Our fine vessel, Maverick by name, is a 1972 Ericson 39 flush-deck sloop
designed by Bruce King. Those whose appreciation of beauty runs to the
superficial may say she has lost just a bit of her youthful charm and
coquetry, but if there is a deficit in this regard it is surely transcended
by the haughty serenity of a street-wise veteran. Despite her hefty
displacement (19,000 lbs.) she has a turn of speed which has shocked many an
unwary competitor sailing one of those new, lightweight boats, and in her
salad days she was campaigned successfully in southern California. Her PHRF
rating is 105. (Note that it is nautical tradition to refer to seagoing
vessels as feminine. This remains mysteriously unchallenged by the
occasionally hamfisted logic of political sensitivity, to which logic I of
course have no personal objection. Until a countervailing argument carries
the day, therefore, we shall continue in this mode, notwithstanding the
awkwardness of referring to a girl as "Maverick.")
Usually a skipper, save one of sour disposition towards life in general,
will maintain that his or her personal boat is superior to all other craft,
much as one would defend one's child, mother, or spouse from ill-mannered
criticism no matter what differences may otherwise characterize the
relationship. On Maverick it is the same; but here we have objective proof of
her superiority. (Everyone has proof, but without question ours is better.)
A mathematically inclined scholar of naval architecture has computed a
number of performance parameters for about 250 popular cruising boats from
Swans to Catalinas, using well-established standards of boat design and his
own screwy system. His completely objective scientific conclusion: the
Ericson 39 is among the very best cruisers ever designed. Though numbers may
lie, it is somewhat reassuring for us to know that at the very least,
according to some guy's idea of well established principles of stuff, we are
not setting out on a weird nautical experiment. You can look this up on the
web, but why bother.
The boat was originally drawn as an ocean racer but by the standards of
today's race boats is quite luxurious below. Unfortunately, this means more
or less nothing, since even paint is considered too much extra weight these
days. Maverick is quite Spartan in comparison to modern cruisers. She lacks
hot and cold running water, refrigeration, a water maker, a microwave, a
shower, a heater, a TV and VCR, and not a few other amenities considered
essential for persons who do not live in the third world. That's where we're
going, though, according to Terry.
On the other hand she has received some significant upgrades from the
original. These include increased tankage for fuel and water (about 72 gal.
of each now), new Ballenger spars and rig, and considerably enhanced storage
capacity for food and spares. We've added a dodger, Bimini, cockpit cover,
inflatable tender, solar panel, radar, SSB, and a beefed-up charging system.
We will carry a 44 lb. Bruce on 250 ft. of 5/16" proof coil spliced to 125
feet of 9/16" nylon and as our bower anchor and rode, handled by a power
windlass. This is backed up by a 45 lb. CQR and 25 lb. Danforth for a lunch
hook. All systems including the engine have been renewed. Well OK, not the
rudder. We will have a laptop which, in addition to functioning as a terminal
for email to you, dear reader, will receive weather faxes via the SSB radio
and serve as a planatarium. We'll be able to look up worldwide trivia on two
encyclopedias on the computer and edit digital photographs which we hope to
send back home when we can get to an internet café. The Encarta encyclopedia
includes recordings of all of the national anthems of the world, so we hope
to play the appropriate ditty through the ship's stereo when approached by
the local constabulary. This, along with a substantial bribe, may help keep
us out of jail and by the by enhance America's image in the world, I should
think. The skipper has just qualified for a General HAM license so the
amateur bands will be available to us for further email, weather, and
emergency communications, and we have two VHS radios for short distances. We
have two Garmin GPS units and if they both fail we're carrying two sextants
and the requisite tables, along with the standard navigation tools and
charts. Steering will be done by a Monitor windvane while under sail and a
Navico Wheelpilot 300-CX under power. Sail inventory includes a newish Hood
main, older Hood 135% on a furler, a nondescript 90%, a new Hood storm
staysail on a removable inner stay, a 3/4-oz. drifter/windseeker, and a new
3/4-oz Hood cruising spinnaker named Luigi.
We're not scared, or anything, but safety gear includes an offshore
liferaft with strobe, personal strobes, a strobe at the masthead, a strobe
which is deployed with the man-overboard pole, and a 406 EPIRB with a strobe
and GPS interface which in an emergency will emit a beacon notifying various
agencies of a, like, serious problem. It'll be totally like the sixties with
all those strobes going off. We'll have an extensive medical kit, and Terry's
dentist gave him suturing lessons so brain surgery will not be a problem, so
long as we limit ourselves to the part of the brain that has teeth. We'll
carry a drogue, which slows down the boat if following seas make her surf at
uncontrollable speeds, although what's wrong with that. We'll have an
emergency rudder and an emergency tiller. There are alarms, flares, and fire
extinguishers and other regulation safety equipment.
In short, the boat has so much safety gear that the extra weight will no
doubt prevent us from getting out of harm's way in the first place, thereby
assuring its use; and here it may be relevant to mention that all of the gear
we've listed was installed and will be maintained and operated by amateurs.
Maverick has suffered with equanimity these various alterations, of which
many place her squarely in the dowdy cruiser category. She has endured it all
with the understanding that, at last, an adventure is afoot.
Next time: THE CREW
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