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Cheoy Lee Offshore 41

An innovative ray richards design built by the earliest asian yard is a rock solid cruiser, but with a lot of teak to maintain as well as potentially troublesome metalwork..

Cheoy Lee Shipyards of Hong Kong was one of the first molders of fiberglass boats in Asia, constructing sailboats for export to the US in the early 1960s. It introduced its first model, the Bermuda 30, in 1963. By 1965 it offerred 11 different models.

The company enjoyed a reputation as one of the better builders of offshore boats, characterized by traditional designs and the extensive use of wood. Teak hulls were offered as an option, decks were usually planked with teak, spars were Sitka spruce, and interior joinerwork was all teak.

Though the company developed a reputation for building solid hulls and decks, like many Asian builders of the period it also had a reputation for manufacturing lower quality accessories—winches and other stainless steel and bronze components were fabricated in the company’s shop, and were considered inferior to mainstream US and European hardware because of a tendency to corrode.

One Californian went so far as to order a boat delivered without mast, rigging, or winches so he could install higher quality gear.

Wiring systems also were prone to corrosion, especially those on exterior lights, so owners are often frustrated in attempts to maintain functional circuitry.

Design Naval architect Raymond H. Richards was commissioned by Cheoy Lee to design the Offshore 41, which replaced the classic Phil Rhodes-designed Reliant 40 in the company’s line-up.

Richards first established himself as a corporate designer in Seattle. In 1961 he became the first architect to design a fiberglass hull that met Lloyd’s construction standards. He was responsible for 10 Cheoy Lee designs, including the 39, 32 and 38-footers, and several Ranger and Pacific sloops.

By the time he accepted the commission for the Offshore 41 in 1972, he had abandoned the rigors of the corporate world for private practice, and moved to Avalon, on Catalina Island. These days he operates from a studio in Newport, California, where he has designed, among other vessels, a commercial passenger boat called the SWATH (Small Water Area Twin Hull) that is characterized by buoyant, sub-surface struts that produce a smooth, stable ride.

The Offshore 41 was conceived as a 40-footer but grew to 40′ 11″, just 2″ longer than the Reliant, but with a significantly different underwater shape.

“We were looking toward a more updated offering, both in style and performance, giving only a slight nod to the now infamous IOR,” Richards said of the re-design.

It was offered in sloop, yawl, and ketch configurations, though the sloop is the best performer of the three. Sail area for the sloop is 833 sq. ft., compared to 863 and 880 sq. ft. for the yawl and ketch, respectively. The sail area/displacement ratio (SA/D) for the sloop is 17.5, typical of cruisers of this vintage; the SA/D is 18.1 for the yawl, 18.4 for the ketch.

The displacement/length (D/L) ratio of 275 is on the high end of the moderate scale, and the ballast/displacement ratio is 41%. Richards describes the boat as being “stiff as a church.”

A radical departure from many cruisers of this era was the design of the keel. The traditional full keel was replaced by a 6′ deep cruising fin in which the forefoot is cutaway. The rudder is attached to a skeg.

The first boats were commissioned in 1972, and the production run produced about 100 boats.

Construction The Offshore 41 was designed to meet Lloyd’s specifications, and Cheoy Lee marketed it as meeting that standard; however, “there was not a Lloyd’s inspector on the premises during construction,” Richards said.

Hulls of the Offshore 41 are solid fiberglass that Richards says are heavier than designed.

“They (the builders) took a lot of license with the drawings,” he said, describing a trial-and-error method of adding layers of fiberglass and resin until the boat floated on its designed waterline. The process may have inadvertently produced a thicker, heavier hull than intended.

Richards’ lamination schedule for the hull was not followed by Cheoy Lee, he said, instead calling for six plies of 2-ounce mat and an additional six plies with widths graduated to produce a taper at the hull/deck joint. It is unusual not to use woven roving, which builds up thickness much quicker than just mat. In any case, Richards said that Cheoy Lee assured him the boat was built to Lloyds standards.

The deck, cockpit and cabin sides were cored with mahogany encapsulated with skins comprised of two layers of 2-ounce mat. The deck was overlaid with 3/8″ teak planking.

