SeaSparrow
23 December 2017 | St Anne, Martinique
20 March 2017 | St Martin
23 February 2017 | St Martin, French Lagoon
06 February 2017 | Brewer's Bay, St Thomas, USVI
22 January 2017 | Culebra, Puerto Rico
02 May 2016 | Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI
05 April 2016 | Charlotte Amalie, USVI
04 April 2016 | Charlotte Amalie, USVI
09 March 2016 | Simpson's Bay, Sint Maarten
26 February 2016 | Grande Anse D'Arlet, Martinique
14 February 2016 | Fort de France, Martinique
31 January 2016 | Prickly Bay, Grenada
21 January 2016 | Prickly Bay, Grenada
17 January 2016 | Prickly Bay, Genada
01 April 2015 | Port Elizabeth, Bequia
11 March 2015 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
20 February 2015 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
05 February 2015 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
22 January 2015 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
11 January 2015 | Sint Maarten
Welcome Aboard - Tour of SeaSparrow
22 January 2015 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
Jeff/Sunny, 90F
Hello Folks,
This blog is a response to a request from a certain cousin, Michael, that was made well over a year ago now. Based upon island time this blog is coming in right about on time. Anyway, the idea is to give you a tour via pictures of SeaSparrow, which is a 2006 Leopard Catamaran. Lots of pics with a few comments thrown in so here it goes. We'll start with the exterior first then go inside.
1. Trampoline - Fun spot and one of the many reasons why people like catamarans over monohulls. This is not the bouncy type of trampoline kids use in the backyard although it does have some bounce. You can also notice the pulpit seats on either side which are great to sit on when sailing if the weather and seas are calm. The skinny round thing going up in the middle is the genoa.
2. Front of the salon - the louvers across the window help to keep the sun out of the salon and therefore reduce heat inside the boat as well as provide steps to the top of the bimini. You can also see the main mast with the many lines stowed. Also notice the sail bag is stowed to the port side - this is to provide better sunlight onto the solar panels on top of the bimini.
3. Solar Panels - SeaSparrow has 4 90W solar panels which are critical to the power supply for the boat. The panels charge our battery bank and on sunny days meet the majority of our power needs negating the need to run our engines or Honda 2000 generator. These are located on top of the bimini and as mentioned earlier, the main sail is pushed out of the way in this picture so the sun can have better access to the panels
4. Water Tank - There is a water tank on both the port and starboard sides in a storage locker just aft of the trampoline. Each tank can hold 100 gallons so we carry 200 gallons when filled. This will last Debbie and I 3 to 4 weeks before a refill is needed. We do not have a watermaker onboard so we have to plan our stops with water in mind but with this capacity it really isn't a problem.
Water Tank
5. Starboard side looking aft - this is a shot looking aft to show the room we have to get fore and aft. Space in all areas is probably the biggest reason
why people choose cats over monohulls. Catamarans have disadvantages compared to monohulls as well and people debate this stuff ad naseum. That is not my intent here but since it is my blog we'll stick with the advantages and not focus on the negative.
6. Helm Station - The nice thing about this setup is that once the mainsail is raised then the sails can all be managed and controlled from within the helm station. The winches to the right in the photo are used to manage the genoa sheets and position of the mainsail. Also, the engine controls are here and having two engines, one in each hull, make a catamaran very manouverable.
7. Engine - SeaSparrow has two engines as mentioned. The engines are Volvo Penta D1-30 diesel engines each providing 30hp. The engines are located aft of the cockpit on the port and starboard side. Each engine has an associated 46 gallon fuel tank. The fuel tanks are located under the aft cabin bunks so no smoking in bed.
8. Cockpit - This area probably gets more use than any other on the boat. Lots of space for dining and entertaining or just relaxing. With the heat in the Caribbean you want to be outside as much as possible so this area is great. Huge advantage here for catamarans to comparably sized monohulls.
9. Dinghy Davits/BBQ - Located at the very aft end of the boat. The dinghy davits are great as they allow us to quickly launch and recover the dinghy with ease. The BBQ is to the left in the pic and is another well used item onboard.
