Big Bandicoot lives on - saving an icon

[Big Bandicoot]

G'day everyone,

We're incredibly new to the sailing world but we've sure jumped in at the deep end. Due to lack of spare time this will be bouncing between her and another forum, I'll endeavour to update them equally.

here we go.......

Like most people, in the back of our mind has been the plan to do 'something' one day, while all the time our kids and ourselves continue to get a little older. We've been working to live, stuck on the treadmill of life kidding ourselves that we are happy. Of most concern is the realisation that we're hypocrite's, we continually tell our kids "to follow their dreams", "don't be scared of taking a risk" or "don't let what others think stop you from doing something", yet we don't do this ourselves.

Dad always taught me, you need to lead by example if you want lasting change in people.
So after he unexpectedly passed away last year we decided it was time to stop planning and making excuses and just bite the bullet.

We wanted to put ourselves as far out of our comfort zone as possible in order to bring us together and learn to rely on each other as a family and to show our kids there's nothing wrong with taking a risk to follow a dream. Being inland on a farm near Ettamogah NSW, with virtually no sailing experience we decided the simple decision was to buy a small catamaran, make it our home and sail up and down the east coast of Australia stopping to work as needed..........

This is our story of how an online add thew a spanner in the works of our simple decision and how we through all caution to the wind and went out on a limb to save a piece of Australian history.

We are now the very proud owners of our first catamaran and what will eventually become our home ................

Big Bandicoot

Her Back then and myself and Phil (previous owner) in Trinidad in September

[Big Bandicoot]

Spare time is hard to find at the moment, it's mostly taken up on the phone or email as we gather and compile information to piece together her story and our strategy moving forward. along with Big Bandicoot herself we're collecting the stories from the guys who built and sailed her before they're lost.

Now I've started this thread I had better commit to it!! I'll start at the beginning and piece by piece move forward. This way we can use it ourselves for a bit of refocus/inspiration when it all seems too difficult and we forget why we are doing this. yep, bit of self justification for spending time on a forum!!

I'll keep them short. if anyone has anything to information, stories to tell advice, ideas etc as we go along just let me know.
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________

We place ourselves in the category of everyday people, relatively unimportant, far from exciting or inspirational, we go about our lives in our own way not expecting anyone else to take an interest or go out of their way to help us. Introspectively, to us Big Bandicoot is going to be our home and will provide us the opportunity to bond as a family and means to show our children there is a whole other world out there. If I looked at it from someone else’s view: To own a boat with a history such as Big Bandicoots is a rare thing and a rare opportunity.
Ideally the job of saving her from the fate that was about to befall her would have been placed square on the shoulders of an experienced sailor with a passion for history, who had the skills, networks, background, knowledge and the financial means to carry it through. In the real world it is rare that this type of person ever takes on that kind of risk. As it so often goes, these ventures are taken up by the most unlikely, ordinary people. The dreamers or the naive, ie us!!. In all intense and purpose she was too big, too old, out of our budget and completely impractical as she was on the other side of the world, but hey, what a challenge and adventure!!! And to become part of her history, what a story to tell the grand kids one day!! I guess if we were wiser people with more (or any) sailing knowledge or experience and deep pockets we wouldn’t have done it either!!

Below is a link to the doco on BB for anyone who hasn't seen it. I'm in contact with Lock who put it on YouTube, both to blame him (jokingly) and thank him. He's a great bloke who loves fast boats........."Seems like just yesterday but thirty years ago we wound the Shockwave 37 up to 32 knots on flat water in Botany Bay, what a buzz."

Locks boats: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lox-pi...57649253300894

it's funny how the world works sometimes. As you'll find out, If it hadn't been for him uploading and us seeing it 12yrs later the big girls fate would have been very different .....

[Big Bandicoot]

Link to documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oAuSAT8FCE

[catsketcher]

I remember rowing around her back in the day at 1770, she was a sad statement of the folly of getting an arrogant monohull designer to design a multi. In the days when Lock Crowther and John Hitch (amongst others) were very proficient at designing and building amazing multis, the syndicate decided to go with a designer who didn't even design fast monos - the Currawong and Cape Barren Goose were nice boats, but no one had ever called them speed machines.

The idea for the beamy hulls was an arrogant mistake - if Joubert had looked at every fast small cat he would have seen hulls with high fineness ratios. He also would have seen that simple mast beams, supported by dolphin strikers are light, strong and durable. The Joubert designed welded and then bolted truss systems were a work of incredible hubris and stupidity - to be that confident that Tornados, Hobies, A class, B and C class cats were all wrong and that only Joubert himself could design a good system is breathtaking in its alternate reality. The video is a great example of people going to the wrong "expert" who blinds himself to the work of others. Joubert dismissed the lessons from the whole history of fast catamarans in designing Big Bandicoot and she failed as a result. I hope she does well as a cruiser, the fat hulls should have a high immersion rate which means she can carry weight well, but she will not be held highly in multihull lore, being built by mono sailors who dismissed contemporary designs of the time, such as Marsh's Tornado, all of Cunningham's designs including great C class cats, Crowther's Spindrift and Kraken designs, CSKs SeaSmoke and Hugo Myers Seabird. What could have been if the group had rung Lock up instead? Good luck to the owners, but she aint a high point in Aussie multi history.