“The hull/deck joint is an inner facing flange forming a shelf onto which the deck was laid in wet mat and through-bolted,” Richards said. “The joint is a combination of resin and mat to prevent leaks. The teak toerail, rabbeted to take the thickness of the deck, is bolted through the deck and shelf. This is a method I created with the Pacific 30 and have used ever since. It has proved itself in both labor saving construction and structural integrity.”

The company replaced solid fiberglass stringers he designed with “joinerwork flats and aprons,” so berths and cabinetry act as hull stiffeners. Veteran owners of bluewater boats related no problems with hull flexing or oilcanning.

Bulkheads are “dropped in and bolted to related webs and floors, and bolted at the tops of the floors and glassed to the hull.”

The bottom consists of a molded grid system that provides structural support for the hull, framework for flooring, and a cavity for the internal keel. Ballast is an 8,700-pound slurry of lead and concrete; the top of the keel also functions as tankage for 50 gallons of fuel, small for extended cruising. Owners report fuel consumption of less than 1 gallon per hour with the Perkins 4.108 turning at 2,500 rpm. As a consequence, an optional 40-gallon fuel tank was offered under the cockpit. Water tanks are below the cabin sole forward of the engine and in tanks port and starboard aft of the galley.

In typical Richards fashion, the engine was mounted below the cabin sole amidships on solid fiberglass beds. Though that’s an excellent location for keeping weight out of the end of the boat, the arrangement is criticized by several owners, one of whom complained that, “The flywheel brings up bilge water and requires the construction of a metal shield to prevent continuous starter and alternator malfunctions.”

Like many boats of this era, the Offshore 41 was susceptible to blistering on the bottom and rudder. Owners report blisters ranging in size from “quarter-sized blisters I repair every spring,” to “several larger than my hand on the rudder that required a $2,500 repair.”

One owner told us that his boat survived Hurricane Hugo with substantial damage, “but the strength of the components kept it in good structural shape.”

Deck Unless a used boat has been retrofitted with modern winches, turning blocks and rope clutches, skipper and crew will find themselves hoisting and trimming sails the old fashioned way.

Original equipment included four sheet winches in the cockpit and two at the mast for halyards. This arrangement is adequate for daysailors, but we’d place a high priority on moving halyards and sail controls to the cockpit for offshore work.

All three models of the boat have the same 9′ 11″, T-shaped, cockpit with the helm well aft of the winches, and mainsheet controls located on a traveler forward of the companionway. It takes several steps to move from wheel to mainsheet, which mandates a wheel brake or autopilot when sailing shorthanded.

The cockpit has 6′ long benches with 14″ high back rests, and a 24″ high “saddle seat” for the helmsman. The width of the cockpit, however, makes it difficult to find a comfortable position on the rail from which to steer. Richards’ design incorporated seats with an elevated lip that provides better leg support than a flat surface, and a sloped sole that allows the helmsman to stand upright when the boat is heeled.

“We were on the cutting edge of ergonomic designs,” he said.

Proponents of ketch and yawl rigs crow about the ability to balance a sail plan, and they are good on a reach. But the sloop remains the most efficient rig, certainly upwind. Add the intrusion of the yawl or ketch’s mizzen mast in a cockpit (that is best suited to six persons), and the sloop becomes even more appealing.

Wide side decks allow for easy movement fore and aft. A teak handrail on the cabin top and double lifelines provide a high measure of security. Both the bow and stern pulpits have double stainless steel rails.

The Sitka spruce main mast has conventional single spreaders while the mizzen has swept back spreaders.

Spruce masts on a used boat present three potential problems: they’re not as sturdy or weather-resistant as aluminum; they are prone to rotting at the base if water is allowed to stand; and, though they have eye appeal, they require varnishing at least once a year in most areas. One owner felt he had a new lease on life after coating the mast with Awlgrip; others told us they use white Z Spar enamel, which requires repainting every 4-5 years.

Teak decks also are a high maintenance item. Owners of the Offshore 41 say decks require frequent re-caulking; many reported leaks between the teak and fiberglass. And if the teak requires replacement, you’re looking at around 20 grand.

Belowdecks Compared to most cookie cutter boats with compartmentalized interiors, the 41’s interior has personality. Depending upon the size and age of the crew, it will either be ideal or totally unsuitable for extended cruising.

