The boat and getting her ready for the trip home

Branwen is a 1978 Hatteras 48 LRC.  The '48' indicates that she's 48 feet long, 48 feet 10 inches actually, and the LRC stands for Long Range Cruiser, code words for "trawler."  The characteristics of a trawler are power rather than sail, but just enough power to move the boat through the water at hull speed, enough fuel to go long distances, a hull designed to comfortably and safely travel in bumpy water, roomy with systems and conveniences commonly found in a home, and the capability to be operated in all conditions.  "All conditions" is my exaggeration, because few who have boats capable of traveling in bad weather or rough seas actually do that unless they absolutely have to, and afterwards they typically swear they'll never do it again.

Branwen has two steering stations or helms, one topside - the fly bridge - and one inside in the pilothouse.  The fly bridge is underneath the topmost awning in the above picture, and the pilothouse is behind the forward-facing windows.  There are two heads - bathrooms - each has a toilet, sink and shower, two staterooms - places to sleep - a galley or kitchen, and a main living area known as the salon or saloon.  The engine room is beneath the salon where there are two main engines that turn propellers to move the boat through the water, a generator, and other support and comfort systems like air conditioners, water pumps, lots of electrical 'stuff', and tanks to hold fuel and water.  The fuel tanks are located in low places all over the boat, holding a total of roughly 1,400 gallons of diesel, and the water tanks hold over 400 gallons of fresh water.  There's also a pilot's berth, another place to sleep, in the pilothouse.

The previous owners lived on the boat for many years, and then parked her behind their home in Florida for roughly 6 years after they retired from cruising.  While the boat was parked, some of the maintenance that would have normally been done on a boat being actively used was not done.  When I bought the boat, the impact of the 'deferred maintenance' was noted by the inspectors, or surveyors, I hired to go over the boat for completing the sale, and the price of the boat was reduced some to reflect the work that needed to be done to get the boat ready to cruise again.

Chuck and I went over the surveyor's reports and decided what had to be corrected before the boat was ready to make the voyage to Maryland.  Some of the corrections were done by the marina where she was parked after the sale, and the intense mechanical work was done by the mechanic I'd hired to survey the engines.  The work took longer than I expected, the timeline is outlined below.

The boat became mine at the end of March, the former owner drove her to a nearby marina, and she was hauled out on April 1st, put on blocks, and then worked on out of the water, or "on the hard," until May 28th.  While she was on the hard, the starboard main engine was removed and rebuilt, the props and shafts were removed, the props trued and the shafts replaced with new, the engine room fire suppression system was inspected and recertified, and several other minor discrepancies were corrected.  As she was put back in the water on May 28th, the starboard engine was fork lifted back onto the boat, and then the mechanic worked for several days to complete the engine install and do a major service on the port engine and the generator.  Completing the generator work is the mechanic's final task which is planned to be done June 16th.

I visited the boat 3 times while it was being worked on, two times with Mary.  During each visit I studied the boat's systems and monitored the work completed, the work being done, and the work yet to do.  Mary and I lived on the boat during the last visit.  Actually living on the boat and depending on its systems to exist was the best way to learn about the boat.  During the last visit I also had the benefit of the former owner's time to explain the boat's systems.  It came at me fast and furious, and the boat was still torn up for the mechanic's work, so I'll be getting a refresher course from the yard's experts on a couple of the systems I'm fuzzy on before we start the journey home.

Another important task to complete before beginning the voyage home was to 'officially' christen the boat with her new name.  Mary prepared a temporary sheet of vinyl with the new name which she applied and covered the day before the ceremony, and then we were joined by my daughter Nicole, her husband Chris, and my two grandkids, Julian and Sydney, to participate in the denaming and renaming ceremonies.  The first picture below shows Mary leading the denaming ceremony while Nicole and Chris work to keep the kids engaged.  It was incredibly bright and hot on the bow, and we were all squinting and sweating.  The kids did great.  The second picture shows Julian and Mary unveiling the new name after the renaming ceremony.

 Mary leading the denaming ceremony

Julian and Mary unveiling the new name

Branwen is ready to come home.  Yes, there's minor work to complete on the generator, and I have to stock her with enough food for four people to survive during the trip, but those details will be completed next week.

Next, I'll outline the voyage home with a rough estimate of where we'll be when.

Greg.