Our Boat

BLOW ME AWAY
LIVING THE DREAM

"A boat is a sacred vessel. It's a transition between earth and water. It's a sculpture and it's the history of mankind's dreams. The vessel is a thing of majesty." CP Brown

Blow Me Away is a 1980 Gulfstar 50 Ketch rig.

50" LOA, 13"8" Beam, 6ft draft, center cockpit, medium displacement with a skeg

Fuel capacity 110 gal. Water 200 gal.

Main engine is a Perkins 85hp

5KW Northern Lights generator

Sea Recovery watermaker, 30 gal/hr.

2 110v solar panels

The little dinghy on top is for storage of jerry cans and extra line and stuff.

Dinghy davits were installed on the stern with the two solar panels attached between them.

Sail inventory: 135 genoa, 90 jib as a spare, yankee staysail, double reefing main, double reefing mizzen, (both have sewn on blocks for reef points), asymmetric and a mizzen staysail (both of these sails are the black/white sails in picture above used for light air.) Both jib and staysail are rollerfurling.

On the aft is a lazzerette (storage) which holds spare sails, a cruise air AC and dive gear plus misc.extra lines.

The interior consists of a V berth (because it is shaped like a V) which is all the way forward and where our guests stay. On each side are storage bags where all of our canvas is stowed. All the way forward is the anchor chain locker. The forward head is on the left and a storage closet on the right before entering the V berth.

The main salon area is in the middle of the boat, with storage underneath and behind the seats. The table can drop down, if needed, for another bed. The settee on the right is also a sea berth with a lee cloth attached that we use when underway at sea.

The galley area is on the port side in the shape of an L with the sink being amidship. We have a separate freezer compartment in the corner, then the stove, the icemaker sits on top of the counter next to the refrigerator box. Our refrigeration is 110, so we have to run the generator twice a day for 2 hrs. to keep the refrigerator and freezer cooled. Also, a microwave convection oven is built in to the pantry cabinet. There is storage behind the counters.

The navigation station is on the starboard side right before the main salon settee.

The main engine and generator room is underneath the cockpit area directly in the middle of the boat. The Perkins 85hp is original. The 5KW Northern Lights was installed in 2004.

Our aft cabin is accessed by the galley hallway and comes with a head/shower.

On the other side of the engine room is another cabin with bunk beds complete with another head. We turned this room into a shop and installed the watermaker where the head used to be. We also have a Heart 2000 inverter, the battery compartment, 4 Trojans, is on the lower level. All of our tools and spares are stowed neatly away in containers and drawers.

Major upgrades and repairs were done thru the years. Some of which are:

The bow anchor area is all new with stainless steel rollers.(since we lost the original bow pulpit in 1997 storm) Two anchors we use are the 65lb. Bruce, 55lb. Delta and a 60lb spade.

Both masts were painted and restepped, (resupporting the masts to the keel) all new halyards and wiring, aluminum steps installed on both masts.

New booms (main & mizzen) The main has boomwings which catch the sail as it is dropped.

New sails in 2003. Main, mizzen and staysail.

New bimini dodger hardtop with permaglass windows.

All 4 hatches were replaced with Bowmars. New galley hatch installed.

All new stainless steel ports (12) by Newfound Metals. We had six of them stainglassed in fish themes. (four our pictured here) There are storm shutters that cover each port.