We completed the usual negotiations and subsequent survey in short order and then she was ours. Our broker, Norman Davant of Sail California was good enough to let us stay at their broker's dock for the next 3 months while we prepared Malo for the trip home. That involved taking a 40' neglected daysailer/weekender and getting her offshore capable. To that end we:
- Checked all thru hull fittings and added damage control plugs.
- Cleaned the bilges
- Fixed the bilge pumps
- Had the engine checked and sorted
- Replaced the raw water pump
- Installed a hydraulic autopilot
- Replace the binnacle guard and compass
- Installed a new chart plotter
- Replaced the radar
- Added AIS-B transponder (automatic identification system)
- Installed a depth sounder
- Replaced faulty hatch latches
- Cleaned the water tanks
- Beefed up the old dodger frame and had a new dodger cover made
- Cleared the main sail track
- Installed new wind instruments
- Replaced the interior lights with LEDs
- Installed new fire extinguishers and smoke alarms
- Bought a new life raft
- New anchor
- New propane tank
- Replaced navigation lights with LEDs
- Had the boat hauled out and the Max prop re-pitched to eliminate excessive vibration
- Secured the companion way steps
- Repaired & serviced the head
- Made a ditch kit
- Provisioned for the trip
That all took 3 months but we were finally ready to go to sea. So early one fine morning in June of 2016, with a decent looking weather window, we cast off and headed out the sea:
Even with the good forecast it was a hard trip because we were going against the prevailing winds and current. As the crow flies it's only about a 500 nm trip but Malo ain't no crow and sailboats can't go directly up wind. We had to beat to windward all the way to Newport Oregon traveling 900 nm in the process. It took us 6 days to get to Newport but when we arrived the bar was closed due to the size of the seas so we had to stand off-and-on all night until the next day when they opened the bar and we could safely enter the harbor.
That was a hard test for us but a very good one for Malo. In spite of blowing out her hydraulic backstay adjuster and shipping a lot of water through windows that sorely needed replacement, she came through with flying colors. I must say that I've come to love that boat. We're just getting to know one another and I'm very much looking forward to getting to know her much better such as trying out the new code 1 gennaker sail that North Sails made for her.
She's a great upwind boat, knifing to windward like a mad witch but I suspect that she's even better off the wind and fingers crossed, touch wood, I think she will make very good use of a following sea too. There is an old sailing expression that you've probably heard of; "by and large". Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men, sailors use that expression to describe the complete range of a boat's capability. "By" the wind means sailing close as possible to the wind, what today we call close hauled and "large" refers to sailing downwind, today that is called running. So the old time sailors would describe a boat's overall range of sailing as "by-and-large she's a good sailing vessel" as Malo truly is.
In the mean time we've still got much to do to make her a good cruising boat. The floor boards have all just been sanded and varnished. We're just finishing up installing an outboard motor lift that should make getting the O/B motor a lot easer to get from the boat to the dinghy and back. Bev has been busy installing new sound insolation inside the engine compartment. Our next really big project is to install 3 large solar panels on the bimini along with a MPPT charge controller. Now that the weather is improving I've got to get up the mast again to replace the combination steaming/deck light. September 1st, we'll be ready. That's our mantra.
No comments:
Post a Comment