BOTO is a 2001 Jeanneau Deck Salon (DS) sailboat, constructed and launched in Les Herbiers, France in 2001. We acquired BOTO in March, 2006. Her LOA is 40', Beam is 14' and Draft is 4' 11". Her mast sits 56' above the water and she carries a Main sail and a 140% Genoa head sail for a total sail area of 820 sq. ft. . She weighs in at 25 GRT (56,000 lbs) empty, with 5,800 lbs. in her keel. With all of our electronic, anchors, rode, lines, supplies, fuel, water, etc…. we've added another 5,000 lbs to her. Still with all of this she can manage a respectable 5-6kts of boat speed under sail; while she can motor at a steady 7kts with her 57Hp Yanamar diesel.
Her main auxiliary power plant is the 57Hp Yanmar diesel with an 80Ah alternator supplemented by two 85W (5Ah each) Solar Panels and when 120V is available a 30 Amp battery charger. All of which provides a charge to our house battery bank which consists of four 100Ah AGM batteries plus an isolated Starter battery. The house bank provides enough juice, with constant charging to run all of the electronic gadgets that make our life afloat a little more comfortable. Some of these include; Refrigerator, 1.5cf freezer, 12V fans, VHF Radio, SSB Radio, Lights, Two (2) Chart Plotters (so we know where we are), Handheld GPS (so we know where we are when the Chart Plotters do not work), Navigation Lights, Navigation Instruments, 1.5 g/hr water maker, an assortment of electronic pumps to keep the fresh water flowing in the "pipes" and to keep all water outside of the hull, coffee maker, microwave, computers (2). In addition we have an 1800W inverter which converts the 12V DC power from the battery bank to 110V AC power. These items, while not a requirement to survive and sail, certainly make life comfortable. We have encountered vessels with 100x as much equipment as BOTO as well as folks with nothing more than a compass and some water jugs. Like anywhere we have lived it's a matter of what makes us comfortable not a need to keep up with the Jones' (although, some of the toys on the Mega Yachts are pretty cool).
Returning to her decks, BOTO's ground tackle consists of three (3) anchors. Her primary is a 45 lbs. Danforth attached to 150' of 3/8" High Test chain coupled with 250' of 5/8" Mega Plait Nylon Rode from New England Ropes. Her secondary anchor is a 45 lbs Bruce attached to 50' of 3/8" High Test chain coupled with 250' of 5/8" Mega Plait Nylon Rode from New England Ropes. Finally, her stern/backup anchor is a 35 lbs. Danforth with 25' of chain and 200' of rode. All serve to keep the boat where we park it. Speaking of which, we spend the vast majority of our time anchored, usually in some exotic location that one sees on the covers of travel magazines. When we reach such ideal locations BOTO becomes our stationary home base and we resort to our other means of water transport.
Our dinghy (aka "CAR", "DINK", "RIB", "$!**#?" when not functioning properly) is an Achilles 10'2" (every inch counts) inflatable, with an inflatable floor. The inflatable part needs some explaining, the three tubes which make up the pontoons of the boat inflate to 3 psi, not too bad. The inflatable keel, which runs the length of the boat, inflates to 3 psi, again not too bad. The inflatable floor which provides the stiffness for the boat to skim across waves and withstands the wear and tear from our feet and those of the two dogs, this floor inflates to just under 9 psi, very much a Royal PIA; literally as we only have a foot pump to pump up the entire dink. Who needs a gym membership; no amount of time on a Stairmaster can prepare you for inflating this floor. When she is fully inflated and ready to go we carry an assortment of items necessary to keep her and us afloat. Fuel aboard is five (5) gallons, with a reserve of ten (10) gallons strapped to the foredeck of BOTO. Our main engine is a 9.9 Hp two stroke Mercury, which gives us enough power to get up and go carrying BOTO's full crew. When we reach a port in which we will not be going any great distance in the dink we opt for the smaller/lighter 3.3 Hp two stroke Mariner, with internal gas tank. This little bugger is like the Eveready Bunny. The dink carries an additional compliment of ground tackle, that in and of itself would not do much for BOTO, however, in a pinch these anchors can be used to secure BOTO to trees, rocks or roots. A five (5) pound grapnel hook and a ten (10) pound mushroom are more than enough to keep the dink in place when we go ashore, or dive overboard to snorkel for dinner.