10. Dinghy - Critical piece of kit on the boat as it really becomes our car when we're on the boat. If the dinghy isn't working life gets very tough. Our dinghy is a 310 Walker Bay with remote console and a 15hp Mercury outboard.
Interior
Lets go inside.
1. Salon - nice area especially on rainy days. We had the seat cushions redone after we purchased the boat.
2. Nav Station/ Fridge - The nav station is sort of the control center for all electronics on the boat. This has our VHF radio, battery monitor, weather station, AC and DC circuit panels, radio/CD player, solar panel controller, depth display and light switches. Also seems to be the place all our junk collects. Underneath the nav station is the freezer on the left and fridge on the right. Again critical parts of the boat as got to have ice for the drinks. The fridge/freezer is also by far the biggest consumer of energy on the boat.
3. Galley - This is a shot of the galley area from the cockpit. SeaSparrow has a great setup in that the person cooking in the galley can still be part of the party as opposed to being stuck down below as is the case in many other boats.
4. Stove - It's the stove what can I say. It is propane and has two burners and an oven. Works great as we were able to prepare a full turkey dinner on the stove for Xmas.
5. Shelves - Not the biggest thing on my mind but storage space and shelving is important and SeaSparrow has lots. Couple of pics:
6. After Cabin - SeaSparrow has four cabins: two queens sized bunks aft and two double bunks forward one of each in each hull. We added memory foam to each bunk and they are very comfortable although a pain in the ass to make as you can't walk around them.
Queen Aft
Double forward
7. Heads and Washplace - There are two heads and washplaces onboard, again one in each hull between the cabins. This is actually a very good setup as each space has a separate glassed shower compartment which makes life much more comfortable.
Shower
Sink
Head - This by the way is probably the hardest thing for visitors to get use to as it is a manual head that you need to pump to make work. I'll stop there but it requires a bit of training and getting used to for new sailors.
That's pretty much the tour via pictures. Of course as with any boat of this size and type there are hundreds more things onboard which make SeaSparrow what she is. And by the way, all of those things break sooner or later just so you don't get too bored. I hope this was interesting to those that haven't been aboard or can't visit and satisfies the cousin Mike requirement. Of course, I have to leave you with one last picture which is of our newly beloved anchor properly set in textbook fashion.
Cheers,
Jeff
This blog is a response to a request from a certain cousin, Michael, that was made well over a year ago now. Based upon island time this blog is coming in right about on time. Anyway, the idea is to give you a tour via pictures of SeaSparrow, which is a 2006 Leopard Catamaran. Lots of pics with a few comments thrown in so here it goes. We'll start with the exterior first then go inside.
1. Trampoline - Fun spot and one of the many reasons why people like catamarans over monohulls. This is not the bouncy type of trampoline kids use in the backyard although it does have some bounce. You can also notice the pulpit seats on either side which are great to sit on when sailing if the weather and seas are calm. The skinny round thing going up in the middle is the genoa.
2. Front of the salon - the louvers across the window help to keep the sun out of the salon and therefore reduce heat inside the boat as well as provide steps to the top of the bimini. You can also see the main mast with the many lines stowed. Also notice the sail bag is stowed to the port side - this is to provide better sunlight onto the solar panels on top of the bimini.
3. Solar Panels - SeaSparrow has 4 90W solar panels which are critical to the power supply for the boat. The panels charge our battery bank and on sunny days meet the majority of our power needs negating the need to run our engines or Honda 2000 generator. These are located on top of the bimini and as mentioned earlier, the main sail is pushed out of the way in this picture so the sun can have better access to the panels
4. Water Tank - There is a water tank on both the port and starboard sides in a storage locker just aft of the trampoline. Each tank can hold 100 gallons so we carry 200 gallons when filled. This will last Debbie and I 3 to 4 weeks before a refill is needed. We do not have a watermaker onboard so we have to plan our stops with water in mind but with this capacity it really isn't a problem.