[Fore and Aft]

Bandicoot if you wanted to save a maritime icon there's no need to go overseas. Ian Johnsons trimaran Bullfrog is laying neglected in a Brisbane boatyard. Arguably she's quicker and more sexier than Bandicoot. Or there's Ceramco a Whitbread circumnavigator laying neglected in a Bundaberg marina. I drive past another yacht that's a giant garden ornament. She is a Melbourne Osaka veteran and offshore race campaigner. When you get of the farm you will see that neglected record holding race boats are very common and can be found in plenty of marinas and boatyards. The one thing they all have in common along with Bandicoot is that they're giant money pits and can absorb money like a sponge. Unlike classic cars there's no appreciation just more bills.
Cherrs

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Bandicoot if you wanted to save a maritime icon there's no need to go overseas. Ian Johnsons trimaran Bullfrog is laying neglected in a Brisbane boatyard. Arguably she's quicker and more sexier than Bandicoot. Or there's Ceramco a Whitbread circumnavigator laying neglected in a Bundaberg marina. I drive past another yacht that's a giant garden ornament. She is a Melbourne Osaka veteran and offshore race campaigner. When you get of the farm you will see that neglected record holding race boats are very common and can be found in plenty of marinas and boatyards. The one thing they all have in common along with Bandicoot is that they're giant money pits and can absorb money like a sponge. Unlike classic cars there's no appreciation just more bills.
Cherrs

I think its a done deal, boat already bought.

[Vinny Barbarino]

I'm an Australian living in Chaguaramus, my own fifty-year-old Catamaran is about a two minute walk from Big Bandicoot. Where Big Bandicoot sits, the stern is against the main entrance road to Peake Yacht Services (one of the two popular marinas here in Trinidad). So almost every day, I see her - the same stern view exactly as the photo above.

To the BB owner - I can offer the following advice - as I've been here almost a year and a half undergoing a similar refit journey.

Know that your boat is in a great location for a refit. Here you can get any kind of boat works done that you need or want. Trades abound, multiple chandleries within a short walk. Life is pretty good, the local community (yachties and workers alike) are helpful, friendly, and kind. Chaguaramus is safe for families, kids come and go on a regular basis.

Importantly, if you want work to actually be done in a timely manner you really need to be here. Most of the tradies are very busy (particularly through the hurricane season - where all the boats head down to Trinidad for safety) and they prioritise the work of the owners with squeaky wheels - you need to be onsite to make sure the work is actually being done. This applies universally - honestly, you will be in for a loooooong wait for work to be done if you're not here, no matter what you're told. I see this time, and time again.

If it were my boat (without knowing the in's and out's of your personal circumstances), I would move the boat to Peakes (right over the fence), buy an air conditioner if you don't already have one, get the boat into a basic live-aboard state asap, bring the whole family over and get stuck into what needs to be done.


I have no financial incentive to recommend Peakes - there are two main reasons I suggest it: a) they offer a free shuttle service to almost anywhere you need to go, and have regularly sheduled trips to the supermarkets. They'll pick you up, take you to the supermarket, wait, and drop you and your shopping right back at your boat. It makes that part of life incredibly easy. Given the distances involved, you won't believe what a difference this free shuttle can make to your life here.

b) there's a quite nice shaded area (you may have already seen it) on the waterfront. The water isn't for swimming - this whole bay is industrial. But, free BBQ to use, friendly people to meet, every day and night. You'll make friends, learn about the area very quickly, find recommendations, and just blow off steam and relax after a hard days work.

If I had a family, the choice between Power Boats and Peakes is a no brainer - and the monthly costs will be comparable. I would add, Powerboats is also a great yard with some advantages.

Don't worry about your lack of sailing experience - there are so many world-class sailors that come and go here, they'll all help you out. When you do set sail, this is the perfect part of the world to gain experience.


Labour is cheaper than Australia, but not exactly "cheap". Anything you can do yourself, it all adds up and you will save a LOT of money. Parts/supplies/etc are a mixed bag - some things relatively cheap, others, there can be a bit of an "island tax". However - if you need parts etc sent from the US, it can be done quite cheaply, and it's always tax-free for yachts here.

Weather-wise, it's always hot. Year round, day or night, you won't need anything other than shorts and tshirts.


In any case, I hope your dream works out, and if I can answer any questions for you, just let me know.

Cheers

[Fore and Aft]

Vinny thats good advice. That's what I love about CF there's so much great advice, often from people right in the area.
That sounds like a good boatyard.
Cheers