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Expedition Cruiser with completed cruising miles confirm her pedigree and appetite for covering sea miles effortlessly and economically with redundancy built into every system. She's been to the Kimberleys with the previous owner and to Sydney and Weipa with current owners, as well as plenty of trips from our home port of Townsville to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, as well as Lizard Island, which is our favorite anchorage off the Coast of Queensland.
Equally comfortable at anchor or in a marina as a liveaboard accommodation center with five separate entertainment areas allowing family and friends to relax and enjoy different activities without impeding on each other. Separation of these areas is the design brief so music and games can be enjoyed by one party on the top deck but not impeding on the sleep of others ensconced in the lower level, with the whole living area acting as 'insulation' between levels one and three.
Sleeps 9 in beds and has 3 complete bathrooms with flushing loos. Master even has a ¾ bath. All cabins are air-conditioned using reverse cycle A/C that is efficient and effective. No running water through the night, no hard chines, so no lapping sounds when at anchor. Dry exhaust and keel cooling so no seawater introduced with the exception of the water maker. It's all about keeping it simple and more easily fixed if a problem does become a reality. A boat lives in a very harsh environment, so one can and should be prepared to make repairs as and when they occur. "Steel boats are the only boats that can survive a serious fire at sea. "
Steel boats are as tough as they come. "Fiddler" weighs in at 70 tons in cruising mode, i. E., full of water and diesel, but she gets along at 6.5 knots at 1240 RPM using approximately 1 liter per nautical mile. At 1500 RPM (Gardner rated @ 150 HP), she will cruise at approximately 8 knots and use 10 liters per hour.
When Lindsay Smith, the boat builder, ordered the material for this boat, he started by getting 30 tons of 6 mm steel plate delivered to the site. He then had it sandblasted and epoxy coated so the surface on both sides is protected from rust and corrosion from the get-go. He then turned it into the most structurally sound vessel most people have ever seen.
WHAT MAKES FOR CAREFREE CRUISING AND OWNERSHIP?
Unsurpassed Quality and Detail together with Capacity
Diesel.................... . 13,700 lt
Fresh Water............ 4,500 lt
Water Maker........... 200 lt per hour
Waste water........... 2,500 lt
Range..................... 10,000+ NM
Storage also plays a big part when living at sea or in a marina for that matter--storage of all the toys and supplies as you are often some distance from your next point of provisioning. Fiddler has volumes of space in the Lazarette for all the dive gear you might need for 8 or 10 people plus all the drinks. The current owners have been known to fill her with 40 cartons of beer and 40 cartons of wine (no, they don't have a problem) when on an extended trip, and as a boat, she didn't even know they were there. What I'm trying to indicate is you won't have to scrimp on what you take with you as there will be mountains of space to accommodate it.