Cochise at our dock. Thankfully we had sufficiently high piling because our previous power catamaran, Spitfire, had decks that were six feet above the water.
I thought I would begin posting images of the Dashews' latest creation, Cochise, a 78-foot aluminum passagemaker that is hands-down a fabulous and extreme world cruiser like no other. The details and systems aboard her will fill many pages, overwhelming the dedicated reader, so I will present this in smaller chunks so you can savor it over time.
The distinctive profile is intentionally similar to a military or commercial vessel, downplaying the yachting characteristics of a world cruiser.
While the boat was at our dock, the Dashews took care of some issues they were having with the Simrad electronics, as well as restocking the boat for the trip south to Beaufort, North Carolina, where she will spend some time over the winter at Jarrett Bay's yard.
Incredibly, just two weeks before the Dashews arrived in Ridout Creek, this Catana 50 anchored for several days to visit our neighbors, Bob and Janellen Frantz. Rob and Frances Lythgoe left England on the cat and cruised the Med before crossing the Atlantic. They spent time with Steve and Linda Dashew in Spain on Wind Horse, the Dashews' original FPB. The Lythgoes were bummed when learned they had missed the Dashews. What a small world!
The multi-purpose stern offer great utility, with several boarding options, watertight doors into storage lockers and engine room/workshop access, and handling large fish caught offshore. The narrow stern allows following seas to pass by without forcing the bow down into waves, keeping the boat on track.
Overhead booms are connected to struts attached to movable cars on tracks, all highly controllable by lines and winches. It is not difficult or time consuming to launch or retrieve any of the watercraft on this boat, even the ship's large commercial RIB, which doubles as the lifeboat.
Details of the booms show the lines used to lift the dinghy and control the boom. All lines are super-strong Spectra lines, way stronger than their diameter might suggest. Note the solar array over the aft deck.
Lines run down to the aft deck, where they are handled from the safety of a protected location. There is no need for balancing off a cambered deck to launch or retrieve the dinghy.
My size 13 foot gives you an idea of the massive construction of equipment on this boat. Everything is over sized to handle any sea condition.
Winches and jam cleats on both sides of the boat control the boom and adjust the cars on the track that move the strut ands boom sideways, as well as lifting the RIB and rowing boats.
The mud dam keeps the mud and slime off the foredeck, as the boat does not use a washdown pump to clean the chain rode and anchor. It washes off naturally, and the chain in the chain barrel under the foredeck drains overboard.
The extended section in front of the bow is strong enough to hold the boat against a dock, and for use with a parachute anchor if they want to reduce motion in a seaway. It also allows the boat to pivot with a line from it to a dock bollard midships. Put the boat in forward gear and the boat's stern swings out away from the dock for a clean departure from a crowded dock even in crosswinds.
The curved pipe on the port side of the bow is the forward bilge pump discharge, and any water being pumped from the forward bilge is easily seen from the helm.
Note the hatches have raised lip for attaching covers for extra protection when condition warrant.
The structure on the bow includes super bright LED lights, each with an eight-degree beam for lighting up what is in front of the boat. Each is adjustable. As seen here, they are pointing down in front of the boat to illuminate lobster pots, as Cochise recently come down from up north. Normally they would be aimed far in front of the boat.
This awning covers the forward accommodations and is very effective at anchor with the hatches open in the tropics. I don't know why more boats take advantage of such simple ways to keep temperatures down in paradise.
Spectra line makes a great hand hold while moving along side decks. The line runs through brackets that attach using the threaded holes created for the boat's storm shutters.
Much more to come. Have a great weekend.
