Another set of pictures reach me yesterday, Tomo Novak of Seascape sends an email titled “your precious”. Attached three pictures of my new boat entering completion stage of the hull building process. With Seascape the 14, 24 and 27 models are be build in vacuum infusion technique for maximum stiffness at the lowest weight. Doesn´t she look pretty?

Hull has been finished except for the windows

Of course I do zoom in as much as I can to try and spot any glitches, luckily, I can´t spot any. The boat is due for loading on mid-October and as I wrote earlier I cannot wait to finally receiving the sailboat. It was a long process of defining which boat might be best suitable for me. After looking at various candidates and finally making the decision it´s a great feeling of seeing the boat being build down there in Slovenia at Seascape´s facility.

Now the fitting.action starts. Sill 2 weeks to go.

But I do not lay back and wait. Besides some daydreaming (and actual planning) of possible first sailing trips with the new boat I do have a full range of jobs coming up as a future new boat owner: First of all a berth must be organized. That´s not a problem for me here at the Baltic Sea but anyway, it´s a decision where to put the boat. Lots more coming up as well. Let´s see …

Lots of work ahead: Registrations, insurances & permits

In Germany we do register everything and so we do it with boats as well. The German – Bavarian, to be precise – company Harbeck makes high quality customized trailers. A fan for the First 27 has been ordered and delivered last week, the trailer received its license plate and is ready for welcoming the boat. All that´s missing on the trailer now are the three GRP supporting cradles which come from the yard and will be fitted to the trailer as well.

The boat´s trailer has arrived too

On my sailboat I will need a VHF radio of course which means that a callsign must be applied for and acquired. Apart from that, I need to buy a VHF in the first place – I am just still wondering if I aim for a stationary VHF which will be better for receiving AIS-signals via high-up installed antenna or a hand held transceiver which will be easier and cheaper. Same goes for the main propulsion. As I will be sailing a lot with my kids I skipped the outboard-engine and chose to fit an electric engine. This will be installed too over wintertime along with a custom made solar-array to which one of our clients inspired me.

Homework …

For now, I printed out the extensive handbook of the First 27 and took it home: Still a few weeks to go to study thoroughly this “Boat-Bible” and trying, well, not to memorize but maybe to familiarize with the peculiarities of the First 27. Having sailed the First 24 in the past weeks and – most of all – having rigged her three times completely setting up and taking down the rigging was a pretty good practice for me. Now it´s completely different as well: That´s not my job anymore, it´s my boat.

The joys of fatherhood

I remember when my wife had been pregnant and we waited eagerly, being half-terrified half-excited. Same goes for me now (well, a bit less exaggerated maybe). The joy of seeing the boat arriving instills a very unique feeling, a tingle in my belly, thousands of thoughts and ideas, excitement, pleasant anticipation and impatience. Mid October will arrive faster than I think, I know it – it was the same with my kids. And then the real fun kicked off so massively. Until my First 27 will be sailing so graciously like the one a friend of mine photographed during this year´s Kiel Week winter will have to go by, but these cold weeks won´t pass workless.

Can´t wait … FIRST 27 power!

I look forward to have the antifouling applied all by myself: Sanding of the hull, priming and applying the layers of antifouling is a job I am looking forward too. Much of the installations will be put in during winter, learnings from my MADCAP-experience as well. In spring 2021 the boat is due for her first splash-down and training sessions under sails. Maybe – just maybe – her maiden voyage will be the very same adventure I couldn´t go through with MADCAP this year as it was originally planned. Isn´t this joy of fatherhood one of the best feelings for an owner-in-being?

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