When not in use and whenever we are underway the dink is hoisted up on our davits. The davits are a stainless steel extension to the transom, two arms either side with connecting cross beams. A block and tackle system raises the dink with little effort, while the aft cross beams serve as mounts for various antennae. The custom arch which rises to bimini height holds our two solar panels and allows us to rotate the panels in order to track the sun throughout the day.
This brings us to the Cockpit (aka "Patio", "Back porch", "Sun Room"). The cockpit serves as our control center whenever we are under way. Here is located our helm and navigation equipment. All lines, sheets and halyards lead aft into the cockpit allowing us complete control without having to leave the comfort or safety of the cockpit. The area is protected from the elements overhead by the Bimini; this is a UV protected canvas cover which keeps out the sun. Forward of the helm is the Dodger a combination of UV canvas and Eisenglass, which keeps out the wind, sun and sea spray (to some degree). Whenever we are in port we are able to drop down the sun screen which as the name implies keeps us cool and shady while the tropical sun blazes away.
BOTO's cockpit is somewhat different from most sailboats in that the helm is mounted to a forward bulkhead, as on a powerboat, rather than to a binnacle midship. This gives us an enormous amount of space in which to relax and entertain. With a somewhat oval shaped sitting area we are able to accommodate ten to twelve people in the cockpit for happy hour, and can comfortable feed six for dinner at the folding/collapsible table. Of course some of the most pleasurable moments are two people, two dogs and two hot cups of coffee watching the sun come up; or, two cold cocktails and watching the sun go down.
From the cockpit the companionway leads to three steps down into the main salon. Here is our living quarters (very nautical) otherwise known as the house. When descending the stairs (one comes down backwards) to the left or starboard is the galley. Here we have our refrigerator, large enough to carry all the fixins for Thanksgiving along with cold drinks on the bottom. The four burner stove with oven, large enough to cook said Thanksgiving dinner and bake the appropriate pies. Dry locker/beer and soda ice cooler and the two tub sink; Microwave, spice racks, utensil trays, coffee maker, pots-n-pans and all of the assorted kitchen needs one would normally find (we like to eat well). There is also the door to the "SHED".
The Shed is our storage closet. BOTO has two berths, one forward V-berth, one aft port side. There is an option for a third cabin, or in our case the area is made into a storage space. The Shed is approximately four feet deep and four feet wide by three feet high. In here we carry the majority of spare parts and tools needed to keep us afloat and enjoying ourselves. Opposite the rear wall of the Shed, is our starboard lazarett. This is another large storage area accessed via a large hatch in the cockpit. In this lazarrett lives the generator, bicycles, dog carrier, beach chairs and umbrella, rags, engine oil and fuel equipment, emergency tiller, spare lines, manual bilge pump(s), and anything else we can squeeze in there. The Shed is much like any basement or attic in any house. It serves an important function, however to venture into the Shed is to spend an entire day moving boxes and squatting in uncomfortable positions reading barely legible text hoping to find that one item you really need. Of all the spare parts and tools we carry the one we most often need is the one we do not have, which gives a good reason to grab a few cold beers and go about the anchorage visiting other boats until we find what we need.