Richards designed an 18′ long, nearly wide-open cabin that provides sleeping accommodations for a crew of six, and seating for 6-8 at an 8′ diameter dinette.

Enclosed berths in the fo’c’sle are accessed by removing a panel in the dinette back. Berths are laid out in what Richards describes as a “toe-over-toe arrangement,” the port berth being higher than its counterpart, which eliminates the possibility of creating a second double berth. As an alternative, the space will work well for storage of tools, spare sails, and anchor rode, since the boat has no anchor locker.

“I saw the forward berths as a place to get a little private time away from the madding crowd, and for the same reason a place to read,” Richards said.

Also a bit unusual, especially for its time, is the skipper’s enclosed stateroom, located to starboard and aft of the head and saloon, which has a double berth to starboard and hanging locker.

Wide open quarter berths are located opposite to port; the lower serves double duty as a seat for the navigator; an upper folds out of the way against the hull when not in use.

All of the berths are at least 6′ 6″.

Because the boat was designed before the era of pocket-sized navigational instruments, the navigator has a large, hinged chart table on which to work. However, adding electronics may necessitate reconfiguration of a cabinet located outboard of the table.

Forward of the nav station, the galley is equipped with two stainless steel sinks, a gimbaled four-burner stove outboard, and a 11-cu. ft. freezer/refrigerator below a Formica counter. A cover fitted over the sinks increases the size of working surfaces to that of a typical small apartment, and there’s an abundance of storage cupboards and shelves.

The head is a one-room toilet and shower combination opposite the galley. Compared with more contemporary boats, it is smallish, though Richards describes it as having the “space an adult needs when he drops the soap.” The holding tank has a 50-gallon capacity.

Natural light flows in from eight ports and three hatches, doing its best to brighten the dark teak cabinetry and sole. Fresh air also circulates through two Dorades located over the saloon.

Performance Performance of the Offshore 41 is a function of the rig, skipper’s ability, and condition of the sails. Owners of sloops told us that their boats perform to weather as well as similarly sized boats, and sail at 5.5-6.5 knots in 10-15 knots of breeze; owners of two-masted boats say they are slower.

The sloop also points higher than the ketch or yawls, tacking through 85°-90°, while the others will tack through 100°-110°, at best.

All agree that the best performance is achieved when sailing at 120° to the apparent wind flying a genoa, when speeds reach 7.5-8 knots in 10- to 15-knot winds.

She also tracks well. The skeg helps in this regard.

Owners log 150-mile days; in the 70’s that was generally considered the standard for bluewater cruising.

Conclusions The Cheoy Lee Offshore 41 was conceived for use in offshore conditions, constructed to endure extended bluewater passages, and designed to provide a crew with comfort above and belowdecks. Though a typical used boat is at least 20 years old, we would consider a purchase with the following caveats: a) look for a boat with an aluminum mast or closely inspect a wood mast for rot and be prepared to maintain it; b) closely inspect the bottom for blisters and plan an annual inspection; c) closely inspect all electrical systems for corrosion and failures; d) carefully consider your crew requirements vis-à-vis the accommodations plan.

Boats sold new in 1977 for $63,500, FOB Seattle, and today used boats of that same year are selling for slightly more, depending upon upgrades and sails.

Raymond H. Richards, Naval Architect, PO Box 3271, Newport Beach, CA, 92663; 949/642-6592, [email protected] .

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Interesting write up – we live aboard and cruise on our Cheoy Lee 41 “Avocet” which is a Frankenstein monster of the Offshore and Pedrick designs. My husband and I are on the hunt for more history on not only our vessel but also Cheoy Lee itself, and this article provided useful information. Thank you! Fair winds, ~ the crew of S/V Avocet (www.svavocet.com)

Great write up.. I have a 1977 RR offshore 41ketch “Sidartha”. Love the boat, its beautiful design, but it is endless upkeep.

Does anyone know if the choey Lee had additional ballast via a small hole port side near the propeller? Or know what that is there for. Seems a lot of water drains from that area on pull outs. Also any knowledge of a fiberglass tube encasing the shift. I have a small leak coming in under the battery box space under the gangway ladder.

We have a 41 Sloop version berthed in Cyprus. We are having real problems with our starter motor which is not repairable and cannot find a suitable replacement. I’d welcome any advice on a suitable replacement.

