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AD 2 · 22-05-2023, 14:59

Hello fellow sailors

It's been a tough couple of years for us, as it's been for so many people. The lovely boat we bought before covid has been sitting in the boatyard since then, without us able to get to it to do maintenance.
Since then, I've had a back injury and we're not boating anymore. So much for our dreams of cruising European waters.

The problem is, the boat's in northern France and we're in Canada. It's been impossible to try to sell her from here. We're not rich, and we've got to cut out something so we can stop bending our budget into little origami shapes, so that's one of the somethings.

But she's still good for sailing. We got a survey done last year, which you're welcome to see. I've included photos of her before we left, looking good, and after, from the survey, when she's looking very sad. Happily, belowdecks she looks the same, except for a small area below one of the vents which leaked. A small part of the panelling overhead got water damaged from the rain.

What's nice about steel boats is you can see the shape the hull's in. Not like fibreglass, capable of hiding a host of trouble. And the survey includes measurements for hull thickness, so you know what you're dealing with. We asked the surveyor to concentrate on the hull and any potential problem areas, so people would know what's what. We've got loads more photos, but no room on this post for them.

She needs the hull sandblasting. The engine's in good shape. I'll include the full write-up below. If we could afford to fly over to France, we'd at least be able to sell off the valuable bits for parts, like the 30hp Lister engine, the Taylors brass kerosene oven, the Aries lift-up wind vane, and more. But we can't afford it, neither financially nor temporally.

This is where you come in. If you're serious, take her and let her live again. I'd rather give her to you than see her cut up for scrap. If you're not serious, please don't contact us. It's already been enough hassle and heartache dealing with this. I can't deal with tire-kickers as well.

Okay?

Here's the blurb:
Commissioned: 1978
LOA: 35.5 ft (10.82m) (plus bowsprit)
Beam: 10 ft 8” / 3.3m
Draught: 5.5 ft / 1.7m
Displacement: 18,000 lbs / 8160 kg

The engine is a Lister SR4, four cylinder diesel, 30 horse - Clydesdales, not show ponies. It's one of the most reliable engines made. It is air cooled so you have no underwater fittings, no heat exchangers to clog up, or cylinder head warping or overheating. It is in excellent condition. As long as the fuel is not frozen or waxy Listers will start in all conditions. There's two 30 gallon (135L) steel fuel tanks. The gearbox is hydraulic in neutral and reverse gear but manual in forward gear, so if there was ever a problem, you can start the engine in gear to get you home. At the end of the gearbox is a 2:1 reduction gear which drives a 1 3/4” stainless steel shaft which is in turn in a stainless steel tube. It is of commercial fishing boat standards. She swings a 2 bladed, 19.5” propeller. There are lots of spare engine parts.

Structurally, the bottom of the keel is 3/4" thick, the keel is 6mm, hull is 4mm, chines are 5mm, decks are 1/8" plate, cabin sides are 4mm. She is framed every 18 inches with 1 1/2" x 1/4" bar. All surfaces are curved on the hull and she has 1" by 1" square profile thick wall tubing every 18” on the deck. The original Charybdis Mk II design had a 4 ft draught, but that was modified on this boat and extended to 5' 6”. The keel is a long fin, with skeg hung rudder, and she tracks and manoeuvres superbly.

For sails, there's a cruising chute with snuffer, 180% tri-radial on a Harken furler, a hanked-on genoa on the forestay, a heavy weather foresail with hanks, a storm jib and other jibs, plus a spare set of main and mizzen sails. All the sails are in great condition, except for the main and the furling genoa which are in good condition. Most are from Quay Sails of Poole. The foresail sheets lead to a pair of Gibbs two speed self tailing winches in the cockpit. All chain cable with Bruce and Danforth anchor, Moyle single action/anchor windlass. There's also an Aries lift-up wind vane included.