Leaving the galley and the Shed and facing immediately to port is one of our two heads (aka Bathroom, WC, Toilet, and Shower). This is about the size of an airplanes restroom (a small airplane). Her we have a sink and toilet along with standard storage for toiletries. The faucet extends to mount on the wall and serve as a shower with the water draining overboard. As a side note: when underway and travelling in the out islands where fresh water is scarce we will combine shower day with laundry day. This exercise involves placing dirty clothes on the floor of the head and after adding some soap stomping on the clothes while showering. The final rinse is for both the clothes and the body. In this manner water is conserved and our wardrobe is rid of salt (ever present) and dirt. The clothes and the person then go above to air dry. Back to our tour.
Aft of the head and running along the port side is our Aft Cabin. This cabin consists of a Queen sized bed, three book shelves, clothes closet and tool rack(which takes up the second half of the clothes closet and contains those tools needed on a daily basis). The cabin boasts two portals and one 12v fan along with enough headroom for a Ewok to walk upright. Seriously, there is plenty of leg room for the horizontal person, but anyone taller than a Hobbit needs to be careful. When we are without guests the aft bed serves as a storage area and reading room. When guests arrive we stuff all of the stored items elsewhere, or we eat them. The stored items, not the guests.
Moving forward, we enter the main salon. This is our living room, den, family room and dining room all rolled into one. Here we have a U-shaped settee (couch) with ottomans or a dining table along the starboard, to port we have to overstuffed (kinda) chairs either side of the chart table/table for two. The deck salon is so named due to the main salon being raised approximately two feet above the forward and aft cabins. This in turn raises the deck roof giving us a 280* degree view from the main salon via large, tinted windows. This also makes BOTO a very light and airy boat below decks. Along the hull either side of the main salon is storage for our dishes, glasses, books and ships papers. The electric subpanels along with radio equipment and stereo live here as well. Below the seats themselves is storage for food, our freezer, liquor cabinet, water maker, HVAC system, pots and pans. Under the floorboards is more storage for spare parts, the wine cellar and primary water tank (50 gal.) as well as access to all electric wiring and plumbing.
Moving forward we come to the V-berth, so named due to its location in the forward peak or "V" of the boat. Here is our stateroom. Another Queen sized bed with storage along either side for books and clothing. A clothes closet, desk and shelves add to the storage room. The second head is located to starboard while the second water tank (25 gal) is below the bed to port. Underneath the bed is a vast area of storage, here are our winter clothes along with some formal wear (ya never know), dog food ( at the time of our departure we carried close to 200 lbs. of dog food), plus an assortment of items that we will likely need some day, just not today.
That's the long and short of it as they say. You may have noted that the key theme throughout this narrative is storage. While supplies throughout the Bahamas are accessible they are not always available or timely. The further out we go the less likely we'll find what we need, hence the need to carry what we need aboard.
BOTO has a fresh water capacity of 75 gallons between two tanks, plus another five gallons on deck in a container complimented by a water maker capable of 1.5 gal/hour. Her fuel capacity is fifty (50) gallons of diesel plus another twenty (20) gallons carried on deck in containers. This gives us a motoring range of approximately 500nm. For the dink we carry fifteen (15) gallons of gasoline. Our food stores are sufficient to feed the two of us for at least a month, supplemented by fresh fish and we are unlimited.
Our little floating world is fairly self sufficient and with fair winds our range is unlimited. The days and nights are full of activity, some work some play but there is always something to do. The inherent nature of living aboard makes for a physically active life which both tires us while strengthening us. Hauling 50 gallons of water from shore to Boto via the dink is quite an exercise, especially when you consider the weight of water and the need to balance yourself and the water in a pitching rubber float. Our anchor chain weighs 1.5 lbs per foot; we usually anchor in 10 to 15 feet of water with a 7 to 1 scope, so between 70 and 105 feet of chain. Coupled with the anchor that is 150 to 200 lbs of deadweight under water. When the windlass doesn't work it takes a little effort to get the anchor on board. The constant rocking of the boat is always good for a workout, too. We mention these not to complain but to illustrate a day in the life, one which we are enjoying more and more with the passage of time and with each new experience
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