PRICE SLASHED TO A$690,000
FOR QUICK SALE!
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| Southern Princess tight reaching at 11 knots - Bequia, Caribbean - January 2008 |
SOUTHERN PRINCESS was designed and detailed during 2003 & 2004 with literally hundreds of hours spent on ensuring she is the best Beneteau 57 afloat. It took 12 months detailing each little aspect of the yacht which was going to be our home for the next 5/6 years. We even squeezed in a factory visit in France to ensure that the scantlings were strong enough to circle the globe. I was most impressed with the total quality control and production line expertise of Beneteau! Apart from ticking most of the boxes on the Beneteau Option List, we asked for a few of our own and in the majority of cases, Beneteau obliged. The ship, which was launched for us on June 28th, 2004 was as detailed a yacht as my wife and I could design after nearly 50 years of sailing. Not only did we want all the comforts of home, as Irene and I are in our 60's we wanted a yacht we could sail by ourselves the majority of the time; with the additional space required for our extended family and lots of friends to visit and enjoy our new lifestyle. Talking of sailing by ourselves, Irene & I do up to 4/5 days on our own and invite a mate or two for the long legs.
HEY GUYS IF YOU WANT THE LADIES TO GO LONG TERM CRUISING THEN
MAKE IT COMFORTABLE FOR HER WITH LOTS OF PRIVACY AND ALL
THE MOD CONS FROM HOME.
So what did we think important? AIR-CONDITIONING - a must! The Mediterranean can be very hot with little breeze at times. We have four units on board, one for each of the guest cabins, one for the saloon and one for our suite aft. An ICE-MAKER? Yep! Irene insisted on it as in our last yacht cruising around the South Pacific, gin and tonics with lots of ice were few and far between. Ours is hooked into the inverter which means it runs 24/7, even at sea. Cold drinks all the time! WASHING MACHINE? Of course; once again because Irene was not going to spend long hot hours in marina laundries guarding the clothes while they went through the wash and drying cycle. (See Irene's notes below on washing machines) DISHWASHER? This was a Beneteau standard item and even though it requires 240volts it is a great luxury in marinas. MICROWAVE? Of course and a beauty it is too. FOUR BURNER GAS STOVE and OVEN, gimballed for easy cooking at sea, and it can be locked stationary when not sailing. LATEX MATTRESSES WITH EUROPEAN TIMBER SLATS; we didn't like the standard thin foam mattresses so we had latex mattresses especially made for us by Victoria Yachting in France. The guest cabins double beds are 100mm thick while the Queen bed in the owner's cabin is 150mm thick. The advantage of the slatting is that the bottoms of the mattresses are 'aired' and don't go mouldy. REFRIGERATORS & FREEZERS - we had plenty. An upright fridge in the galley as well as a freezer. Although in our case this freezer we kept at zero degrees C and used it for vegies and bottles of white wine. Beneteau made modifications to the crew cabin for us and installed a DEEP FREEZE which could get down to -11 degrees centigrade. It is a real luxury being at sea, 1500 nautical miles from anywhere, having strawberries and ice-cream after dinner. The cockpit table also has an ice box. We could have had a refrigeration plate fitted to this, however with the ice-maker, we ensured that the ice and booze was replenished last thing at night which meant the ice tray in the ice-maker was full by morning. This task was delegated to the DMO (Drinks Movements Officer) and woe betide the consequences if he/she forgot!!
The Galley showing FRIGOBOAT fridge under bench, WHIRLPOOL microwave oven above & the freezer aft and to your right. Gimballed four burner stove & oven. The hopper, aft and to your left is voluminous and great storage. There is heaps of storage, stacks of drawers, a light and exhaust fan over the stove and we had stainless steel fiddle rails fitted to all the shelves so things stay put at sea. The white door inboard under the bench is the dishwasher. Plenty of natural light from the hull porthole, two opening portholes in the cabin trunk and two portholes which open into the cockpit. The second cockpit one used to be fixed however we had it modified so that we had plenty of cross ventilation. And it is great for handing things up to the cockpit! There are 4 X 240v 3 pin outlets plus a 3 pin outlet to the inverter. We used an electric kettle and electric toaster all the time. The bench tops are now Corian after the mini refit we had done in Auckland, New Zealand in 2009.
