​

SV CHARLOTTE

SA 2052 A

 

​

SV Charlotte, SA 2052 A, ON 20530, is a Bruce Roberts designed Charter 45 built by Fortuna Boat Builders in Milnerton for me. I have attached a few pictures and an inventory. The boat builders used to advertise their HDB in Sailing magazine. I believe she is a particularly good example of these boats which are usually built for home completion.

​

I started with the HDB in 1990 and had all the structural work, 4,8 tonnes of lead ballast encapsulated in the keel, main bulkheads, engine bed, 4 x 180l fibreglass keel tanks, 6 x 120l fibreglass side tanks, rudder and chain plate bulkheads fitted. Fortuna also fitted the interior kit in a slightly modifies version of the standard interior with 2 x double cabins and two by single cabins. I had the interior fitted with solid oak and curved edges at strategic places. Some deck hatches were fitted for convenience while under construction.

​

 I took delivery of the semi complete vessel in 1993 and delivered her to the Bluff Yacht Club by road where I fitted the eleven lightly tinted armour plate windows,  4 more deck hatches, 2 x port lights, a plumbing system with pressurised water and foot pump, electric bilge pumps fore and aft, 1 ½ inch manual nilge pumps fore and aft and 3 x 1 inch pumps in the heads as shower cubicle drains, 3 x toilets , 13 x 12 V lights, 6 x 105 Ah batteries, Whitlock mechanical steering system with steering box, electric windlass and 2 x Meissner winches on the deck. The two Lewmar winches on the mast with a large Lewmar turning block for reefing the fully battened main on the 18m Sparcraft mast were fitted by Masts and Rigging from Durban in 2007.  

​

Before launching at the BYC in 1996 I had bought and installed an old Ford marine engine which I later disposed of and replaced with a 2l Toyota diesel and new ZF gearbox. The 17 x 13 inch propeller is mounted on a horizontal 50mm shaft fitted in a 70mm copper stern tube with stuffing box and cutlass bearing  from Vetus and connected to the gearbox with a Vetus flexible coupling. The rudder is mounted on a Pintle bearing bolted onto a skeg arrangement. The skeg is reinforced with embedded Jarra wood. The stainless steel pushpit and pulpit arrangements are complemented by useful granny bars at the mast. The safety lines are 6mm  316 stainless steel cable carried by 10 Titanium alloy stanchions set in aluminium  bases bolted to the deck. Two stainless steel jackstays serve as runners for harnesses.

The spinnaker is served by two spinnaker halyards and a spinnaker pole on the mast. The spinnaker was purchased in 1995 and is fitted in a sock from Doyle. Having lost the Furlex roller furler in Richards Bay I now use a hank on system for both the genoa and inner foresail with a fully battened main. The main and two foresails were new in 2007 from Quantum. The sails are in relatively good condition as they were only used for one trip to Durban and back and some local sailing but may be subject to some weathering.

​

SV Charlotte carries a stainless steel structure fitted to her stern. The structure carries 2 x 75 W regulated solar panels, a TV antenna and is fitted with a davit arrangement with two block and tackle systems to control the height of the davit and lift the load of dinghies, motors etc. She carries two CQR anchors, 35kg and 45kg and a Fisherman lashed to the pulpit with an assortment of fenders. Sixty metres of 3/8 in galvanised chain hang on the vertical capstan.  She carries more than 200m of warp and currently carries 140m of 16mm line a with about the same length of 12mm line for use as and when required.

Electrically she carries 6 x 105Ah gel batteries individually switched providing the necessary house and engine starting power. Additional equipment provided for in the switchboards are two refrigeration compressors, the refrigeration coolant pump and two 1000 W invertors for 220V operation when not on shore power. She has a Furuno 16 mile Radar connected to a Raymarine 7000 autopilot with a 6000 display and control unit, a Raymarine wind instrument connected to the autopilot which can be used to sail by the wind and some older Autohelm Log and Depth instruments. She carries a Yaesu SSB Vertex Standard VX 1700 open to both Ham and Marine bands complete with automatic antenna tuner, a 25W VHF radio and a 5W handheld. She also carries a covered steering compass. Energy sources include 150 W of regulated solar power, a 16 Amp 220v shore power source with an 80 Amp 220/12V tapped power supply and a regular 55Amp Alternator mounted on the engine. A portable 2,5 KVA 220V generator with a 12V  80 Amp outlet is mounted on the deck.

​

I have since converted the portside head into a Bosun's locker and the Starboard head into a radio room. The forward peak head remains as such and is useful as this is generally a wet area. I continue to complete the interior in oak and oak veneered ply with 62 lockers and formica deckhead liners.

​

My family and I lived on board for more than 14 years and sailed about 2000 miles with a few overnight Durban and back voyages. As a matter of interest, I left the log switched on for about 3 months during the rainy season, resulting in the log now reading 19000 Nm !

There is more.