Sailing Vessel Wings of the Morning
February / March 2002 Ship’s Log
March 24, 2002
It’s been quite a ride lately. We had our beautiful Camper & Nicholson 32, Hetty Brace, completely outfitted and ready to go. We had planned to go cruising this fall, if nothing else a six-month run to the Bahamas to take the edge off. Our plans also included looking into adopting a child when we returned.
What a difference a month and some backbreaking labor can
make.
Well, we decided to check into adoption – just so we’d know what to expect when we got back. Once that ball starts rolling, however, it’s awfully difficult to stop. We didn’t want to stop it. We decided to put our cruising plans on hold while we pursue adoption this year.
Adopting a child meant, of course, that we needed the space for another human being. On Hetty, we were already getting a bit cramped with the two of us and all of my camera gear. In fact, we never found a home for the cameras – it all just moved back and forth from the forepeak where we slept to the salon where we hung out. Unfortunately, our much beloved Hetty Brace would not work for three.
We started looking at bigger boats in January. We wanted something strong and seaworthy yet large enough for a family. Morgan Out Island 41’s soon began to appear on the list. They are relatively affordable and built like tanks but they vary widely in condition and version. Except for the very recent models, which are far more expensive, there seems to be little consensus on what models are best. Of course it also depends on how well cared for they are. Then, there are several cabin layouts and years of modifications to consider. While an Out Island met the criteria in principle, finding the one that met our needs was a different matter.
Then one day some friends told us about a family living in the boatyard on a Catalac 10 Meter catamaran. The boat was damaged above the waterline during tropical storm Gabrielle in September, 2001. The family had decided that such storms were not fun and that living aboard was not for them so they put up a for-sale sign, damage and all.
Knowing no bank would give us a loan for a damaged boat, we raised the cash in four days by begging and borrowing. We ended up getting her for roughly half what one in perfect condition would’ve cost. The best part was, the family already had many of the materials to do the repairs and they threw all of that in as part of the deal.
Of course nothing is so easy. It took us a month in the boatyard to do the repair and many thousands of dollars for things that are needed to liveaboard a boat in Florida. As a good friend, also a liveaboard, once said, “we’re not camping.” Central heat and air conditioning may not be necessary while cruising, but August nights in Florida at the dock tend to be a bit warm. We got the biggest A/C unit we could get. Many Catalac 10’s have two of them.
We also needed to replace the saildrives. These are the things that are attached to the diesel engines that make the boat go. They are not even remotely cheap. But now they are new. There are a thousand other things, some expected, some surprises but none that have stopped us in our tracks.
We are now end tied to our dock in Florida, the A/C is running, the dirt from the boatyard long since cleaned up but the project list remains long. We’ll probably continue to outfit her like we outfitted Hetty. When we see a good deal for something we need, we’ll get it if possible. That way, there is no mad crush at the end to install a bunch of new equipment. To me, that is a recipe for disaster – and a disaster that is far too often repeated.
We decided to keep the name the previous owners gave her – Wings of the Morning. Look up the Biblical passage and you’ll see why we decided to keep the name. We just call her Wings for short. After the beautiful lines of Hetty Brace, Wings is taking some getting used to. She does, however, look strong. And she is. She has already crossed the Atlantic on her own bottom and has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean. The space – the amount of living room - is incredible. We’ve already had to do some work in the salon – each day something checked off the list and two things added.
We start our required classes for adoption in the beginning of April. We call the second cabin the “kidling cabin”. We haven’t done much with it yet because we hope that one day soon, someone will want to fill it with things that will make it their home.
Stay tuned and we’ll let you know