Loopy Kiwi: Kindred Spirit

And what, I hear you say, about poor old Kindred Spirit. Well, Mr Cummins came up with a good price to fix the motor, and the bits have arrived, so next week KS comes out of the water and the motor out of the boat. A couple of weeks to fix then dyno tested to ensure everythings OK, then back in again. We will use her a little over the winter (as weather permits) to make sure all is still well, then come spring KS comes out again for a make-over. A paint job and new flybridge covers, new carpet and she will be as pretty as a picture again to go on the market, as there is little point in keeping her to sit around while we are away for nearly 2 years. Which is a shame, cause she is a super boat.

When researching through other “Loopers” (people who have done or are doing the Great Loop) blogsites, I was disappointed how little information most gave about their boats, how they were laid out, how they performed, what gear they took, and while there were plenty of photos of the outside or of people sitting round having drinkies, there were very few of the interiors. This made it quite hard to get a feel for what boats are like in the USA, and therefore what boat to buy for our trip around the Loop.

So, to not be a hypocrite and because I need the practice, here are some statistics and pix of Kindred Spirit:

Launched in 1991, she is a 42’ Pelin Eclipse, deep V planing hull, 12’ beam and 4' draft, weighs 9.5 tonnes. She is powered with a Cummins VT555BC diesel engine which develops 320HP @3000rpm and cruises at 16kts with a top speed of 21kts. At cruise she consumes approx 35 litres per hour of fuel. She carries 800 litres of fuel and 800 litres of water, has accommodation for up to 7 in 2 separate cabins plus the saloon, 2 heads, 1 shower plus 1 in the cockpit, and a 45 litre holding tank. The galley has a 4 burner gas cooker with oven and grill, microwave and 230VAC/12VDC electric fridge. There is a large engine driven Eutectic freezer under the downstairs helm seat and a 25 litre hot water cylinder heated by the engine.

She has 230VAC shorepower throughout the boat plus a 1500W inverter and 25A battery charger. There are 3 x 130AH deep cycle house batteries and 1 x 850CA start battery with separate switches, including one that connects all batteries together. The flybridge helm station has GPS/plotter, depth sounder and VHF radio – there is another VHF at the downstairs helm, along with a stereo radio/cassette player.

She is fitted with a bow thruster and a Muir VRC1250 automatic winch/capstan. The anchor is a 20kg (45lb) stainless steel plough with 60 metres of 10mm chain and there is a spare anchor with 20 metres of 10mm chain and 100 metres of 18mm nylon warp. We have a seawater washdown system with outlets on the foredeck, cockpit and to flush out the holding tank.

She has a 3.1 metre Southern Pacific RIB with a brand new 5HP Mercury outboard