
Kubota diesel with 210amp de-rated Balmar charger; 105amp charger on main engine; Dolphin dual voltage battery charger; 1.5Kw inverter; AirMarineAirX wind generator; 2 battery banks totalling 600 amperes; battery management system.

Hot Water
Calorifier, heated from the main engine or by 110v electrical supply.

Refrigerator
Two ‘Frigoboat’ 12 volt water cooled compressors for the separate refrigerator and freezer.

Bilge pumps:
2 electric, one manual; high-water bilge alarm.

Electronics:
Raymarine E series with displays at the chart table and cockpit;
S3G Smart Pilot; ST 60 autopilot; Raymarine 4kw radar; MOB Alarms; Furuno GPS Navigator model GP-32; two Garmin Etrex Portable GPS units.

Communications:
Inmarsat Fleet 33 satellite receiver for phone/fax and e-mail; Iridium satellite hand held phone; Icom IC-M802 single side band radio with AT 140 tuner unit and Pactor modem to receive faxes and e-mails via SailMail; AIS receiver; Icom IC-M505 VHF DSC radio and hailer; Standard Horizon HX850S floating submersible combination hand-held VHF unit with GPS.

Self steering
Monitor Wind Vane; Raymarine ST60 autopilot.

Anchoring:
60lb CQR with 300 feet of 3/8 inch chain; 45lb CQR with 100 feet of chain and 250 feet of 8 strand nylon rode; Fortress 32lb anchor; Danforth with 15 feet of chain and 200 feet of 8 strand nylon rode. Maxwell heavy-duty electric windlass.

Tender:
3.1m Zodiac Cadet with 8 HP Yanmar 2-stroke engine.

Safety equipment:
Rescyou Pro 4 man life-raft; Raymarine LifeTag wireless MOB system;
Crewsaver life jackets; Webbing safety lines; First aid and medicine chest

Covers:
Dodger and bimini with separate connecting canvas; full deck shades; covers for the Barient winches and Lewmar electric winch; canvas deck box and hatch covers.

Heads:
Two heads fitted with Lavac toilets and holding tanks.

Galley:
Force 10, 3-burner propane gas oven and grill.

Watermaker:
24 GPH Aqua-Gen, running off the small Kubota diesel engine.
The Crew (& narrator) – Eva Menuhin

The Captain – The Captain