Archer -  May 2016

​What a pleasure to sail Rick and Julie Palm’s Outremer 51, Archer, from the BVI to the Hamilton YC in Virginia.  Archer is a boat with many thoughtful & functional improvements made by her well travelled owners.  With the Palm’s permission, we’d like to share a few of them with you. 

Archer recently got a new paint job, a bright red hull.  She is ‘hot’. This is a catamaran with the curb appeal of a Ferrari.  She has her own logo on the hull and etched into the glass doors.   ​

Rick installed these fridge temp sensor/thermostats.  The first one took 90' and the 2nd one took 30'.

​We’ve long felt that the haul up speed on the main was too slow and now…a solution so simple – a 2 speed winch. These are Antals. Antal winch handles are very nice too - very light and yet they don’t feel weak or flimsy and they have a very intuitive easy release button.  One of our crew, Russ Owen, had Anderson variable speed electric winches on his 60’ Nexus cat and he loved those too.  

And, of course, nothing says welcome to the Chesapeake like a nice bunch of clouds.

I don’t know why cat builders are stingy with handholds but they are.  Check out these sturdy and well placed holds. In the galley they have they bonus effect of preventing unintentional lights on/off when you lean against the switches.  They are also nicely placed as grab bars when you climb or descend the steps from the helm seat or port side. In the shower they are especially welcomed on the owner’s side since that shower is so far forward in the hull.

We love the tiller steering seats that Outremer provides but this is literally the first time we’ve had a comfortable and functional helm seat - made in the USA by Arrigoni Design.

Archer has a nice small multipurpose 4:1 block and tackle.  We used it to move the tack point leeward when sailing off the wind. These cats don’t typically have poles but these preventer strategies are great at keeping the clew in the right spot. Having a pre-made block & tackle makes it fast and simple.
And last but not least, our favorite pet peeve, sufficient line managers to keep the spaghetti under control.

Brilliant solutions

The Palm's are seasoned boat owners and cruisers.  And it shows. Simple, elegant, cost wise solutions everywhere you look.

Those pesky, slippery difficult to hold trash bin lids, a little grab string that makes lifting easy and can be replaced when it gets funky.

​Two great towel bar solutions. A nice toilet paper roller well placed under the lip of the sink just to the left of the toilet in the crew cabin and in front of the toilet in the owner’s head. And if you’ve ever wished the launch into your berth was a bit easier, here’s a nice solution – a step.

Cleaning a boat after a long ocean passage is a priority. Rick uses a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water applied with a large capacity sprayer to melt the salt followed by a high pressure wash (from a good pressure nozzle, not necessarily a pressure washer) to give her and every turning, moving item a thorough cleaning.  I’ve long been a proponent of this vinegar & water solution as the most effective, low cost and environmentally sound cleaner inside a boat (and a house for that matter).  But watching it clean up encrusted blocks was impressive.

The cockpit table never saw light or salt during the passage and the cover never moved no matter how hard it blew.

And finally, kudos to the Palms for the care they give their boat, the generosity that is makes this all shareable and for giving Jan and Claudia the chance to sail Archer.

And a big thank you to our great  crew

Laurie & Russ Owen who in 2014-15 circumnavigated on their Nexus named Nexus and Robin Ricca who owns one of everything that floats, from City Island Yacht Club.
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