I’m trying to find a cross-section for the 1978 Offshore 41 Ketch ….to see what’s under the teak decking? I am looking for deck replacement alternatives.

Let me know what you find I’m not sure what I’m going to do about my decks I have a 78

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Dufour 41, Boat of the Year? Learn More About This Model

The Dufour 41 , which blends performance, elegance, and innovation , is the result of a collaboration between the Dufour teams, interior designer Lucas Ardizio, and naval architect Umberto Felci.

To learn more, let’s revisit a conversation between seasoned sailor Nicolas Bérenger and Sébastien Lucas, Dufour 41 ‘s Project Manager.

A Reimagined Legacy

The Dufour 41 is more than just an addition to the Dufour range ; it’s a thoughtful evolution of its predecessors. “ We started with the previous Dufour range , ” explains Nicolas Bérenger. “ It’s not an entirely new boat, but rather a true product of the brand, with all the Dufour DNA . We aimed to make the boat larger while keeping the same size, widening the hull, and asking the design team to rethink their approach. ”

The result is a boat that fully embodies the tradition and DNA of Dufour while offering significant innovations . This sailboat is designed to provide a broader and more comfortable sailing experience without compromising on marine performance: intuitive sailing. This vision continues and is perpetuated across all models in the range .

An Exceptional Launch

The Dufour 41 made its official debut in February 2023, leaving the shipyard and being launched in March. Its world premiere took place at the Cannes Yachting Festival , a crucial moment where it was subjected to rigorous testing in various sea and wind conditions.

“ We tested the boat in all sea and wind conditions and shared this experience with the entire shipyard team, ” says Sébastien Lucas. “ The reception was very positive . In Cannes , we received nominations in several categories and won our first award at the Genoa Boat Show for design. ”

These awards are not only a testament to the technical success of the Dufour 41 but also to its recognition within the international boating community.

Performance and Comfort: A Perfect Balance

The Dufour 41 stands out for its maritime performance . “ It’s a well-balanced, safe, and easy-to-handle boat, suitable for both crewed and solo sailing, ” says Sébastien Lucas. This sailboat is designed to be accessible while offering top-tier performance. The cockpit design and layout of all equipment are designed for easy and intuitive access , whether you’re an experienced skipper or a beginner.

A particularly memorable moment for the team occurred during tests in Palma de Mallorca . “ We found ourselves in the middle of a J-Class regatta, ” recalls Sébastien Lucas. “ Even though we weren’t in direct competition, it was impressive to see the boat holding its own among these giants of the sea. ”

A Creative Collaboration

The creation of the Dufour 41 is the result of a two-year development process, closely involving all the Dufour teams as well as external collaborators like naval architect Umberto Felci and interior designer Luca Ardizio. Together, they worked to create a boat that embodies the brand’s values while incorporating the innovations that make Dufour strong.

“ It was about preserving the Dufour DNA —a marine and high-performing boat—while associating it with a generous hull, ” explains Sébastien Lucas. The mast positioning, volume distribution, and ease of handling were all carefully studied to optimize performance and comfort.

Luca Ardizio, responsible for interior design, brought his personal touch by balancing simplicity, functionality, and aesthetics. “ The collaboration was very enriching, based on sharing ideas to find the best possible compromise while innovating, ” he says.

A Unique Design

What truly sets the Dufour 41 apart is its unique design. “ The Dufour 41 stands out with its very wide forward hull, inspired by offshore racing boats, while remaining balanced and performant, ” emphasizes Nicolas Bérenger. Additionally, it is the only boat of its size to offer four real cabins , thanks to its optimized hull.

The cockpit, 15% larger than that of the previous model, offers a generous outdoor living space, meeting the expectations of modern sailors in terms of comfort and ergonomics.

Where to See and Test the Dufour 41?

If you want to discover or rediscover the Dufour 41, don’t hesitate to contact your Dufour dealer . They will be happy to assist you in your acquisition project and provide you with all the necessary advice.

The Dufour 41 will join its big brother—the Dufour 44 —in a grand world tour starting this fall. Schedule a visit in Cannes , Southampton , Genoa , La Rochelle , or Annapolis .

