THE GOOD SHIP FELLOWSHIP

Japan seems an unlikely origin for a cruising boat, but our boat FellowShip is a 33-foot fibreglass fin-keeled sloop built in 1981 by Yamaha.
I know. . . I know. A cruising boat is supposed to have a long keel and heavy displacement. But we wanted a boat that was fun to sail.

In the seventies, I cruised the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific aboard a 27-foot Dufour, a French production boat I bought on the Chesapeake. I liked the way the Dufour sailed and handled, and found it a capable cruising boat. When we bought FellowShip in 1987, we wanted a bit more room (for living and storage) and better boat speed. And although we had big dreams, we had a small budget. I had no qualms about buying another well-built production boat.

Unless (or even if) you're rich, size and cost are limiting factors when buying a boat to go cruising. For us, ten meters has proved the right size, though when it comes time to slipping FellowShip for maintenance or paying for a marina berth, we wish she was about ten feet shorter!

FellowShip has proved a good choice. Since 1990, she has sailed us safely and comfortably across 35,000 miles of Pacific Ocean from 60 degrees north to 47 degrees south.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

FellowShip has a deep fin keel, round bilge, wedge deck configuration and is fitted with a tall double-spreader keel-stepped aluminium mast and lead ballast. The hull is a solid fibreglass lay-up with thicknesses from 7 mm to 35 mm. The deck is cored with small plywood squares (100x100 mm x 6 mm thick) and has stood up well to the impact of feet. It has a box-section grid in the keel area which reinforces the hull. The rig is attached to this hull grid assembly by hefty stainless steel bars that take the chainplate loads directly to the hull and grid. The 50-foot mast is stepped through the deck onto this box-section grid. Instead of trying to tear apart under load, our Yamaha is pulling herself together.

DECK:

FellowShip's "snagless" deck design has recessed tracks for genoa sheet cars and hatches faired into the line of the coach roof rather than sticking out. A collar around the mast carries the turning blocks and all lines disappear under the sea hood. Sheet stoppers on the cabin top bring lines back to two winches.

Anodized aluminium toe rails are full length, with integral cast alloy mooring chocks as part of the rails. Yamaha's over-sized cleats would be at home on a 40-footer. Glassed-in metal backing plates are found under all the deck hardware, another important design detail whose importance is often overlooked. This means that when you want to remove and re-bed a stanchion, there are no nuts to hold below deck.

We fitted a dodger over the companionway and instrument pod. The dodger is conventionally covered with a vinyl-like material and high-quality clear plastic windows. A fitted Sunbrella canvas cover goes over the entire dodger while at anchor. As a result, the dodger still looks good after thirteen years wear.

On the stern, two solar panels are mounted on a 360-degree articulating frame made of one-inch stainless tubing. These one-inch stainless mounts appear to be very light but after eleven years cruising, we have had no problems with them. The solar panels have quick disconnect plugs and clamps so they can be removed in a jiffy. We have only taken them down twice: once at sea (when we were at 47 degrees south in winds peaking 60 knots) and once, at anchor, weathering a cyclone.

A large self-draining anchor locker is built into the deck over the forward cabin and holds 75 meters of chain and more than 100 metres of line. We fitted a stainless-steel plate on which we mounted an anchor roller to carry our 35 lb. CQR anchor and a smaller second roller. We also added an electric capstan winch in front of the locker. The plate and rollers are well-bolted to the bow - our cruising experience has taught us that anchor rollers must be very strong.

The one item on deck most people notice is roller-furling - it's missing! On a boat our size, head sails are still manageable. Meanwhile, I keep the option of roller furling for my "old age" - which fast approaches!

Our choices regarding no roller furling, no hard dodger and no arch for mounting the solar panels reflect our concern about keeping the weight above deck down to a minimum. On any cruising boat, minimizing excess weight is a constant struggle. We have tried to limit the add-ons above the deck. Our solar panel mounting will probably not survive a knockdown, but the absence of a heavy arch to hold them through that eventuality may well make it less likely.

Roller furling will also greatly affect the righting momentum once a boat is rolled down far enough to put the sail in the water. So while we still make passages in oceans where we can be knocked down, such as the Tasman and Coral Seas in the southwest Pacific, we will continue to use our hank-on sail inventory.

COCKPIT:

Self-tailing jib winches were our first addition to the boat and make tacking a breeze. All lines are led back to the cockpit. A second jib halyard goes to a winch on the mast, which I prefer to use for setting the jib.

The seats have interesting aluminium toe rails along the edge for bracing ourselves against when we're up on the cockpit coaming. These are perforated for safety line attachment.

A vented built-in propane locker is found aft on the starboard side. It accommodates either of our two gas bottles (9 kg and 4.5 kg) - a ninety-day supply. The spare bottle is hung astern, outside the push-pit. Jerry jugs fit into the footwell to supplement our water and diesel tankage and reduce the volume of the cockpit.

Tiller steering and extension make FellowShip fun to sail and simplify hooking up our Ratcliffe windvane steering which we purchased out of an ad in a sailing mag. It was inexpensive and has been very reliable.

DOWN BELOW:

FellowShip's vee-berth has a huge hatch overhead, providing good ventilation in the tropics. The berth is plenty large enough for the two of us to sleep in and is separated from the salon area aft by a hanging (cramming!) locker to starboard and an enclosed head to port. When in use, the head door closes off the whole forward section and creates a large toilet/shower area. A holding tank and extensive storage areas are located under the vee-berth.

FellowShip's conventional layout inside provides two full length settees. This works well on a small cruising boat because it gives us two comfortable sea berths amidships for passage-making as well as maximum storage outboard of the settees, port and starboard, for all our "stuff". Both berths are fitted with lee-cloths.