The centre cockpit is the focus of all entertaining. The clears protect it on all sides, we have seated 10 for dinner and the lid in the cockpit table is for the ice box; the domain of the DMO!
Each guest cabin has an ENSUITE with a clever shower stall arrangement so that the shower serves both cabins. Each ensuite has private basin and ELECTRIC TOILET and a shared black water HOLDING TANK. The OWNERS CABIN has its own basin, electric toilet and ENCLOSED SHOWER STALL. We also have a fourth toilet and hand basin which we designated the DAY HEAD also with an electric toilet and it's own dedicated black water holding tank. There are 24v fans over all the guest bunks, the saloon, the galley and there are two in the owners cabin for a cross breeze! Oh and to keep the valuables, passports etc. secure? There is a digital safe installed aboard!
Port guest cabin looking aft. It is air-conditioned, plenty of natural light from the hull porthole (you can see the reflection on the bulkhead) two reading lights, two 240v power points, a 12v socket for charging cameras and phones and two big deck hatches for great ventilation. There is also a dorade vent into both guest cabins. There is a hanging locker, under cabin sole storage and three huge drawers under the bunk. Each cabin is the mirror reverse of the other. The aluminium 185litre extra fuel tank is also under the floor of both guest cabins. There is an electric lift pump to transfer this fuel to the main tanks.
Port guest cabin ensuite looking forward. The electric toilet is to your left just out of frame, the hand basin has a glass top and heaps of storage in the cupboards above and below. The door forward is the enclosed shower amid-ships which is shared with the starboard guest cabin.
Owner's cabin ensuite. Bit hard to photograph! Sorry. Glass topped bench, lots of storage behind the mirrors, on the forward bulkhead and under the sink. There is also a large linen cupboard to your left and reflected in the mirror is the door to a big shower stall. Ensuite has an opening port hole for ventilation. We installed a 3 pin inverter outlet so that Irene could use a hair dryer without having to start the generator. Also 240v outlets as well.
Owner's cabin aft. Makeup desk to your left with a mirror under the lid. Porthole in hull both sides as well as three opening portholes in the cabin trunk, two big opening deck hatches as well as two dorade vents. Plenty of great ventilation. The bed is queen sized and is 6" of latex over timber slats. Big hanging locker including a full size mirror behind a door, lots of storage in drawers and cupboards and under the settee. The material on the settee is ivory Alcantara.
Two drawers under the end of the bed and one either side at the bed head. Lots of lighting both natural and electric. The two 240litre aluminium fuel tanks are under this bunk and there is also storage room as well. Southern Princess has all the luxuries of a three bedroom apartment, with fabulous waterfront views somewhere in the World!
The Saloon showing chart table and instruments. We have on board a complete range of RAYMARINE electronic gear including, RADAR, CHART PLOTTERS, VHF RADIO, DEPTH SOUNDER, WIND INSTRUMENTS, RUDDER INDICATOR, AUTO PILOT ETC. We also fitted a FORWARD LOOKING SONAR (FLS) which is fantastic in alerting us to any goolies that might be lurking in a new anchorage. The companion way stairs lift up for easy access to the motor. During the NZ$50,000.00 mini refit in Auckland recently, we changed the timber washboards to clear acrylic. We found that for efficient air-conditioning in marinas where the wind was from aft, it paid to close up the wash boards to keep the hot air out. The new wash boards allow a lot more light and we can see visitors as they arrive.
