Friends:
I'm just under a year with my VOLUNTEER and am pleased, pleased, pleased. With her single 80-HP, four-cylinder Lehman, I am still running on the original fill-up of Diesel fuel;* the trade-off, however, is that she is a seven-knot boat rather than an eight-knot boat.* I have yet to go offshore in her, but have spent hundreds of hours aboard under way and marina cruising;* we have also been the race-committee boat for several regattas here in Southern California.* All in all, I am very satisfied.* She is large enough to take guests aboard cruising and as many as ten aboard when running races, yet small enough for me to singlehand.* I have become particularly adept at backing into slips, in which I take inordinate pride.
She does have a few drawbacks.* With her tall superstructure--as tall as that on our yacht club's La Paz 33--and short waterline (27 feet), she has a snappy and uncomfortable pitch.* She also rolls a considerable amount, more than the La Paz, or the CHB 34 on which I cruised.
The solution arrived at on the yacht club's La Paz (arrived at before we bought her) was to put lead bars into the bilges.**I am looking at doing that, but I wonder if anyone else has had any experience with this, good or bad.* I plan to lay them right in the very bottom of the boat, over the keel and under the engine and holding tank;* I plan to block them from shifting around, of course.* Please chime in if you have anything to contribute, and thanks.
Chris Ericksen
Long Beach, California
-- Edited by Chris491 on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 01:54:37 PM
-- Edited by Chris491 on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 01:55:12 PM