We’re Ben and Molly, a couple of boat bums from Northern California. Here we are during our first haul out with Ripple, painting her name on the back and chowing down on burritos.
About Our Boat
Ripple is a Whitby 42, hull number 168, designed by naval architect Ted Brewer and built of fiberglass by Whitby Boat works in Ontario, Canada in 1981. She (yes, we refer to it as a she) is a full-keel, center-cockpit ketch with a 42-foot length, a 13-foot beam, and a 5.5-foot draft. The Whitby 42 is a strong, spacious, but slow bluewater cruiser. She has two staterooms (seven berths total), two heads, and an enormous amount of tankage for her size and class (290 gallons of water and 210 gallons of fuel).
We purchased Ripple on December 30, 2015 from her third owner in San Rafael, California. Formerly Snow Goose, and formerly Deja Vu, she has been sailed from Vancouver to Panama to the Caribbean to the east coast of the US and to many points in between. Despite her prodigious cruising past, or perhaps because of it, she was definitely in need of some major refitting and updating when we took ownership of her.
Even with a two-and-a-half to three hour drive between our yurt in Chico, CA and Ripple’s berth in Alameda, CA, we made the journey nearly every weekend in 2016 to devote our time sweating and cursing and bleeding through a seemingly endless list of boat projects. We untied the dock lines and set sail from Alameda on December 27, 2016, only 3 days shy of one year since we purchased what is now our floating home. We had spent so much time working on our boat that we barely had any time to sail her! However, we have since logged nearly 2,500 nautical miles and are pleased to report that she is a sound vessel in all respects.
Below is a list of all of the major projects that we completed in 2016, in no particular order and by no means exhaustive. With only a couple of exceptions as noted below, we completed all of the work ourselves and as such learned more about our boat inside and out than we really wanted to:
- New standing rigging, including new chainplates (Svendson’s boat works un-stepped and stepped the mast, swaged the new rigging, and fabricated the new chainplates)
- New running rigging
- New genoa, mainsail, and mizzen sail (Lee Sails, Hong Kong — These sails were half the price of the other sail lofts in the area who have their sails made in China anyhow. Lee Sails has been in business for 60+ years, does quality work in their state-of-the-art facility, and have an awesome local sales person based in Alameda who spent hours with us answering questions and measuring everything on the boat to make sure the new sails fit perfectly)
- Removed, restored, and re-sealed the cap rail (Despite the erroneous online reports that the hull-to-deck joints on Whitbys of this vintage are merely riveted together, our hull-to-deck joint is securely fastened with stainless steel bolts every 8 inches. The hull-to-deck-joint is further supported by the 20 foot long genoa tracks that are through-bolted every 4 inches along the joint. Through the course of repairing the cap rail we were able to personally inspect these components)
- Removed, restored, and re-sealed all the deck hardware and woodwork
- Repainted and re-Kiwi-gripped the entire deck
- Fixed the rotten core in the deck
- Repainted the bottom and replaced several thru-hulls (hauled out at KKMI in Richmond – an excellent yard)
- New electronics (B&G Zeus Touch GPS/MFP with 4G radar, Simrad triducer and wind aenometer, Digital Yacht AIS transponder, Standard Horizon Matrix GX2000 VHF radio, 1500 Watt modified sine wave inverter)
- Replaced all interior lights and navigation lights with LED fixtures/bulbs
- Replaced all freshwater hoses, fixtures, and water pressure pump
- Had the fuels tanks professionally steam-cleaned and the fuel polished
- New Mantus anchor and new anchor chain – 370 ft of 3/8 BBB
- New Dodger and Bimini (Pacific Crest Canvas)
- Installed two LG-315 solar panels and an Outback 60 MPPT charge controller
- Installed a new bilge pump and new bilge high-water alarm
- Installed a Hydrovane Windvane
- Replaced the three deck hatches with new Lewmar Ocean Series hatches
- Replaced the aft head
- Replaced the leaking waste tank and hosing
- Replaced the macerator pump for the holding tank
- Installed three new fuse/breaker panels
- Added new d/c fans in the aft cabin
- Installed new solar-powered vents in the heads
- New Epirb and ditch kit
- New Revere Offshore Commander 2.0 6-Person life raft
- Replaced the rusted out wet-exhaust manifold on the engine
- Added blower in the engine room
- Installed new Frigoboat keel-cooled refrigeration system
- Had the Hydraulic Steering components rebuilt and resealed
- Installed MOM 8-A, a inflatable man overboard recovery module
- Replaced all the outdated fire extinguishers
- Installed new smoke and CO2 alarms
- Installed new stereo and speakers
etc., etc., etc.
Throughout our refit and preparations for our departure we became indebted to many people and businesses whose help was invaluable to our progress and success. Without their assistance our trip would not be possible. This list is by no means exhaustive:
Svendsen’s Boatworks and Marine Chandlery – Specifically Matt, Doug, Hart, Patty, Patty, Chris, Chuck, Gary, and everyone else at this historic and timeless Alameda Institution. Svendsen’s provided us with an untold amount of advice, assistance, and encouragement and were instrumental in enabling us to complete all our difficult and expensive projects. Without Svendsen’s we would probably still be stuck on the dock.
Dan Reynolds – brother, business partner, property caretaker, and asset manager, without whom this entire endeavor would not be possible.
Our Parents – Thanks for supporting the dream!
Peter Nevada at Lee Sails – a very helpful and personable sales rep who helped us to get quality sails at a reasonable price.
Will and Sarah Curry at Hydrovane – provided awesome customer service and helped us repair and upgrade our used Hydrovane windvane.
Randell B. Sharpe at Sharpe surveying and consulting – Randell did the initial survey on our boat and was extremely professional and competent. He provided us with a list of 106 items that needed to be fixed/addressed. We were happy to have him back aboard at the end of our refit to do a revaluation for insurance purposes.
Julie and everyone at Pacific Crest Canvas – Great customer service and excellent workmanship.
Southern Charm – this is a really great machine shop in Florida that serviced and repaired our hydraulic steering components – it was extremely difficult to find anyone else locally or otherwise with the competence and wherewithal to make these repairs.
KKMI – Really great boatyard – excellent workmanship and customer service.
Tom and Shelly at Blue Pelican Marine – our favorite consignment chandlery where we have gotten lots of wonderful used equipment and sold some of our old stuff as well.
The folks at Grand Marina in Alameda. They provided us with a one-month (and a little more) live aboard slip as we transitioned to life on the boat and prepared to throw off the docklines.
All of our friends and family and everyone who takes and interest in our blog – we are grateful for all the support and well-wishing we have received and are encouraged to keep living the dream!
SV Ripple 