The small cocktail table goes under the bunk for ocean passages. There is also a small arm rest which can be installed in the middle of the settee which in effect turns it into two arm chairs. All the coverings are ivory Alcantara material which is just about stain proof. We have managed to get out red wine spills completely! The hull port does not open while the two over the chart table both open and together with the matching pair the other side, provide great cross ventilation. Just above the bulk head light is an opening deck hatch, one of two in the saloon. All port holes and hatches have either curtains or sun screens. There are also mosquito screens for the opening hatches and portholes.
Saloon looking towards the galley. The two chairs have a clever tie down mechanism and except for ocean crossings we left them in-situ. The flat screen TV is to your right; it has a clever active aerial which means that once you are settled in a marina, it can be automatically tuned to the local TV stations. There is a DVD player which plays DVDs from anywhere in the world. The cupboard to the right of the galley door, in the corner, is the liquor cabinet and the ice-maker is underneath.
This passage leads to the Owner's cabin aft. The first doorway down the passage is the Day Head with its dedicated black water tank. This toilet is amidships, easy to use in a sea way and convenient to guests when day sailing.
Continuing along the passage, the door to your left is to the utility room. The washing machine and deep freeze are here, together with lots of storage, tools, most of the spares and overflow book shelves. Travelling in foreign climes, you can never get your hands on sufficient books in English so when you do you tend to hoard them. Most marinas have a book swap; bring one - take one deal. We read some great books while cruising which we probably would never have selected locally. The two port holes to your right are into the cockpit. We leave them open all the time for ventilation as the cockpit clears keep out all the weather. Not visible is a motion detector alarm which is aimed at the companion way wash boards and when tripped lets out a loud alarm. The main switchboard you can just see the corner of to your right, then the entrance to the engine room and just before the aft cabin, the Dessalator Water Maker controls, the 240v air-conditioning master switches and the master switch between shore and genset power.
WE WANTED TO BE INDEPENDENT OF MARINAS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. This was achieved with 630 amps of 24 volts, 315 amps of 12 volts, an independent starting battery and a 2500 WATT INVERTER. The 9.5 KVA Onan generator runs like a Swiss watch and effortlessly keeps the AGM batteries in tip top condition. We used LIFELINE AGM batteries (top of the line) and the 24 volt bank has lasted over 6 years. They have just been replaced with a new bank of Lifeline AGMs. The advantage of Lifeline Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/ is that they enjoy a real blast of charging amps without harm. In this regard we now have two battery chargers on board for the 24v bank. The original 80amp charger installed by Beneteau together with a MASTERVOLT 100amp charger means we keep generator time to a minimum and the original as a backup. We also replaced the Beneteau installed 12v charger with a new 80amp charger for increased charging power. Of course the Yanmar motor has an 80amp 24v alternator together with a replacement new 80amp 12v alternator fitted just recently. The DESSALATOR WATER MAKER runs from both 24v and 240v so whenever we were charging batteries, we ran the watermaker and always have plenty of water. We would often not see a marina from one month to the next and during that time we had all the comforts of home!
Water management is easy. We have two 500 litre tanks under the saloon floor. We keep the starboard one for 'town water' i.e. off the dock. We use a food grade plastic hose, with a 500ppm filter and then through a charcoal filter into the tank. Between the tanks and the ship, we installed another charcoal filter so that the 'town water' is triple filtered. The port tank we kept for 'ships water' i.e. this is water we have made on board. In this way we always have security of a clean and healthy water supply. The 'ships water' also went through the final charcoal filter. If we were confident of the 'town water' we could hook the dock hose straight into the ship and have constant water if we were in a marina for any length of time. In 6 years cruising we always had good water and did not have to buy bottled water.
Fuel tankage is important and all the tanks are aluminium for Australian charter yacht standards. Southern Princess has 2 X 240 litres aft together with a 185 litre reserve tank under the floor in the guest cabins. This tank has an electric lift pump to transfer fuel aft. This gave us a range of around 700 miles. We augmented this with a 500 litre 'TURTLE PAC' fuel bladder which we filled on the aft deck and gravity fed into the ships tanks. This increased the range to around 1200nm. The recent Tasman trip from Auckland to Sydney (April 2010) was 24 hours sailing and 6 days motoring and we still had 240 litres when finished.
