Outfitting
a new boat is equal parts excitement and bewilderment. It’s a bit like walking into Starbucks for
the first time thinking you’ll just order a small black coffee.
When we
went to the dealer to discuss prices, he handed us a 3-page small-print list of
options. He explained awkwardly that
many of the options weren't really optional. (Hmmm… do I really need an anchor?)
Patrick and
I rushed home and went to work outfitting our dreamboat: deck hardware, power
supply, water reservoirs, navigation electronics, sail rigging, upholstery, and
kitchen equipment.
And then we
pulled out the calculator to see how much this was going to cost us.
And then we
went back to our list and started removing options.
After
several days of research and tense negotiations, we designed the boat you see
in About Mareda. There are, however, a few features that Mareda doesn't have
that may surprise you:
A heating
system. We have 2 types of heaters on
board: an electric blower and an electric oil-bath radiator, which provide all
the heat we need when in port and hooked up to shore power. On those rare occasions when we might want
heat at anchor, we’ll just have to throw an extra comforter on the bed and
think warm thoughts. If it happens too
often, we’ll buy a small fuel heater.
With plans to sail in the Mediterranean from April to October, we
thought we could forego this 4000 Euro ($5000) option.
Bow
thrusters. These are very popular but
for a 37 foot boat we think it’s entirely unnecessary, especially for 4500
Euros ($5600).
An adjustable
backstay. We have one on Spray and we
use it, but we’re never sure we’re using it correctly. We’re just not that keen on chasing fractions
of a knot of speed if we have to pay 650 Euros ($800 US) for the pleasure.
A detachable
forestay and set of headsails. This
wasn’t an option and would require an expensive custom order and very expensive
set of sails. On Spray, there were
occasions when we greatly appreciated the sail options we had, but there were
other times when we really should
have changed the headsails and didn't because it was too rough or just too much
of a bother. A friend who sailed from
Brittany to the South Pacific said that his set of headsails was the worst
investment he made for his cruise. I
believe we do need a storm jib, however.
We have plans...
A spinnaker. We decided to buy a Code D furling sail
instead of a spinnaker. A Code D can be
used from approximately 60° apparent wind to a full 180° using a whisker pole. It is easy
to deploy and douse by a shorthanded crew.
It is smaller in surface area than a standard spinnaker (65m2
instead of 90m2) but the tissue is more rugged and has to be able to
stand up to being rolled without ripping.
Because it’s so easy to install and handle, people use it more often and
keep it up longer than with a typical spinnaker. The price is similar to a traditional spinnaker,
even for ours which is made-to-measure for Mareda. As an added bonus, our sail maker tells us
that he can make a storm jib that can be yanked onto the Code D furler in under
5 minutes. That will be our next
purchase !
A radar. I want one, as well as a Navtex system, but
the budget is screaming for mercy already.
We’ll grow into these.
So what do you
think? Enough energy and water for Med
cruising? Enough chain length? Any must-haves we forgot?
