Phantasia II
It might have been a mid-life crisis but we sold our Toronto home and our C&C 27 MarkV. We looked at many boats, all over Ontario, Annapolis and Vancouver; we spent hours on yachtworld.com ’til finally we found Phantasia II a Niagara 35, Mark 1 designed by George Hinterholler. You can see my review of the Niagara 35 in May/06 Cruising World, “Classic Plastic”.
Mike went for the initial viewing, and we flew to Miami then drove to Fort Pierce to prepare the boat for trucking. My first encounter was a real thrill. Phantasia, although an early model had extensive upgrades done by the previous owners: a new engine, remodeled galley, rewiring with additional batteries, water maker, raw and fresh water foot pumps, 12-volt fans, retrofitted hinged screens, solar etc etc. She also had a brand new 15hp Honda and 11ft Avon rib on davits. The 300 lbs suspended over the stern had caused compression cracking and we felt threw off the balance so we removed the davits, sold the works and have bought a small roll-up.
While waiting (a month) to go into the Bronte Boat Works shop we refaired and sealed the keel and rudder, then applied new bottom paint. Our first addition was a Ratheon radar followed by pressurized water with on-demand propane heater which we mounted on the aft bulkhead. We like this item so much we’ve considered getting for home.
The entire deck was stripped and gel coat ground off. Counter and aft ends of deck opened for new balsa. Area under windlass also opened and new ply inserted. Then all vacuum-bagged, glassed and new gel rolled on. Remainder of the deck was awl gripped.
We finally got Phanty out for a sail the end of October, approximately 4 months after Florida. Having sold our house and putting everything worth storing into storage we spent that time in short-term, furnished rentals. Bella the cat didn’t know what to make of all this but her real shock was finding a home that moved. Cats DO get seasick.
Not long after we moved onboard we got a second locker close to home base, Etobicoke Yacht Club, for seasonal stuff: sails, dingy, jerry cans, cockpit enclosure and all the extra stuff that just wouldn’t fit. Then began the task of putting EVERYTHING into zip lock bags. Going from a nimble 27 footer to a 35ft “behemoth” was intimidating at first. Our early attempts at docking were torture but fortunately by November there was no one around to witness. We were still cruising after the power was shut off at Blockhouse Bay, Toronto Islands, it was just us and the fall colours.
Winter at EYC: We were one of 5 boats to winter over. While the weather was still warmish we built the cover so the plastic would remain pliable. The shelter was no thing of beauty but it worked and on sunny days would get warm enough that the cat ventured out to sprawl and enjoy the sunshine.
We used 2 portable rad type heaters. Keeping a balance of warm-enough verses excessive condensation was a challenge. Usually it was between 13-15c; sheepskin slippers were essential and there were mornings when the blankets were frozen to the wall. Keeping the moisture, hence mildew, under control was an ongoing process.
We called ourselves the “Clampets” …the cockpit was coat/boot closet, laundry storage, cat box and miscellaneous storage. The dinghy engine was on the coach roof leaving just enough room to scramble across the deck to fill the water tanks. The water hose (s, all joined to make several hundred feet) was stored in the club house and filling the tanks was a job that took hours. The walk (dash) up to the club for showers etc was often a frosty one but living in the park with all the birds was truly beautiful. Next time we live aboard it will be in a warmer climate.
Ongoing upgrades for our Niagara include new upholstery and mast cover using Jayne’s Sailrite machine. During the winter of 2004 Michael designed and built a new nav table. Removing part of the small bulk head allows you to sit although not swing your legs in (we are contemplating going the whole way and cutting back the drawers then moving wiring, through hull etc.) The table now lifts up on the aft side with the top extended to the full width of the quarter berth. An instrument box has a fold down front for the laptop that allows charts, guides and directions to remain open on the table top. Radar and VHF radio mount beside.
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