Marco Polo a steel 40ft LOD 50ft LOA one off, built at Gilbert's yard in Hemmant, Brisbane, based on a design from Rover Schooners in the US. Launched in 2015 after a 33 year build. The low aspect rig was designed for easy single handed and includes the unusual in-mast furling tri-sail with a wishboom.
Marco Polo at Thomas Island, Whitsundays. A relatively quiet anchorage away from bareboats.
At Delcomyn Bay near Shoalwater Bay, Central Qld
Finally got to take the cliche pic this year. No prizes for guessing where.
And I love the 3am shift as dawn brings great photo opportunities.
It's spring, so why is it so miserable cold and wet in Qld today, that I'm sitting here fiddling with the computer instead of poking around the bay?
Marco,
Your boat and all the pics are beautiful, but those last two pics are really something special, congrats! I wish I could take that good a photo, I like photography but I don't have that knack yet.
Its getting warmer, so time for a thread bump. This is not my photo sadly, this is us rounding the SW corner of Peel Island in Moreton Bay where the wind pops back in into an opposing tide. Makes for a bit of a washing machine until you get out of the current.
Up...then down......then up...then down.....
Hmmph. Looking at that, in those winds I should be downsizing to the staysail and get rid of the jib. That curve in the forestay won't be helping my ability to point much. This is about 20 kn, normally we wouldn't go to staysail till 25kn. I might change that,
This is where not having a backstay is telling, so I need to be more conscious of downsizing the sail plan earlier to keep the most efficient shape methinks.
G'day Shaggy, the saggy forestays giving the jib heaps of knuckle which isn't a bad thing for punching through a short chop. I recon it looks like a good set up for those conditions. If u needed to straighten up the forstay & reduce power I'd go one reef with max main sheet tension & hold onto the jib. It works for sports boats without back stays & it works for my boat (even though I've got a backstay).
Oh and Shaggy real nice looking boat bet it's fun to drive when you're sending it in a breeze...you know how it goes "Drive it like you stole it"
Select to expand quotevalo said..
Endeavour 26.
Not as nice as the majority here. But she gets me out on the water when I have some spare time.
This is me and my youngest on Lake Mac.
Here is a better pic of me and my 14yr old son. Our second race in Lake Mac last Sunday.
I have to get as good at sailing as my sails look!
I feel like a beginner surfer out with his bright red wettie on. Look good, but!
Select to expand quotecrustysailor said..
still a good pic Shaggy.
something reminds me of Christmas..
Thanks Crusty. If you're inferring to color, my old school tie looked like that. I hated it, we were known as the walking barber poles!
Select to expand quoteHort said..
G'day Shaggy, the saggy forestays giving the jib heaps of knuckle which isn't a bad thing for punching through a short chop. I recon it looks like a good set up for those conditions. If u needed to straighten up the forstay & reduce power I'd go one reef with max main sheet tension & hold onto the jib. It works for sports boats without back stays & it works for my boat (even though I've got a backstay).
Thanks very much Hort. I did have a reef, but I still had everything eased as it felt like too much power, so I might try the 2nd reef and get some sheet tension into it.
"Drive it like you stole it" ...it's the perfect description, don't ya reckon? Funny story, in the last B2G we'd just lost 30 mins jury-rigging the damaged boom, and we had mere minutes before the main fleet, that was previously comfortably over the horizon, were about to go storming past, all fully dialled up.
We're limping along at 6 knots, they're all doing high teens, so I had a rather unwanted great view at the time. Winds in the 20-30's, and all of these bright colored spinnakers over flecks of white appearing against a grey backdrop of leaden seas and sky. It was one of those moments, just an awesome sight, these tiny flecks of color all heeled mightily, struggling valiantly but seemingly dwarfed by the angry sea and big winds. I was watching this little Kerr getting closer and closer under full noise, you couldn't see the boat at all, only this glistening white foaming bow wave blasting along with an enormous dark blue kite wildly gyrating over it. They were flying, but the poor guys were just getting firehosed.
I'd just told the crew to baby the boat back in and semi-limp to the finish, but watching how hard the other boats were pushing re-motivated me, so I flipped and told the guys to start pushing harder. Incremently please, a little bit harder at a time.
Ian joyfullys stick his head out the hatch and hollers to Mick on the helm "He said drive it like you stole it!"
Next minute we're pinned on the chine screaming along at 20 knots, the kite sheet easing sounding like a series of gunshots, I'm standing on the keel box watching the entire boat internals heave into the air over the waves and dump into the bilges, and and all I can hear from upstairs is hollering and yahooing.
You would be hard pressed to ever find a better descriptor for a helm command!
