Here's a quick look at our sailboat, Due West, and a link to a feature article about her on Three Sheets Northwest web site from January 2011.

She is a 1982 Passport 40, sloop-rigged performance-cruiser sail boat, designed by world-renowned yacht-designer Bob Perry. She is hull #19 (out of 148) and was built in Taiwan in the King Dragon Boat Yard. We are the third owners, and have owned her since 1992.




Due West is 40' long (actually 39' 6") and 12' 6" wide. Her displacement is about 30,000 lbs, and her draft is 5' 6" (that is the depth of the keel.)


Due West is a fiberglass boat, with an all teak interior, and fits the nick-name of a "Furniture-40" well, with her built-in furnishings. This photo above is the view looking down the companionway as you enter the boat (or looking through our front door) You enter the boat via our Galley (or kitchen), and can see our 4-burner stove/oven to the bottom left, and the double-sink straight-ahead. To the right of the sink is one of our three spacious counters. The blue cushions beyond the Galley are the Salon (or the living-dining area.) We have a U-shaped settee on the port (left) side, and a long-bench settee on the starboard (right) side. Our two water tanks (60 gallons each) are housed one under each settee, port/starboard.


This is another photo of the Galley, looking back UP the stairs you come down as you enter. (Jackson's litter-box is tucked under/behind the stairs, well contained for heeling when we sail.) Our refrigerator is on the left with the teak door in front. It also has two openings on the top (counter.) The louvered doors behind the fridge and stove are our "kitchen cupboards". We're lucky as this boat was designed as a live-aboard cruiser and has a LOT of storage space in the form of drawers and cupboards. Most of the cupboards are filled top-to-bottom with Tupperware containers, taking full advantage of all our interior volume while keeping everything dry and air tight. If you are a boater, and aren't using Tupperware, you don't know what you are missing!


As you can see in the photo above, Due West has a very bright/light interior, with many port-lights, and a very reflective, gloss-white ceiling. This view of the Salon is from the master-suite looking aft (back) towards the Galley, and you can again see the teak dining table and part of the U-shaped settee (front right) and bench-settee (on left.) The dining table can be lowered to create a double-berth (bed) out of the U-shaped settee. And the bench-settee makes into a great single bed too. (In fact, that was Captain Kirk's bunk when we raced Vic-Maui in 1996!)

Just aft of the bench-settee is the Nav Station, where you can just see part of the blue upholstery on the nav chair at the desk, and the instrument panel on the bulkhead wall. You can also see the door to the Aft Cabin (double-berth), which is fated to become our "Garage", storing everything from soup-to-nuts, or sails to kayaks, and provisions. Under the aft bunk is one of our two 60 gallon fuel tanks (the other fuel tank is under the cockpit area, aft of the galley behind the refer. )


This photo is looking through the master-suite, towards the salon, and shows our comfy, "Pullman-berth" box-spring double-bed (right). The bed is about 3' off the floor, with drawers and cupboards underneath providing lots of storage for clothes and spare boat parts, anchors, and miscellaneous tools. Across from the bed, is a built-in-wall of armoire-like closet, drawers, and dresser-top with mirror. So we really have more than enough room for clothing, and linens.


One of our cat Jackson's favorite sleeping spots is inside the stereo-speaker/CD cupboard (Rock-on!) -- but he can also be found on-top of the armoire-like closet, where there is a cats-eye-view port-hole where keep watch on the world. He has more places to hang out than we do!



All the way forward is our Head, otherwise known as the bathroom...it has your standard marine-toilet with holding tank, plus sink, shower and a cat! The whole head becomes the shower, and it has a grated floor for the shower drain. Forward of the head is the anchor chain locker, and a bit of storage.