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32 foot

Helen (formerly Phalarope)

year launched
1999
materials
Cedar planks on white oak frames
location
Maine, MA
USA
berths
2
dimensions
LOD 32' 0", LOA 42', LOW 30′ 2″, Beam 10′ 7″, Draft 5′ 6″, HAW 56' Displacement 21,000 lbs, Ballast 7,000 lbs
skipper
Matt
description

History

I had the pleasure of dealing with her previous owner, Tom, who was an excellent custodian of the boat - having sailed her to the ice in the Arctic Circle!
The boat is now owned by Matt, and Helen was originally designed for her first owner as a single hander, and it is to this day one of the best examples of this type of BCC. Being a 32' BCC, the boat has huge capacity and is incredibly spacious for its intended audience.

The boat features incredibly useful additions such as a spacious head (toilet), and a generous workspace - complete with vice, which is perfect for earning a living as you cruise.

Helen was handbuilt in 1999 by Rockport Marine in Maine, USA. This boatbuilder has high reputation in the industry, and the boat is a magnificent example of wooden boat building craftsmanship. Indeed, some of the shipwrights that worked on Helen are still employed at Rockport and remember the boat fondly.

The following information was taken directly from the boat's listing on Rockport Marine's website, as this fantastic and incredibly well specc'ed Bristol Channel Cutter is now for sale at a great price. Although set up for single handing, the boat could easily be converted to sleep six (like Ubique), and would have the added bonus of you having the chance to spec the layout according to your wishes.

Construction

The construction is cedar planks on white oak frames, with a Sitka spruce mast and boom designed by Brooklin Boatyard and built by French and Webb.

  • 1-1/2″ cedar planks on white oak frames
  • All bronze fastenings
  • Cabin house and forward house are constructed of teak
  • Ventillation by four 4″ dorades on the main cabin, plus mushroom vents in the forepeak and aft lazarette.
  • Skylight opening in main cabin.
  • Teak deck 1-1/4″
  • Tiller steering and external mounted rudder
  • Copper mesh RF grounding system

Interior

Forward is an ample size chain locker, with access from the forward cabin. The chain locker has a mushroom vent and chain falls. Attached to the deck within the chain locker is a 5 gal stainless steel tank which can be used for the diesel stove or lamp oil. The forward cabin consists of a double Pullman berth to port and a work bench to starboard. There are lockers under the berth and lockers with shelves under the work bench.

The forward overhead opens fore or aft and has a built-in fresh water collection system. The topside of the forward hatch has teak bases for the liferaft, There is a book rack at the foot of the Pullman berth and at one end of the work bench.

Moving aft to starboard is a hanging locker with shelves, within the passageway from the main to forward cabin. Opposite to port within the main cabin is a Refleks diesel heater vented to a “Charlie Noble” stack on the cabin top. There is a storage locker below the diesel stove. A Chelsea clock and barometer are located on the forward cabin bulkhead. The galley has ample space for foodstuffs within four lockers, plus a locker under each of the sink and the gimballed 2 burner Luke H3LPG stainless steel stove with oven. The deep stainless steel sink has two bronze hand pumps, on for fresh water and the other for salt water. There are three stainless steel water tanks, two starboard (21 gal. and 45 gal.) and one under the port side pilot berth (33 gal). Behind the sink and stove are shelves for utensils, plates and bowls, spices and other kitchen items.

Opposite the galley is a settee wth storage below and a pilot berth with lee cloth above and behind. There is a storage cabinet at the foot of the pilot berth. Aft of the the settee and pilot berth is a fully enclosed head with a Baby Blake toilet and fittings. Within the head compartment, toward outboard, is a cabinet with shelves. Behind the toilet on the bulkhead is a small door with access to the battery compartment and engine fresh water coolant overflow tank. The house batteries are two 6V deep cycle batteries linked in series, plus one 12V starter battery, all hardwired to a Guest trickle charge unit. There is a spare 12V starter battery within the engine compartment.

Aft of the gallery to starboard is the control panel; ice locker, which can be used as a table for navigation; and a vertical paper chart locker. Further aft to starboard is a quarter berth. Overhead within the quarter berth is an inverted compass hung from the cabin ceiling, to allow monitoring of boat heading from the bearth. It is also possible to monitor the chart plotter from the quarter berth. The chartplotter can also be accessed remotely using Bluetooth and an ipad.

Cabin soles are solid teak boards, all removable for access to the entire bilge. Plumbing for fresh and sea water is accessed in the bilge compartment, as well as three seacocks. The cockpit has an Admiral control panel for the diesel engine; a Raymarine i70 display for depth, lat and long coordinates, or wind speed and heading; and a Weems and Plath-CPL Merkur SF compass. The chart plotter is on a bronze swing bracket so that it can be oriented to face either the cabin interior or the cockpit. Below the chartplotter is an ICOM VHF radio, which has an external speaker which can be mounted on a bracket on the external cabin side adjacent the cockpit. On the cabin wall above the quarter berth is an ACR EPIRB. Aft of the cockpit is a lazerette storage compartment and access to seacocks.

