The Boat

Author: Miranda

When we started this dream, we never thought we’d be buying such a beautiful specimen.  Not on two teachers’ salaries.  But, we’ve counted our pennies the past few years and teaching internationally has good to us.  Better than we deserve really.

We feel blessed to have the boat of our dreams: A Lagoon 380.  A 38 foot catamaran, with four berths, two heads, a spacious galley-up design, sizable cockpit, loads of swim and sunbathing area… ok, blah, blah, blah…  I’m blabbing on in boat jargon… just check out the pictures:

 

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We’ve named her Tayrona.

Which comes from this location in Colombia:

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It’s strong, let ladylike.  It’s phonetic in many languages.  It’s not too long or too short.  It’s easy to spell over the radio in military alphabet.  It’s got a cute nickname- “Tay Tay.”

 

But, most of all, it’s the place where Pete and I first felt a spark.  Where we finally sat down, got to know each other, and realized we were both pretty darn special.  Throughout the storms that await us, the fights, the travel fiascos, and the mean customs agents, etc, etc, we hope to always remember that goony smile, that happy anticipation, that excitement for each other we felt as we left that fated weekend in Tayrona many years ago.

 

Here’s the layout of the boat, and some shots to help round out the idea of what she looks like:

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We know, we know.  You’re worried about our safety.  Here’s a list of what’s keeping us afloat, safe, sound, and connected.  We’ll get shot on here as soon as we can so you can see what everything looks like!

  • Catamaran Construction
    • No lead keel or ballast
    • Buoyant design with sealed crash boxes.
    • Harder to sink than a monohull
    • Stable going downwind, slow upwind
  • Two Diesel Engines
    • Volvo Penta MD2030-C diesels, 27HP each
    • Backup engine in case one fails!
    • Extremely maneuverable for docking and avoiding shoals
  • Deck Safety Gear
    • Jacklines, Harnesses, and Auto-Inflate Life Vest keep us on the boat
  • Single Sideband Long Range Radio (SSB)
    • ICOM 802 SSB radio
    • Pactor III modem to send emails via radio waves
    • Long range radio for communication and weather advisories
  • Katadyn Powersurvivor 160E Watermaker
    • Desalinates salt water using electricity
    • Powered by diesels, solar panels, gas generator, or wind/towed generator
    • Makes 30 liters per hour
    • Uses 16 Amps / hr.
  • Garmin 18HD 4kW Radar
    • Allows us to see heavy weather, land, and ships.
  • Charting
    • Chart coverage on at least 2 out of 3 of the following media
      • Onboard Garmin GPSMAP 741xs chartplotter
      • iPad Garmin BlueCharts and/or Navionics
      • Paper charts
  • Automatic Identification System (AIS)
    • Allows us to see the big ships in the night
    • Alerts us if vessels might come too close to us
  • Raytheon Autohelm
    • The boat steers itself!
  • Medical Kit
    • Trauma and burn kits
    • Anaphylaxis kits for allergic reactions
    • Four antibiotics regimens for severe infections
    • Several types of analgesics for severe pain
  • Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)
    • Radios a MAYDAY to the US Coast Guard from anywhere in the world
    • Manual switch or turns on when submerged
  • Life Raft
    • If the boat sinks AND BOTH dinghies sink too , there’s a liferaft!
    • Auto-inflating, equipped with survival gear until help arrives.
  • Energy Sources
    • 3 solar panels @ 90 Watts each with Outback 80 solar charge controller
    • Air Breeze 400 Watt wind generator puts out 5 amps at 15 knots of wind
    • Aquair 100 towing generator puts out 5 amps at 5 knots boat speed
    • Gas generator and diesel engines can provide power on cloudy days.
    • Energy neutral boat on anchor, excess of renewable energy under way.

 

 

 

7 Comments

  1. Elizabeth   •  

    Ahhhsome!!!! The boat looks wonderful! I love how spacious the kitchen/dining area looks. Reading your blogs is very educational…I just had to look up what the heck a ‘berth’ is…it’s a bed! Keeping my brain young! Speaking of which, how much space is there in the rooms? Keep the posts comin’! Ciao ciao!

  2. Ashley   •  

    Im so thrilled for you two!! What an AMAZING journey you are about to embark upon. Lots of love and keep writing!

  3. Mark Anding   •  

    Looks like a sweeeeeeet ride with all the necessary doo dads to keep it as safe as possible. 30 liters per hour on the water desalination, wow. That’s pretty fast. Would love to have you guys come visit!

  4. Ian   •  

    She’s beautiful! Worthy of her crew for sure:)

  5. Frank & Janine   •  

    Just discovered your website and already enjoying it. We are a bit behind you in the process. We bought our Lagoon 380, hull # 88 (2001) in 2013 and are preparing it for our sailaway in 2016. Maybe same as you on a tight budget, but unlimited freedom.
    Nice to learn from you! I will keep coming back to your site and wish you happy sailing.

    Frank
    SY Silencio
    Amsterdam

    • Pete Gorkiewicz   •  

      Hey Frank!

      It’s been a couple months since you commented on our mutual love of 380s! I hope she’s getting closer and closer to being ready to shove off! Keep at it!

      Pete

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