GUYS - REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE YACHT AS SAFE AND EASY TO SAIL AS WELL. THE GIRLS WANT TO FEEL SECURE AND THEY WANT HELP WITH THE WORK LOAD
SO HERE ARE SOME IDEAS!
The centre cockpit is the way to go. Everything on Southern Princess comes back to the cockpit. We could even launch and retrieve the MPS (Multi Purpose Sail - spinnaker) from the cockpit, although we did have to go onto the fore deck to rig it. Sails consist of an IN-MAST FURLING MAIN SAIL - the best decision we made sail wise. We had vertical battens fitted which gave us about a 7% roach and a sail which drew well. We sailed for most of the 6 years with our sister ship, which had an in boom furler and the ease of furling with the in-mast furler far out weighed the struggles they encountered every time they raised or lowered their mainsail.
The dodger, bimini and clears are all brand new as part of the mini-refit in NZ. These are an improvement on the originals and the result of extensive experience. The steering wheel is off to one side on the bulkhead. 99% of the time, while cruising you use the auto pilot. In fact I use it while racing as well! The clears all detach and are rolled and stored in their own padded bags to avoid scratching when the weather is bright and shiny. However when cruising in inclement weather we mostly keep the windward curtain down (or aft curtain when in the trade winds) and the others rolled up. In 50,000nm we have NEVER WORN WET WEATHER GEAR! I remember crossing the Aegean Sea late October 2005 when winter was setting in; in company with friends who had no clears. They were in all the gear, beanies, gloves, jackets etc while Irene and I were swanning around in the cockpit in shorts and T-shirts. The cushions are comfortable to sleep on, either napping on long passages or for all night when you might have to monitor a possible dragging anchor or the fenders between a harbour wall and an awkward swell. The hatch just visible in the bottom of the photo is one of two into the aft cabin.
A NUMBER 2 GENOA with an ELECTRIC FURLER; the genoa sheets come back to a pair of L66ESTO LEWMAR ELECTRIC WINCHES. This is a D4 sail built for us in Sydney by Doyle Sails (Doyles built all the sails), holds its shape beautifully and is a real power house on all points of sailing. The STAYSAIL controls are different from Beneteau standard. When we ordered Southern Princess, I was fortunate that I knew the owner and the skipper of 'Medina' and we used that yacht to experiment with sail controls as I was not happy with the standard setup. This resulted in us designing an extended track, right to the cabin trunk edge and the sheet being run through a mast fitting, as high up the mast as the radius of the track, so that there was no binding when tacking. We also fitted a traveller adjuster so that we can use the sail any where from amid ships to the end of the track. All this happens from the cockpit. I believe that all the B57's commissioned in Australia have this feature; Beneteau never picked it up as standard. We also have a pair of L48ESTO LEWMAR ELECTRIC WINCHES in the cockpit for controlling all the lines, reefing both main and staysail, hoisting the MPS etc. The MPS sheets and or the running back stays are controlled by a pair of L54CSTO LEWMAR MANUAL WINCHES. The MPS has its own Code Zero type furler and can be furled from the cockpit. All the winches are self tailing.
Our TRADE WIND RIG. We have a second lighter weight #2 genoa we set on the Code Zero furler; it has a dedicated halyard. When in the trade winds, we set this rig, either both poles on the mast or with the Twistle Rig if the swell makes the boat roll, and this means we can keep the rig up most of the time. If a line squall hits, we can either furl both of them part way in, however we found that if we furled just one, that took enough speed off to stay safe. In the Caribbean Sea, on the leg from St Lucia to Panama, we hung on grimly to an Oyster 72 for three days until we were called out by the Coastguard from the Netherlands Antilles to assist in a search and rescue. The Oyster was far enough ahead not to be involved in the S&R and so they got away. This is a magnificent sailing rig for downwind trade wind sailing. Most days were over 200nm and on lots of occasions we managed 250nm in 24 hours. To average over 10 knots safe, steady and under full control is fantastic. A few times at between 14 and 17 knots, depending on sea state, we had to reef to slow the boat down!
