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Land Ho!
"Sundowner, a gentleman of the road in much the same way that a Swaggie is ( Australian vernacular) but this guy comes in with the last of the sun, stays but one night and is gone with the dawn. A free spirit, forever travelling.
Sundowner is 6.5M on deck, beamy, very solidly built, has standing headroom under the main hatch, wide side decks, a dinghy on the foredeck, and a comfortable cockpit. She will have a Bukh 7hp diesel with handstart as well as the electric one ( thanks Andy at the Engine Room in Madden St Auckland) , all kerosene stove and lighting, the simplest of systems and a rig that can be repaired with the tools on board.
More details as the design progresses!
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Sailing around the globe is a dream that quite a few have, sitting by a winter fireplace and reading the likes of Lin and Larry Pardey, Eric Hiscock or perhaps Shane Acton. Dreaming of dark blue water and startlingly white foam, tradewinds and pure white beaches with palms nodding, the wind in the rigging and a shout of “land ho”! Charles Whipple has that dream, a long time sailor whose family is now able to do without him for a while he’s out in my workshop right now, hear the banging? He’s making up laminated beams for Sundowner, which I am designing as we go, and which is intended to carry Charlie from New Zealand, around Cape Horn, across the South Atlantic to Capetown, then the long long sail across the Southern Indian Ocean to Perth in Western Australia and backl to New Zealand. After that the sail back to Wife and some of his family in Japan will be easy stuff!
I’m away for 3 weeks as of Monday, and am working hard to get enough plans up to keep him busy while I am away, and will be reporting from then on as to how the project is going.
Have a look at the scan at right (click for larger, more complete view), short, wide and stable, gaff cutter rigged, tough and easily handled this little boat is a true blue water boat even though not large.
I will be posting a lot of information as the building and sailing goes, Charlie is a professional writer and intends to have two books published, one on building the boat, one on the adventure, and we will have articles in many magazines along the way.
Come back regularly to see how things are going, WATCH THIS SPACE.
John Welsford. |
