So, I recently undertook the
delivery of a Northshore 38 on the
east coast of
Australia. Plan was to sail it from Townsville to Adelaide.
Long story short, I got as far as
Brisbane (600 nm) before calling a stop to the journey. There were simply too many question marks hanging over the boat’s
rigging,
steering and
electrical systems to feel safe in proceeding.
But all of those issues, I feel, can be attributed to poor
maintenance and general neglect.
The
boat itself has been an absolute dream to sail. Despite bagged out
sails and nursing the highly-suspect standing
rigging some very fast passages were made and all were done with a degree of comfort that is, frankly, very surprising for such a light
boat. As I have read elsewhere this is one terrific design. It goes to windward way better than the ruined
sails should have allowed, it was hard to slow it down on a reach and downwind in truely horrible conditions it was a doddle to steer, even the ancient
Raymarine autopilot had no problems at all. I don’t think it pounded once, though it slaps at bit at the stern when anchored in some conditions.
I’m really putting this here for anyone considering
purchasing one of these
boats in the chance it will turn up on their searches. If you are after a fast, comfortable boat capable of weekending away you could do a lot worse. Living on it for a few weeks… well, let’s just say a little more space in the
galley would have been nice. But it’s bright and airy inside and feels surprisingly spacious for a 38 footer.
Certainly not my cup of tea, I love my beamy old heavy cruisers, but both my crewman and I agreed, we will miss the sheer fun of sailing the thing.
Matt
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