coconut

I like my boats how I like my men; foreign, strong, and full of character! 

Coconut, hull #18, is a Bruce Bingham design. One of the 78 Fantasia 34’s that were built in Taiwan in 1976. The design is a double ender center cockpit, which is pretty unique for the length. Fantasia’s were built at the same shipyard as Tayana’s, so there are a lot of similarities in the interiors between the two boats.

I purchased Coconut in 2014 in Berkeley, California and have lived on her ever since, minus a few boat breaks here and there. (Because I get asked often, yes, I purchased the boat with my own money. I did not inherit it, and I don’t do things I can’t afford myself. I have done most of the work myself or paid for experienced craftsmen to do work I could not do.)

Coconut needed a lot of work to be in sailing condition again, the photo above is from our first haul out just days after purchase. Finally, in 2018 she was finally ready (and so was I) to sail under the Golden Gate bridge of San Francisco and we happily headed south.

Because my new home had been neglected for around 30 years, below is a list of what I had to do to get Coconut sailing. Items I have accomplished will be crossed off to give a sense of what the problems were. We are at least able to sail, the rest is cosmetic or upgrades!

SEAL OFF THE BOAT
-Rebuild hatches
-Remove caulking around hatches and reseal
-Re-bed all deck hardware & tracks, glassing in wood bases
-Close up exhaust deck hole
-Make (and glass) missing aft dorade box
-Refurbish all portholes
-Re-caulk teak in cockpit
-Install clam vents for port and starboard holes
-Fill in missing bungs with glue/sawdust combo to seal exposed screws

MAST WORK
-New standing rigging
-New running rigging
-New chainplates
-Mast: sand/repaint, rebed hardware, new wires, install antennas for internet and VFH/AIS.
-Install roller-furling system for headsail
-Get all navigation lights working

ELECTRICAL
-Flexible solar panels
-Inverter
-Depth sounder
-VHF/AIS
-Delorme satellite phone
-EPIRB
-Raw water pump
-New LED lighting through out

ENGINE
-50 hr tune up
-New prop
-New cutlass bearing
-Align engine

MISCELLANEOUS
-Service winches
-Service, sandblast & repaint windlass
-New prop
-Get both water tanks to hold water, epoxy interior to prevent rust
-T-valve to bring salt water to galley faucet
-Water purification system for fresh water
-Install Hydrovane

COSMETIC
-Exterior brightwork
-New cushions in aft and forward bunks
-Fix all “spiderweb” cracks, pits, and voids in fiberglass
-Paint deck and hull
-New headliner through out
-Fake grass aft for the pups