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With the Dufour 41 , Dufour continues to establish itself as a key player in the boating industry , combining tradition and innovation to offer boats that captivate sailing enthusiasts worldwide. Stay tuned, big announcements are coming…

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Sailing Avocet : A New Adventure Begins

• By Marissa Neely
• August 20, 2024

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every boat has a story. So does every boat owner. And few tell those stories better than Marissa and Chris, the crew of Avocet, a 1979 41-foot Cheoy Lee. They met the boat in February 2018, just three months before college graduation, got married in June 2018, and have been liveaboards ever since. Avocet’s journey has only just begun, and as Cruising World’s newest ambassadors, the Avocet crew share their adventures with our community, from the technical aspects of cruising a classic sailboat to the breathtaking destinations they visit to the challenges (and triumphs!) that come with the liveaboard life.

Ahoy, from Avocet

My name is Marissa, and I am half of the crew on Avocet , a 1979 41-foot Cheoy Lee that my partner, Chris, and I have been living aboard since 2018.

Chris grew up in a sailing family, spending time on small lake boats and sailing near the San Francisco Bay area aboard his family’s Mason 43. His older brother purchased a Hans Christian 33, Prism, to cruise the world, paving the way for us to follow in his wake half a decade later.

Chris got me involved in the sport early in our relationship. We were barely 15 when he persuaded me to crew for him in the annual High Sierra Regatta, where I caught the sailing bug. After high school, Chris asked me to marry him in Costa Rica while we were aboard his brother’s boat. Of course, I said yes to a life of adventure, which led us to where we are now.

Our current story starts with how we found our beloved Avocet . We met the boat in February 2018, just three months before college graduation. We signed the papers in March, and Chris spent nearly every weekend driving eight hours to prepare Avocet for our move-in day.

Then, in May, we began our adult lives—him with his bachelor’s degree in social sciences, and me with bachelors’ in ski business, resort management and global business management. We got married on June 2, 2018, just two days before Chris carried me from the dock to Avocet ’s cockpit and we unpacked on board.

The Discovery

Back when Chris and I were looking for boats in 2018, Avocet was not even on our radar. We were looking for something simpler, like a Catalina 36. At the time, we had no intentions of cruising, and we were looking for a crash pad while Chris finished his studies at film school in San Francisco Bay.

We convinced ourselves that the Catalina 36 was everything we wanted, until we stepped aboard one in Southern California and realized it wouldn’t suit our lifestyle needs. We had no Plan B, but we did have Chris’ brother Jon with us. He found Avocet .

“We cruised with a boat like this in Mexico,” Jon said as he boarded the boat. After a few moments on board, Chris felt at home, comparing the warm teak walls to his family’s Mason 43. I was not as easily charmed—I thought the interior was atrocious—but Chris begged me to give it a minute.

After we drove away, Chris couldn’t stop thinking about the boat. His offer to the seller was laughable at best, probably around $25,000, which is what we had saved. The seller rejected that offer, so Chris wrote a letter to the seller, explaining who we were and why we would be honored to buy it. We settled around $30,000, which was $10,000 less than the original listed price. We still had to get a bank loan, but Avocet was ours.

The Confusion

People recognize that Avocet is a Cheoy Lee but often fail to identify the model. On the outside, the boat looks strikingly similar to the Offshore 41 and Pedrick 41, but has key differences. Cheoy Lee had seen a similar design from naval architect Ray Richards, the designer of the Offshore, and subsequently designed its own Cheoy Lee 41. Richards’ new-at-the-time element was a 6-foot-deep cruising fin, in which the forefoot is a cutaway and the rudder is attached to a skeg. Richards described the boat as “stiff as a church,” which we have found to be very true.

Unlike Avocet , the Offshore 41s don’t share the same tumblehome, leaving them much narrower with a different sheer. Inside, Avocet ’s saloon is oval-shaped, unlike the semi-circle cut of the Offshore. Our boat’s head is abaft the saloon on the starboard side, forward of the stateroom, with a closet separating them. In the Offshore, there is no closet.

Avocet is also different from the Offshore below the waterline, thanks to Avocet ’s modified fin keel and separated skeg-hung rudder. Our boat’s prop shaft comes right out of the keel, making our shaft 4½ feet long. Another notable difference is that the Offshore has a slightly taller cabin top.