The boom is fitted with a crane which can be extended aft and using a mast head halyard or topping lift becomes a hoist to lift and stow the dinghy on the aft deck. There are dinghy storage rails which fit to the aft deck.
HYDRAULIC DAVITS have been a godsend. We started our journey stowing the dinghy on deck however we had the davits retro-fitted in Benalmadena, Andalusia, Spain. One of our better decisions. Now from being a chore to launch the dinghy, it became a piece of cake and from the decision to launch to ready to roll was about 3 minutes. We left the outboard mounted on the dinghy unless we were crossing oceans. All easy to operate by one person. Both the davits and the swimming platform in the stern are operated by wireless remotes. Magic!
A$850,000.00 A$690,000.00
THEN CONTACT EITHER JOHN OR IRENE HUNT AT:
JOYS OF CRUISING:
If you are interested, we kept a blog of our cruising life which can be found at:
The davits. The outboard has its own cover and is stored (padlocked) in the sea going position. There is a crane, which is powered by one of the electric winches to raise and lower the outboard.
The aft deck is BIG. Plenty of room for deck chairs and lying around. My brother and partner relaxing while sailing across the Aegean from Rhodes to Monemvasia on the Peloponnese coast.
One New Years Eve we had thirty people for a party and the majority gathered around the esky on the aft deck
SOUTHERN PRINCESS IS LYING IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
AND IS SERIOUSLY FOR SALE AT
(Or Nearest Offer)
all import duty and GST paid.
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
WANT TO INSPECT THE LOVELY PRINCESS?
WANT A TEST SAIL?
HOME: +61 2 9958 6797
If you are interested, we kept a blog of our cruising life which can be found at:
Have a prowl through there and while some of them are from mid ocean and a bit dry others are about runs ashore and pictures of what we did and saw. Check out 14th July, 2008 'A day at the races......'. Vanuatu at is best! We hope you enjoy them.
IRENE'S NOTES:
WASHING MACHINE. Having a washing machine on board might seem a luxury, however once you have hauled bed linen, towels (yours and the guests) and personal laundry to a laundromat, if you are lucky enough to find one, then sit in the steam and heat for hours to ensure that no-one removes them from the washer or dryer, just because they want them, then you really appreciate having your own machine to enjoy on board and the wonderful smell of air dried clothes. Don't leave home without one!
ICE-MAKER. This is a must when it's 40 degrees C in the shade for days with no relief in sight! It was great to be able to fill an Esky with ice and a picnic lunch and then dinghy off to a beach for a few hours for a swim, cold beer and a lunch.
SAFETY AT SEA. Both of us, having had extensive sailing experience prior to owning Southern Princess are sticklers for safety at sea. We did all the usual medical and safety course such as the St John's Ambulance resuscitation course, we carried a defibrillator on board and attended a course which made us competent in its use, however the best course we did was conducted by Yachting Australia called 'Safety and Sea Survival Course'.
http://www.yachting.org.au/default.asp?MenuID=Training/4/8337,Safety_and_Sea_Survival/1002/1098
The information we gained from this course, assisted us in our ocean going preparations for a safe passage, not only for ourselves but for crew and guests as well.
Southern Princess won the PHILIP HITCHCOCK SAFETY AWARD for the best prepared yacht in the 2007 ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS out of 246 participants.
LIFE IS NOT A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRIVING SAFELY IN A PRETTY AND WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN BROADSIDE, THOROUGHLY USED UP, TOTALLY WORN OUT, AND LOUDLY PROCLAIMING----
WOW----WHAT A RIDE!!!
