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| Whanake lying to a Bahamian moor, Loch Leven, Scotland |
Whanake is
a beautifully hand-crafted custom built vessel of classic New
Zealand design, built for safety at sea and long distance
cruising, yet capable of fast passage-making in all weather
conditions. She can be handled very easily by two persons.
She
has a cold-molded, triple skinned hull of Kauri Pine; a light
strong wood, highly sought-after for boat building in New Zealand due
to its straight grain and absence of knots. It is now in
very short supply. The exterior of her hull is epoxy sheathed and
epoxy painted; internally it is sealed with clear "Everdur" epoxy.
This formula eliminates the usual drawbacks of wood construction
and ensures low maintenance.
Her deck has a thick layer of insulation and she now has nine
dorade ventilators to give comfort below in hot climates. She also has
an efficient safe stainless steel Refleks diesel cabin heater.
Her tough mast is well stayed with oversized rigging.
She has plenty of winches and excellent sails including a new fully battened main and new staysail.
She can be sailed as a cutter or a sloop.
Her 40 hp Yanmar diesel is almost new and she has a potential range of over 1000 miles on her fuel
tanks.
She
has a well thought out pressurized water system, 120 gallons
of storage and plenty of hot water for domestic
use and showers. Her water-maker will run off power provided by the
solar panels. On deck there is a fresh water shower and a
salt-water pressurised chain wash.
Electricity
is provided by the two large solar panels which keep
the four large batteries well charged. She has a Sterling 240v
battery charger, a shore power circuit and 240v immersion heater for
marina use.
Her galley is a secure place to be on passage and her stainless steel SMEV cooker with fail-safe flame, automatic
ignition and thermostatic oven is one of the best on the market.
She has Stowe instrumentation, an Autohelm ST 6000 autopilot, an Icom VHF, an Icom SSB adapted for e-mail, Navtex,
Radar and Aries windvane steering.
Her
ground tackle is heavy-duty with a 45 lb plough main anchor with
44 fathoms of 7/16" chain operated by a sturdy hand or
electrically operated winch. There is also a 35 lb CQR
and a 35 lb kedge with two 30 fathom warps.
Whanake
has been a very lucky yacht as she has been owned by three very loving
owners who have spent money on purchasing only the best equipment and
have kept her in excellent condition.
She has sailed approx.
112,000 miles to date. Her maiden voyage was a circumnavigation of New Zealand, thereafter her first owners sailed regularly to Australia and the Pacific Islands, covering 55,500 mls. in her first 16 years. Her second owners purchased in 1988 and sailed several times to the Pacific
Islands before leaving NZ in 1992 and sailing via the Red Sea and the Mediterranean
to the UK, a total distance of 26,000 miles, arriving in 1995, where poor health forced a reluctant sale.
The
third and previous owners purchased in 1997 and gave the vessel a
thorough and careful refit of her rig, her plumbing and electrical
installations and a new galley and heads, as well as a complete
repaint. Structurally, nothing needed doing, following her survey. They sailed around England before
heading for the Med. and cruising the South of France and Corsica. Their next cruise included
a crossing in the trades to Barbados, the Caribbean, North up the Eastern
seaboard of the States to Maine and back twice, Nova Scotia
including the Bras D’Or Lakes, a return to the Caribbean and
re-crossing the Atlantic via the Azores
to return to their Spanish base. Their last cruise was a quick dash to Greece,
Turkey and back, making a total of 28,000
miles. On a number of occasions they met very severe weather and at all times
‘Whanake’ coped admirably with no cause for concern.
The current owners sailed her from Gibraltar to Oban after the previous
owners had a last sail in her from their home in Santa Margarita. She
is now lying in the Oban area, west coast of Scotland.
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