S/V Turtlebones is a Catana 431 sailing catamaran. She is 43 feet long (13.1M) and 24 feet wide (7.3M). Unlike most catamarans, which are intended for use in charter fleets, Catanas were designed and built for owners wishing to sail offshore and across oceans. Many, including Turtlebones, have circled the globe.
Turtlebones (then named Rumpelteazer) was purchased in Quepos, Costa Rica in late 2018. Her previous owner, an English gentleman, had sailed there from Singapore – crossing the Indian and Atlantic oceans, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and the fabled Cape Horn.
Catanas are performance cruisers – a little faster than most catamarans and considerably faster than cruising monohull sailboat of similar size. In the interest of speed, Turtlebones has narrow, slippery hulls made of high-tech laminates that are light but very strong, and a tall carbon fiber mast. She’s also equipped with dagger boards which improve upwind sailing. Like all catamarans, she really shines ‘off the wind’ while reaching and running.
Turtlebones is also a comfortable home. In that regard, she might best be described as a compact three-bedroom, two-bathroom, floating apartment.
The starboard hull – the owner’s side – has a king-size bunk, writing desk, and a bathroom with walk-in shower. The port hull – the guest side – has two cabins, one with a dividable king-size bunk, the other with a twin bunk, and a small two-piece bathroom.
Her galley is equipped with a propane range, refrigerator, deep freeze and induction cook-top. The dining table and settee, can accommodate eight inside, while the adjoining covered cockpit can seat six for alfresco dining.
To cross oceans safely and in relative comfort, we use a lot of technology. Twin 40 horsepower Volvo diesel engines to get in and out of harbours, and keep us moving in the absence of wind. More than twenty electrical pumps do everything from flushing the toilets (heads), to turning seawater into drinking water. A menu-driven touchscreen, similar to what you’d find in a modern car, serves as the control center for our AC/DC electrical system.
Solar panels are the primary source for the 5 kilowatts of electricity we consume each day. Augmenting this is a hydro generator which pumps out power as we sail along, and a 5.5 kilowatt diesel generator. If all that fails, we also have a portable gasoline-powered Honda generator.
Touchscreens also provide navigational information and functionality, including GPS mapping, depth, sonar, radar, wind speed and direction, as well as controls for the auto-pilot system. For redundancy and convenience, we have three – one inside and two outside. While at sea, the steering wheels are rarely used, and instead we ‘steer’ the boat with the on-screen controls for the auto-pilot.
Our touchscreens are also essential for safety at sea, providing us with information about all the commercial ships and other boats within hundreds of miles – their position, direction of travel, speed, size, etc. Turtlebones is also equipped with an emergency satellite beacon, life raft, and an extensive medical kit.
For day-to-day communication we use StarLink, a satellite network that provides global internet connectivity.