Water Tank
5. Starboard side looking aft - this is a shot looking aft to show the room we have to get fore and aft. Space in all areas is probably the biggest reason
why people choose cats over monohulls. Catamarans have disadvantages compared to monohulls as well and people debate this stuff ad naseum. That is not my intent here but since it is my blog we'll stick with the advantages and not focus on the negative.
6. Helm Station - The nice thing about this setup is that once the mainsail is raised then the sails can all be managed and controlled from within the helm station. The winches to the right in the photo are used to manage the genoa sheets and position of the mainsail. Also, the engine controls are here and having two engines, one in each hull, make a catamaran very manouverable.
7. Engine - SeaSparrow has two engines as mentioned. The engines are Volvo Penta D1-30 diesel engines each providing 30hp. The engines are located aft of the cockpit on the port and starboard side. Each engine has an associated 46 gallon fuel tank. The fuel tanks are located under the aft cabin bunks so no smoking in bed.
8. Cockpit - This area probably gets more use than any other on the boat. Lots of space for dining and entertaining or just relaxing. With the heat in the Caribbean you want to be outside as much as possible so this area is great. Huge advantage here for catamarans to comparably sized monohulls.
9. Dinghy Davits/BBQ - Located at the very aft end of the boat. The dinghy davits are great as they allow us to quickly launch and recover the dinghy with ease. The BBQ is to the left in the pic and is another well used item onboard.
10. Dinghy - Critical piece of kit on the boat as it really becomes our car when we're on the boat. If the dinghy isn't working life gets very tough. Our dinghy is a 310 Walker Bay with remote console and a 15hp Mercury outboard.
Interior
Lets go inside.
1. Salon - nice area especially on rainy days. We had the seat cushions redone after we purchased the boat.
2. Nav Station/ Fridge - The nav station is sort of the control center for all electronics on the boat. This has our VHF radio, battery monitor, weather station, AC and DC circuit panels, radio/CD player, solar panel controller, depth display and light switches. Also seems to be the place all our junk collects. Underneath the nav station is the freezer on the left and fridge on the right. Again critical parts of the boat as got to have ice for the drinks. The fridge/freezer is also by far the biggest consumer of energy on the boat.
3. Galley - This is a shot of the galley area from the cockpit. SeaSparrow has a great setup in that the person cooking in the galley can still be part of the party as opposed to being stuck down below as is the case in many other boats.
4. Stove - It's the stove what can I say. It is propane and has two burners and an oven. Works great as we were able to prepare a full turkey dinner on the stove for Xmas.
5. Shelves - Not the biggest thing on my mind but storage space and shelving is important and SeaSparrow has lots. Couple of pics:
6. After Cabin - SeaSparrow has four cabins: two queens sized bunks aft and two double bunks forward one of each in each hull. We added memory foam to each bunk and they are very comfortable although a pain in the ass to make as you can't walk around them.
Queen Aft
Double forward
7. Heads and Washplace - There are two heads and washplaces onboard, again one in each hull between the cabins. This is actually a very good setup as each space has a separate glassed shower compartment which makes life much more comfortable.
Shower
Sink
Head - This by the way is probably the hardest thing for visitors to get use to as it is a manual head that you need to pump to make work. I'll stop there but it requires a bit of training and getting used to for new sailors.
That's pretty much the tour via pictures. Of course as with any boat of this size and type there are hundreds more things onboard which make SeaSparrow what she is. And by the way, all of those things break sooner or later just so you don't get too bored. I hope this was interesting to those that haven't been aboard or can't visit and satisfies the cousin Mike requirement. Of course, I have to leave you with one last picture which is of our newly beloved anchor properly set in textbook fashion.
Cheers,
Jeff
Comments
| Vessel Name: | SeaSparrow |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Leopard 40 Catamaran |
| Hailing Port: | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Crew: | Jeff and Debbie |
SeaSparrow's Photos - Main
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The Adventures of SeaSparrow
Who: Jeff and Debbie
Port: Halifax, Nova Scotia
