Wednesday, 17 December 0.0 SM
It’s hard to spot Steadfast but she’s in there somewhere.
Oh, the joys of boat ownership.
As long as she tied up at a boat yard, might as well do some boat work. For instance, it’s time to change out the fuel filters. A bit beyond the recommended number of hours, in fact, so that’s a good project for the day. Armed with tools, fresh filters, cups, absorbent pads…all set. But hey, what’s that sort of a sheen on the shelf next to the (aluminum) fuel tank? That couldn’t be, nah, not…dang, it is. Diesel!
There is quick confirmation that the source is not a fuel line but the tank itself. And so, after consultation with Chuck the Service Manager–“We can do it for you but if you do it yourself, you’ll save some money.”–the next episode begins: order the tank–Roto-molded plastic, this time–arrange pick-up, clean up the mess, get new fuel line and on and on. But then, it is, after all, a boat.
The finish on the aluminum hull, like the rest of Velvet, is remarkable.
This further delays departure but also, as always is the case, provides other opportunities. A couple on the pier speaks French, so is asked, “Comment sa va?” They are Élaine and Yves from Montréal, tres charmant, here preparing their “boat” for a trip to the islands. “She’s something special,” says Yves, “You need to see.”
Yeah, sure, fine. This is the yard at Hinckley Yachts, remember, so it’s not like there are a lot of ugly boats here. But it’s always fun to look at boats so, between chores, there’s a quarter-mile walk up the yard and it turns out, this boat is more than special; she is amazing and beautiful.
Velvet is a custom aluminum Hutting Lapine 40, crafted by the Hutting Yacht Yard in Holland. Yves goes on to explain, she was built for one of the lead designers at Porsche. This man wanted to be able to sail around the world so everything is overbuilt, inside and out. She’s totally insulated, all around. The teak on the cockpit hatches is 2” thick.
Yves shows off the Porsche bucket seat at the inside helm station.
The settee and the Porsche helmsman’s seat are upholstered in teal leather. The cabin is varnished mahogany with “harlingen” accents. The engine’s a 5-cylinder Mercedes diesel. And on and on. On top of it all, the finish–inside and out–is as close to museum quality as you could get. Stunning. If built today, she’d easily cost a million-500. Or more. Truly remarkable. But that’s just half the story.
Once she launched in Holland, the owner headed south with his son and a third person. The winds kicked up and never blew less than 30. The owner was sea sick all the way to the Canary Islands and, once there, flew home and never got back aboard. His son completed the crossing to the States, put her on the market and she lay in storage at the Morris Yacht Yard in Maine…for fourteen (14) years!!
The cap rail awaits another coat to rival the finish on the toe rail.
Yves saw the listing on Yachtworld.com, offered what the surveyor said she was worth–significantly less than the asking price–and got her!
The moral of the story is simple: don’t sink your life savings in something you’ve never tried before!
Moral #2: if you see something you’re sure you’d really like, it doesn’t hurt to make a low-ball offer.
And #3, with a boat, the work is never done.
But that’s one of the joys of owning a boat: there’s always something to do.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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