The Boat

SV De Novo
1985 Canadian Sailcraft 36 Traditional

After selling our previous liveaboard, we searched for years for the "perfect-for-us" boat that would take us to Alaska, Mexico, and possibly beyond. Knowing every boat is a compromise, we looked for a reasonable combination of affordability, safety, and performance. We found this in a beautiful CS36T and knew immediately she was perfect for us.

This boat was lovingly maintained by her previous owners. She came with upgrades such as 2008 Yanmar engine, dodger, internal diesel heat, and large self-tailing winches.

Since buying her in 2016, we went to work on new projects:
  • Iverson bimini with solar mounts
  • B&G radar and multi-function display
  • Solar panels: 450 watts on bimini and rails
  • Vesper Marine AIS
  • New running rigging
  • New standing rigging
  • All new plumbing, including a dual UV/ micron water filter 
  • Lots of canvas projects
  • New mainsail
  • New refrigeration
  • Boom kicker
  • LED lighting
  • New batteries
  • New portlights
  • New Mantus anchor and ground tackle
  • 12 volt fans and outlets
  • New upholstery
  • New Monitor Windvane
  • New depth sounder and bronze seacocks
  • Interior comforts for living aboard  
  • Ongoing maintenance and projects
We renamed her De Novo. De Novo means a new start, anew; in a novel and different way. Our name is a promise that we will look at each day with fresh eyes, unencumbered by the past. We chose this name as a symbolic new beginning for our sailing and liveaboard life.  

To learn more about the CS36T, read the reviews listed here, here, or here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eight Days in Suwarrow, Cook Islands

Image
"Prevention is, as in other aspects of seamanship, better than cure." --Sir Robin Knox Johnston Kia Orana , dear friends and family, We’re sorry for the long wait between blog posts. We’ve been distracted by the responsibilities of land life and the horrors unfolding here in the United States. But since we’ll return to lovely Tonga soon, we realized we needed to catch up. We still have so much to share. And even during political dumpster fires, people need stories! The Best Laid Plans… At 1400 on July 20th, we pulled anchor in Tapu’amu, Taha’a, and headed south for the pass. It would be 8-10 days to Independent Samoa. We heard about customs issues there, so we ensured all our paperwork was in order. Our lavalavas (Samoan sarongs) were clean and ready to wear for our clearance formalities. I even downloaded basic phrases and numbers in Samoan to study during the passage.     With a low-pressure system forecast to form south of our route a week later, it wasn’t ideal w...
Read more

French Polynesia Part 3B: Leeward Islands

Image
If you're interested in the bureaucratic complications of sailing into other countries by private boat, this is the blog post for you. If not, it may feel long and tedious. Feel free to just enjoy the pictures instead. We'll have a "Too Long; Didn't Read" [TL;DR] message near the end.  For those hoping to do a passage through French Polynesia, let this post serve as a reason to get a long-stay visa. We opted not to because we were already busy enough before we left Mexico earlier this year, and the process was ridiculously complex. Although we had no intention of staying a full year in French Polynesia, having flexibility around our departure date would have made all the difference. The First Domino (by Denise) Once in a great while, this life is straightforward. Weather cooperates, the bureaucracy is simple, and nothing onboard breaks. It's like the universe conspires to give De Novo a big thumbs up.  On passage to Huahine, it seemed to give us a different fi...
Read more

French Polynesia Part 3A: Windward Island(s)

Image
  'Ia ora na friends and family, Mauruuru for your patience. My (Denise’s) computer broke recently, and we decided to wait until we were in a place that could fix or replace it rather than try to write any posts on my phone–a task that would have taken more than a few night watches.  So the post here means our sailing season just ended, and we’re finally back in the crisp, cold Pacific Northwest. It’s cozy. No anchor to watch, no weather windows to obsess over, no hull to scrape. Just evergreen trees, time with loved ones, and the devastating and inescapable downward spiral of our democracy. Oh and Trader Joe's! Despite our excitement for supermarkets, returning to the States this time felt uneasy. I’m worried about the implications our political climate have on the future of our environment and our humanity; so recommitting to this blog and reliving the happy islands we visited pre-election is a form of therapy. I can pretend we’re still there and hopefully, if I explain it...
Read more