The
Boat.
(Note:
click on pictures for a larger view.)
Final Straw is a Mason 54 cutter-rigged sailboat built in 1990 to Lloyds +100A1 specs by Pacific Asian Enterprises.
Vessel
Specifications
She's
54 feet long, draws 6'8", 14'10" wide and displaces 43500 lbs. She
carries 156 gallons of water and 343 gallons of diesel fuel. Besides sail power
(which consists of a mainsail, 2 headsails, a staysail, a storm trysail and an
asymmetrical spinnaker), she can also be propelled by a 110 hp. Yanmar
Turbo-diesel engine.
Interior
There
are two staterooms, two heads, a galley, main
salon and a navigation station. Amenities include a 600 gallon per day watermaker, a
washer-dryer, microwave oven, toaster oven, icemaker, air conditioning and
heating units, refrigeration, freezer, propane stove, TV and DVD units.
Electronics aboard include GPS units, 36 mile radar, Ham and Marine HF SSB
radios, e-mail controller, Marine VHF radios, weatherfax, autopilot, DC to AC
inverter, 8 KW diesel generator, and a transformer for 110 VAC and 220 VAC,
50/60 Hz shore power. A laptop computer at the navigation station is interfaced
to e-mail software and the main GPS.
Worldwide electronic navigation charts display current ship’s position
and instrument readings on the laptop computer. The laptop is also interfaced to a polar satellite receiver
system that will display local satellite weather pictures real-time for the
part of the world where we are currently sailing.
Above
Deck
Sail
control includes hydraulic furling for the mainsail and headsail and hydraulic
primary winches for jib sheets and mainsail sheet trim. Steering is also
hydraulic as is the boom vang and backstay adjuster. This makes it much easier
for two people to handle the boat in strong wind conditions. There are solar
panels for charging batteries from sun power and a very quiet wind generator
for charging batteries from the tradewinds. The anchoring system aboard
consists of a large 66 pound Bruce anchor tied to 400 feet of chain and a 60
pound CQR anchor with 25 feet of chain and 360 feet of 1/2" rope. These
anchors may be raised electrically via a Maxwell anchor windlass. There's also
a Fortress FX-55 anchor aboard and a Danforth stern anchor. For emergency use,
there's a six man Avon canister life raft packed with complete emergency
supplies. There's also a 406 MHz. Emergency Satellite Beacon (EPIRB) and a
Class B Mini-EPIRB on board. For transportation ashore, there's a new 10.5' Aquapro
rigid hull inflatable dinghy with a Yamaha 15 hp outboard engine.