Great story Shaggy. Our call of "drive it like you stole it" came about during a wild night of sending it in a 30 to 40kn south westerly during a Sydney / Gold Coast race... 2 reefs in the main, number 4 headsail & 20kn+ boat speed...Fun fun fun
At anchor for the next 3 days out the front of town. Ready to sand down the decks and Apply epoxy under coat ,kiwi grip and satin Aqua trim top coats!
dont do it !! satin aqua trim , is that the stuff you used inside ?
666 ... satin !!! aqua trim !!! you,ll be sorry , you will vomit green and your head will spin around !!
Select to expand quoteSandS said..
dont do it !! satin aqua trim , is that the stuff you used inside ?
666 ... satin !!! aqua trim !!! you,ll be sorry , you will vomit green and your head will spin around !!
It's interior / exterior. I'm going to give it a go!
Select to expand quoteSandS said..
dont do it !! satin aqua trim , is that the stuff you used inside ?
666 ... satin !!! aqua trim !!! you,ll be sorry , you will vomit green and your head will spin around !!
Precisely my thoughts SandS!!
Not a bad pic before the damage is done. 
Select to expand quote
cisco said..SandS said..
dont do it !! satin aqua trim , is that the stuff you used inside ?
666 ... satin !!! aqua trim !!! you,ll be sorry , you will vomit green and your head will spin around !!
Precisely my thoughts SandS!!
Not a bad pic before the damage is done.
Damage is done ? Please explain?
Select to expand quotesouthace said..cisco said..SandS said..
dont do it !! satin aqua trim , is that the stuff you used inside ?
666 ... satin !!! aqua trim !!! you,ll be sorry , you will vomit green and your head will spin around !!
Precisely my thoughts SandS!!
Not a bad pic before the damage is done.
Damage is done ? Please explain?
Aquatrim Satin Enamel dries to an extremely hard-wearing finish that provides all the benefits of an oil based enamel with none of the drawbacks.
Self levelling (minimises brush marks), non-yellowing, tough wearing, long lasting with excellent gloss retention, easy to apply, low odour, fast drying with easy re-coat.
Excellent for exterior woodwork and trim areas as its high UV resistance ensures durability and longevity in extremes of temperature and climatic conditions. Resists peeling and flaking. Fully washable.
im feeling confused what damage are you talking about Cisco kid?
Once it is on it is on and probably no going back if the result is not as desired.
Go for your life.
Going back to what?
Kiwi grip is also water based acrylic technology I have not heard to many complaints regarding that product.
I think your statement "Damaged" is a bit harsh considering you personally have not any experience with these products.
Select to expand quotesouthace said..
Going back to what?
Kiwi grip is also water based acrylic technology I have not heard to many complaints regarding that product.
I think your statement "Damaged" is a bit harsh considering you personally have not any experience with these products.
wouldn't a flow coat be better than paint though? I thought very few if any at all paints adhere to fiberglass
Select to expand quoteMorningBird said..
No current photo but I have a video of our last Lord Howe trip in 2016.
Great video, really enjoyed it. Thanks
Select to expand quoteSeebreasy73 said..southace said..
Going back to what?
Kiwi grip is also water based acrylic technology I have not heard to many complaints regarding that product.
I think your statement "Damaged" is a bit harsh considering you personally have not any experience with these products.
wouldn't a flow coat be better than paint though? I thought very few if any at all paints adhere to fiberglass
I think you may have thought wrong there. Painting the decks and cabin sides of a 42 foot yacht with flow coat would be a real mission.
Amadeus, a UFO 34. First picture is sailing to Bunbury from Fremantle. 2nd is racing in the Cocknurn Sound Regatta.
A good summary of UFO 34's is on this link
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_34
Ilenart
Heres a bunch of photos of my "new" boat, all taken in the last few months. Its a Jon Sayer designed and built 37ft, splashed in 2005. She's taken me from Brisbane, up through the Solomons, out to Ontong Java, round the top of PNG and now cruising Raja Ampat. I've loved every day on her so far, she sails like a dream.
Select to expand quoteDexport said..
Heres a bunch of photos of my "new" boat, all taken in the last few months. Its a Jon Sayer designed and built 37ft, splashed in 2005. She's taken me from Brisbane, up through the Solomons, out to Ontong Java, round the top of PNG and now cruising Raja Ampat. I've loved every day on her so far, she sails like a dream.
Have you ever had problems with the bulb on the keel collecting kelp etc?
Select to expand quoteRamona said..Dexport said..
Heres a bunch of photos of my "new" boat, all taken in the last few months. Its a Jon Sayer designed and built 37ft, splashed in 2005. She's taken me from Brisbane, up through the Solomons, out to Ontong Java, round the top of PNG and now cruising Raja Ampat. I've loved every day on her so far, she sails like a dream.
Have you ever had problems with the bulb on the keel collecting kelp etc?
...or cray pot lines?
Raja Ampat, absolute diving heaven .... you lucky lucky bastard Definitely videos from there please, the clarity of the water and all the colours of the reef are just spectacular.