Unfortunately, there is not much existing literature on Cheoy Lee 41s—especially sloops—since they seemed to have been built to order and highly customized by whoever commissioned them. We asked Cheoy Lee for help in our hunt to find details about Avocet , but no records were in their database.

Richards did kindly answer my emails and provided some insight, supporting our own findings: “I am not particularly familiar with it, but your email jogged my memory that indeed, Cheoy Lee had Pedrick design a 41, ‘borrowing’ from mine but with the, by then, contemporary style of underbody and flatter sheer. I also recall that Pedrick was or had been in the Sparkman & Stephens office, a factor that Cheoy Lee probably and understandably would have figured as good for sales. There were more than a few misquotes and errors. For example, I turned out four, not 10 designs for Cheoy Lee. The first was a 39, a larger and heavier version of an aluminum one-tonner that had received some good press, but it was totally away from the type and style of CL’s market niche. It was flush-decked and had a plumb transom from which a dirty big outboard rudder was hung. Tad Woodhull, Lyon Yachts, Essex, Connecticut, had one and did well racing it in Long Island Sound. It was he who stimulated Cheoy Lee toward replacing Phil Rhodes’ very handsome Reliant , which came to be sold as their Offshore 40. Thus came my 41, which was originally designated Offshore 40. Maybe that, in CL’s mind, was much like replacing a Richards with a Pedrick. The 32 came next. It was followed by the 38, very similar in features to the 41.”

There only seem to be eight CL41s in existence, reflected on the Cheoy Lee Association owners page, and Avocet appears to be one of the only sloops.

The Construction

Like most boats of this vintage, Avocet has a solid fiberglass hull. According to the company literature, the thickness in these boats ranges from about seven-sixteenths of an inch at the sheer to 1 inch, but we have found Avocet to be five-eighths of an inch at the sheer and as much as 2 inches at the keel.

This level of fiberglass production was uncommon at the time and gave Cheoy Lee a good reputation for building robust boats. Unlike many other early fiberglass classics, the Cheoy Lee 41s had fiberglass decks, most with a teak overlay. The previous owner removed Avocet ’s teak deck, most likely in Mexico in 2004. Beneath the fiberglass deck is mahogany planking that serves as core. We inspected it. Dry as a bone.

Cheoy Lee poured its own cast iron ballasts, but our keel is lead, which is denser, softer and not subject to corrosion. Cheoy Lee Shipyards said it was unlikely that the boat originally had a lead keel, but it’s possible that Avocet ’s original owner commissioned it with lead ballast, for which we are thankful.

On the other hand, Avocet was built with poor-quality stainless steel. The chainplates crumbled in our hands. Fasteners were a problem, too. Most owners, like us, have replaced the shoddy metal, sometimes paving the way for other problems, such as leaks. We had this issue when the fasteners in our toe rail corroded, leaving voids that allowed water intrusion into our interior. Instead of replacing the toe rail, we removed it and added a bulwark. This let us glass over the deck-to-hull joint, reinforcing the structural integrity of our boat. It is, so far, the crowning upgrade on our extensive project list.

Avocet ’s previous owner also replaced the Sitka spruce spar in 2004 with our aluminum mast, which we refitted in 2021. Avocet is deck-stepped with a single spreader and a relatively short boom, meaning the boat is heavily headsail-driven.

I know what you are thinking: A cruising boat with a deck-stepped mast? How could this be? Well, as with many things in sailing, there is a deck-stepped versus keel-stepped debate.

Deck-stepped boats have masts that are more flexible, making the mast easier to adjust for optimum performance by making small adjustments to the standing rigging. Going upwind, the backstay, runners and check stays can have tension added to tighten the stays and pull the mast aft. This will both rake the mast aft, giving it weather helm, and tension the headstay for added pointing ability.

If all the stays fail on the mast, it will fall over, since it stands on the deck totally reliant on the rigging—one of the many reasons we replaced our chainplates and all the rigging, and beefed up our mast step in 2021.

Avocet ’s geared steering quadrant is also unusual. Unlike with cable or worm steering, the input from the helm goes directly to a pinion gear, which turns a larger planetary gear, then a drive shaft mounted vertically inside the binnacle. This connects directly to the rudder shaft through two more gears. There is little that can go wrong with this system. All the gears are locked together with large components, eliminating the risk of cable failure.