Underneath the settees are ship's batteries (four 6 volt deep cycle), a stainless fuel tank (70-litres), the main fibreglass water tank (180-litres), assorted tools and canned goods. Our extra anchor chain (60 meters) is stored in the grid sections below the cabin sole. We have modified all lockers, drawers and floor boards so that they can be screwed down or bolted shut - fully secured - for sea.

The folding dining table is usually stowed on the forward bulkhead, but sets up easily for company and feeds four people comfortably. Settees seat six people - eight if they're real good friends! Pilot berth on port side has been filled with all the vital stuff of cruising - books, tool boxes, cameras. A strong canvas lee cloth hides the junk and holds it in. Cabinets on the starboard side allow storage of more books, music tapes and food.

The cabin has three large windows on each side. They were originally made of acrylic but we have replaced them with Lexan and added thru-bolts. They are great for spying on neighbours (especially those anchored too close) or admiring the scenery, and give the chief cook and bottle washer a galley-with-a-view. Best of all, they admit plenty of sunlight into the cabin, making reading and daylife pleasant.

Avid readers, I installed three Aqua Signal halogen "eyeball" lights. These are recessed into the overhead and, because they have excellent reflectors and are directional, their minimal 5-watts provides good light for reading at night.

FellowShip's deep bilge sump is equipped with two electric bilge pumps and two manual bilge pumps, one of which can be operated from on deck.

GALLEY:

The galley is located aft on the starboard side, at the foot of the companionway, which makes it easy to pop up and down for coffee making or navigational checks. We installed an opening port in the larger window over the stove to provide cross-ventilation in port and excellent direct heat-escape when cooking. All culinary delights are prepared on a 2-burner Force 10, gimboled gas (LPG) stove. A fold-down cupboard door forward of the galley allows for extra counter space when the recipe or preparations get complicated. Smoked plexiglass sliding doors allow easy access into food stores in the galley.

The galley's large ice box is used for food storage only. Basically, we have decided against making the investment in time/energy/cost required for cold. When we listen to other cruising boats running their motors every morning and evening, we have no regrets.

Two deep stainless sinks make washing-up easy. Fresh and salt water foot pumps mean hands-off operation. A pressure pump runs fresh-water from our main tank (180 litres) through a filter for drinking. A separate smaller tank (100 litres) is plumbed to the foot pump and used for washing. This means that only top-quality water goes into the main "drinking" tank. If we must use suspect water, we chlorinate it and put it into the secondary (aft) tank.

In our travels through the South Pacific, we have yet to find a need for a water maker. To collect rain water, we use the entire deck, plugging scuppers and fitting one scupper aft on each side with a short hose. By hanging a bucket over the side under each of them, we can quickly collect gallons in a downpour. Quality control means that only after collecting water for laundry and the smaller tank do we fill up the main drinking tank.

SPECIAL ADAPTATION FOR SINK DRAIN:

A common problem on boats at sea is that sea water slops up inside the sink when the boat is heeled over so much that the bottom of the sink falls below the level of the ocean. At this extreme angle of heel, salt water and grungy drain water can spill out of the hoses. By adding a manual bilge pump in the drain to empty the sink while the sea-cock is closed, the sinks are useable in all sea conditions.

NAV STATION & SAFETY EQUIPMENT:

At the base of the companionway on the port side is a large nav station - unusually large for our size boat. The chart table is commodious and under the hinged lid is space for chart storage. Spare charts are kept rolled in sealed tubes and shoved into far recesses on the boat. A curved and moulded plywood seat holds us in the nav station on all tacks at sea. It faces forward, which I prefer, and provides a comfortable perch while underway plotting or at anchor.

Our electronics include: VHF radio with remote cockpit speaker; a mounted handheld GPS unit; a powerful Depth Sounder (reads to 1000 feet, with depth alarm) and a Stowe navigator speed log with remote readouts in the cockpit. EPIRBs, Flares, Sextant and Liferaft are close at hand at the head of the aft quarter-berth behind the nav seat. Like the pilot berth, the quarter-berth has been taken over by cruising paraphernalia such as oil, paint, spare parts, tools, charts, our two-person Klepper folding kayak., etc.

An HF Radio is located away from the navigational gear (to avoid interference) and is used in conjunction with our laptop computer for getting weather faxes. Much to our surprise, when we first started outfitting to go cruising, an HF transceiver was not on our list of things to buy. But we soon realized that having an HF radio would be a complement to our other gear and would increase our safety and comfort at sea. It has, in fact, allowed us to keep in touch with friends and family, given us access to help in a medical emergency, provided us with weather information and kept us updated on requirements in the next port of entry. For emergencies, a spare top-loading whip antenna for HF radio is kept below decks with a quick on-deck attachment point.

ENGINE:

Located under the companionway is our Yanmar 2GM auxilliary motor. The drive shaft is 25 mm and we have a Martec 15" feathering prop. The motor's only fault is that it is simply too small. The horsepower (13-15 HP) is not powerful enough to move the boat in headwinds or choppy seas. Luckily the boat sails well-enough to get us through bad conditions, but we do dream of a larger motor. The feathering prop has been a disappointment, too. Marketed by Martec, it is made by an Australian firm called Autostream and has a flaw in that it will not go into reverse if the boat is moving through the water faster that 2 knots. So we have to drive like a little old lady when we dock the boat. The feathering feature does, however, give us better performance under sail.

IN RETROSPECT:

For a dozen years we cruised comfortably, in a boat we could afford to maintain, one that was easy to handle and fun to sail. Regular engine and rigging maintenance and applications of bottom paint were about all she needed, along with frequent (some might say "fanatical") applications of soap, water, metal polish, wax and elbow grease. This left us lots of time to go cruising. Isn't that what we were supposed to be doing?