Spec

Rigging

  • Mast and boom of Sitka spruce and box construction, designed by Robert Stevens at Brooklin Boatyard and built by French and Webb
  • Mainsail track (Tides Marine Strong Sail Track) and separate storm sail track which goes to deck level
  • Mainsail outhaul on boom for loose footed main sail
  • Mainsail traveler on stern
  • Spinnaker pole track and cars
  • Standing rigging 5/16″ 1×19 Stainless steel
  • Bronze turnbuckles throughout
  • Wooden blocks by (A. Dauphinee & Sons, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia)
  • Bowprit stay 1/2″ 7×19 stainless steel
  • Running backstays 5/16″ 7×19 stainless steel
  • Insulated back stay for SSB radio (not included)
  • Two Mobri radar reflectors on rigging
  • Bronze stanchions and bases
  • One aluminum telescopic reahing pole
  • Boom gallows with bronze risers and teak cross piece

Winches

  • One bronze Harken 40.st 2 speed self tailing main sheet winch
  • Four bronze Harken 40.st 2 speed self tailing jib and staysail sheet winches
  • One bronze Harken #16 1 speed self tailing jib halyard winch
  • One bronze Harken 16 1 speed self tailing main halyard winch
  • One bronze Harken #8 1 speed spinnaker halyard winch
  • One bronze Harken #16 1 speed self tailing staysail halyard winch
  • One bronze Harken #6 reefing winch on the boom preceded by a clutch
  • Clutches for main, jib and staysail halyards

Sails

  • Drifter by Nathaniel Wilson (1999) excellent condition
  • Storm staysail in superb condition constructed of Oceanus cloth by Nathaniel Wilson (1999)
  • Storm trysail in superb condition constructd of Oceanus cloth by Nathaniel Wilson (1999)
  • New (Sept 2016) Yankee jib by Port Townsend Sails
  • New (Sept 2016) staysail by Port Townsend Sails
  • New (Sept 2016) fully-battened, loose-footed main sail by Port Townsend Sails
  • Original no. 1 and 2 jibs, no. 1 and no. 2 staysails (1999); constructed of Oceanus cloth by Nathaniel Wilson
  • Lazy jacks, new 2016 by Port Townsend Rigging (PTR)

Electronics

(all purchased 2012 or more recent):

  • Raymarine e7 multifunction display and bronze bracket which can swing out into the companionway opening
  • Navionics charts for USA and Canada
  • Raymarine i70 Instrument display in cockpit
  • Raymarine AIS650 Class B transceiver
  • Raymarine HD Digital Radome Antenna radar
  • Raymarine masthead wind instrument (wind transducer)
  • Raymarine Raystar 125 GPS receiver
  • Icom IC-M412 VHF marine radio transceiver and Metz VHF masthead antennae
  • Clarion CMD6 stereo and Poly-planar marine speakers in cabin
  • Trident marine LPG gas controller and sniffer
  • Vesper Marine SPL160 AIS/VHF splitter
  • Two SunWare solar modules on deck, and control module near batteries
  • Xantrex battery monitor
  • Guest model 2620 battery charger
  • ACR Global FIX PRO 406 MHz GPS EPIRB

Diesel engine

  • Westerbeke 35B diesel engine (1999); cruising speed 5 knots
  • 53 gallon fuel tankage (one 36 gallon cockpit tank and one 17 gallon starboard side tank)
  • 3 blade fixed prop
  • Racor dual fuel filter

Additional inventory

  • Baby Blake marine toilet with one rebuild kit
  • Two Edson marine diaphram bilge manual pumps (models 554BR and 557BR), one accessed in cockpit and one in the cabin
  • Refleks diesel heater in cabin, with 5 gallon stainless steel tank in chain locker
  • Folding wooden ladder, stored in the lazarette, and bronze brackets to deploy at port side lifeline gate
  • Dinghy mounts (teak) on the cabin top, designed for an Oughtred Acorn dinghy (cedar strip construction dinghy available for purchase separately).
  • Scanmar Monitor windvane with large and small vanes
  • Weems and Plath-CPL Merkur SF compass in cockpit
  • Hercules HM1200 manual windlass
  • Jabsco wash down pump with foredeck outlet
  • 30 Amp A/C inlet in cockpit to 110V outlet in cabin
  • 12V lamps throughout cabin and forepeak
  • Rubber holding tank located port aft quarter, and plumbed to a 2-way valve in head
  • Galley sump tank under cabin sole with mechanical foot pump to overboard
  • Two boxes on either side of mast house two Trident marine LPG composite construction tanks
  • Brass bell and mounting bracket on boom gallows
  • Full sun cover in two pieces
  • Winter 3-part canvas cover with door and aluminum framing

Water tankage

  • 100 gallons (1 port tank and 2 starboard side tanks)

Anchors and rodes

  • Spade 44 pounds, main anchor on bowsprit, with 175′ 5/16″ G4 chain plus additional 300′ 5/8 3 strand rode.
  • Bruce 44 pounds, in chain locker
  • Bruce 33 pounds, in chain locker
  • Luke 3 piece 75 lb Storm anchor disassembled in the bilge
  • Additional chain in two 92′ sections 5/16 G4
  • Additional rode in chain locker, and lazarette.
  • Four docklines, 4 fenders, and 2 fender boards.

Safety

  • Givens 4 Person Warrior life raft
  • Para-Tech 12 foot sea anchor with swivels and 400 feet rode
  • Gale Rider drogue
  • MOB pole
  • Electric bilge pump with automatic or manual settings
  • Two Edson diaphram manual bilge pumps
  • Four fire extinguishers

Voyaging

This year the boat voyaged from Maine to Labrador, much of it single-handed. “PHALAROPE” is presently in Maine, where she will spend her winter.

“PHALAROPE” is described as a four-wheel drive sailor. She is blue water tested, steady in a sea and well appointed. A recent survey is available upon request.

Follow this link to read the boats travel blog and view additional photos.

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I'll never forget the first time I let the tiller go in 30 knots  and watched the boat steer by itself for minutes on end. Impressive!
Go small. Go now.
Lin & Larry Pardey
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