Belowdecks, there is an aft cabin, not connected to the main cabin, a galley and saloon in the main cabin, and the forepeak area houses (boats?) the heads, heater, and sail and hanging locker areas. The forepeak heater's a Refleks diesel drip feed with hotplate, and the galley boasts a lovely brass Taylors kerosene oven. There's an Eberspacher diesel heater for the main cabin, but we haven't tried it. The interior is fitted out with Burmese teak and Australian jarrah woods - not the flimsy stuff you get these days, but heavy solid planking. As previously mentioned, the plumbing and electrical systems are rudimentary, as is the nav system (charts) and olde style depthfinder. There are some quite nice brass kerosene lamps for illumination.
Most of the standing rigging was replaced in 2016.

There's a fairly recent survey for the boat, from July of 2022. It's structurally sound, but, as we said, could use some plumbing and electrical upgrading, as well as a full sandblast and paint job.

So that's where it stands.

If you're interested, I'm not sure if you can PM me, never having used it before, but at least reply to the post and we'll communicate further.

Cheers

5BTM · 22-05-2023, 15:54

Sorry to hear that, I remember seeing your ad either on facebook or kijiji.

Where in France?

I have an EU passport, married to an airline gal so going for a weekend is not a problem.

You can text or call me at five one four six six huit six deux neuf 0

Mark

mbbcat · 22-05-2023, 18:49

Hi,

Very interested, how would this transaction work?
Also what are the storage & splash costs?
Thanks

M

AD 2 · 24-05-2023, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbbcat

Hi,

Very interested, how would this transaction work?
Also what are the storage & splash costs?
Thanks

M

Monthly cost on the hard in the nearby boatyard is 114 Euros. It's literally a stone's throw away from the launch. Very quick and easy. You'll need to check the port de plaisance for current pricing on launch and mooring fees:
https://www.ccbdc.fr/port-plaisance/

We'd just sign over the paperwork to you. You take over boatyard fees.
It's registered in Bristol, UK, but we sailed it over the channel because a) mooring fees are a lot cheaper in northern France then southern England, and b) we wanted to start exploring the European waterways. So it's in France.

If you felt moved to give us some money for it, no matter how minimal, we'd be appreciative. We're pretty broke right now. We're in the process of building a house - cheap, off-grid, in the forest - and the sale of the boat was supposed to help with that, but alas, our usual luck struck. Sometimes, life just sucks. We're trying to make lemonade.

Pinec · 27-05-2023, 07:38

Long time lurker, found a good reason to register! My dream is for a 35ish ft liveaboard to sail the world so I had to reach out.
Hi, I'm in France, I've been looking for a boat (with an aft cabin) and a friend just sent me your post, can we chat?
I would love to know where the boat is, for starter, but I'm prepared to travel anywhere. Please contact me! An MP should reach my email directly if you prefer. Thank you!

Joyoffreedom · 27-05-2023, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinec

Long time lurker, found a good reason to register! My dream is for a 35ish ft liveaboard to sail the world so I had to reach out.
Hi, I'm in France, I've been looking for a boat (with an aft cabin) and a friend just sent me your post, can we chat?
I would love to know where the boat is, for starter, but I'm prepared to travel anywhere. Please contact me! An MP should reach my email directly if you prefer. Thank you!

Hello, if it's not already gone, we would be very interested. We're looking for a vessel to go further with our charity project. Also possible to give you a hand if you want to get rid of something or make a deal.
Let us know. Thank you
Best regards

AD 2 · 30-05-2023, 09:00

Sure, give me a PM and we'll talk.

AD 2 · 30-05-2023, 09:01

Accomplished. Let me know if you don't receive anything

Rich92107 · 31-05-2023, 19:17

Well it looks like Im outnumbered here, but in case Im not or a prior deal falls through, please keep me on your list of interested persons. Thanks.

AD 2 · 31-05-2023, 19:59

Will do

Navi2016 · 01-06-2023, 00:26

sorry for your troubles, I was wonder if you had managed to transfer the UK title over to Canadian Registry.

Where is the Vessel Currently registered ?