What news of “the new yacht”?

The news is not the best. The yacht was supposed to be ready June of 2006, because of some changes we made to the layout of the interior in order to make it more functional. This brought the completion date to the end of September 2006.
Due to the technical difficulties and delays with this project, the builder has run over budget by at least 50%. The builder’s poor finances have also been a hindrance in the timely progress of the construction. Recognizing that the yacht is well worth the extra cost, we have decided to finance the compleation of the yacht ourselves and with indispensable help of our Italian associate Luigi Zambon, we are back on track. The hull and deck has been ready a year now. A large part of the internal wood work is ready. The yacht started has wider and longer version of the “Lizzy 42”. The mold was modified to suit the new special requirements. The original plan was for the yacht to be capable of accommodating 8 in three cabins and the saloon area. She was also going to have three heads, one with wheel chair access. This left very limited space for other vital areas of the yacht like the galley, chart table, storage space for all the equipment the yacht must carry and general comfort on-board. Always bearing in mind that the yacht is designed for universal use, including “wheelchair sailors”. The changes, we have made to the design, limit the number of berths on board. The yacht will now have two double cabins and three berths in the saloon area. The heads are now two, one of which has full wheelchair access. This uses as much space as a double cabin on most yachts. Part of the third cabin and head has been used to enlarge the galley and provide and a large storage area when the yacht is cruising or an extra berth when racing. Showers have been modified so the tray is self draining and the surfaces are all easier to clean and maintain. A holding tank will be added in the saloon behind the seating to handle the waste from both heads. The galley has been enlarged in order to offer more functionality and accessibility. Due to the beamy aft section we have opted for twin rudders. This also means that we will reduce the rudder draft to 1.5 meters. This will not compromise the yachts sailng performance but will make mooring in the Greek harbors a lot easier. (Rocks and boulders sticking out from the under water quayside). The yacht’s unique design features are too many to note here and they’re many more of them not fully addressed yet. If the work progresses according to plan the yacht may be ready for first sea trials September or October (2008). She will of course need a lot of testing and final adjustments in order to function to the high standard that we have grown to expect from a yacht of this kind. Due to the larger than planed costs, we do not feel that just the charter of this yacht will cover the initial capital outlay and we will be seeking funding from sponsors wishing to help us promote the concept of “sailing for all”. The yacht will start its first sailing season as a charter, sail training and racing yacht the early of 2009. Calendar for 2009 soon to be posted