With so much mechanical advantage, Avocet has a different feel than other boats. Because of the geared steering, we can never feel weather helm, which takes some getting used to if you are a seasoned sailor. We also have an easy time hand-steering, and our autopilot has more control. The lock-to-lock at the wheel takes four complete revolutions of the helm. In the time we have owned Avocet , we have really grown to like this system.

Avocet also has an inboard Perkins 4-108 diesel engine that is midship between the galley and head. With the weight concentrated on centerline, we have less pitching. The weight is also low, with the Perkins below the cabin sole, about 2 feet below the waterline. It’s not the easiest location for maintenance, but it’s a valuable addition to our lead ballast, making it the best possible location for sailing performance.

And, our cabin sole is removable for access the engine. We also have a 6-foot-deep bilge with pumps and alarms to address any incoming water and eliminate flooding.

If our engine were above the cabin sole and beneath the companionway (like many are), it would be at equal risk of water damage due to a green wave—a good reason why we relocated our batteries to a watertight spot.

The Performance

Although Avocet isn’t truly an International Offshore Rule vessel, it shares a lot of traits, having been built at the height of IOR times in the late ’70s. The hull has bow and stern overhangs, the boat has a wide beam, and it is heavily headsail-driven. It sails incredibly well for its heavy weight, too. With a modified fin keel and a large rudder far aft on the stern, Avocet always feels well-footed underway. The keel digs deep into the sea while the rudder has significant control on any given point of sail.

At 26,000 pounds, Avocet is not a light boat, but it carries the weight in all the right places. Our favorite attribute is the boat’s low-slung nature. The freeboard is relatively low off the water, and much of the weight is carried below the waterline. This all contributes to Avocet ’s best sailing characteristic, which is stiffness.

In a generous breeze of 15 to 25 knots, we can carry all our canvas and keep a heel no more than 15 to 20 degrees, making life aboard blissfully comfortable. Avocet ’s unassuming image is what makes it such a good boat a comfortable racer in disguise. That’s how we squeezed out a second place showing in this year’s Banderas Bay Regatta, with the heaviest handicap in the entire race.

Avocet ‘s journey has only just begun, and we’re thrilled to share our adventures with the Cruising World community. As Cruising World ‘s newest ambassadors, you’ll get a front-row seat to our experiences, from the technical aspects of cruising a unique boat like Avocet to the breathtaking destinations we encounter and the challenges (and triumphs!) that come with full-time liveaboard life.

In the coming months, we’ll be chronicling our ongoing adventures, giving you a variety of specially curated content from our cruising life, from boat projects and maintenance to the realities of full-time liveaboard life, managing limited space and staying connected with loved ones back home.We believe Avocet ‘s story resonates with many sailors. It’s a testament to the spirit of adventure, the joy of living a life less ordinary and the unique bond that forms between a crew and its boat. We’re excited to share this journey with you, so stay tuned for more updates from Avocet ! In the meantime, learn more about what we’re up to now at svavocet.com .

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Watch CBS News

41-foot boat catches on fire in Wildwood

Trusted Local News

Fire destroys boat at wildwood marina.

By Maddy Vitale

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Flames and black smoke billow from the boat. (Photo credit: Urie's Waterfront Restaurant)

• Cape May County

Firefighters battled a massive boat fire that sent a huge plume of black smoke and flames billowing above a Wildwood marina Thursday afternoon.

In videos posted on social media, onlookers watched the scene unfold at the Schooner Island Marina as firefighters doused a 41-foot boat, named “Luv-IT,” out of Philadelphia.

According to published reports, the fire broke out around 12:45 p.m. when the boat was docked for fuel. There were no details available whether the fuel may have caused an explosion.

Facebook Video Credit: Wildwood Video Archive

The marina is behind Uries Waterfront Restaurant. The restaurant posted a photo of the boat on Facebook around 1 p.m. with a note saying, “Out back of Urie’s, no injuries as of now. Everyone is ok!”

The Wildwood Police Department said that the firefighters were still on scene as of about 3 p.m. and more details would follow as they become available.

Maddy Vitale

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