our boat
The story of Balclutha Too.
“You know it’s your boat when you see it.”
(We actually said that about a different boat.)
But we did eventually find our boat! After searching for a Great Loop boat for several years, we knew this was our boat and bought it June 22, 2022 in northern Michigan. Our boat:
- 1986 Kha Shing 40’
- Beam 14’
- Draft 3’7”
- 165hp Volvo twin engines; generally cruising 8 knots
- Weighs 38,000 lbs (and that was before all the California wine!!)
Think floating RV.
Some of the upgrades we did to the boat included:
– Installing a stern thruster (incl. batteries, charger and control units)
– Installing an inverter (incl. batteries, new breaker panel and 200 feet of wiring to new inverter-specific outlets)
– Removing the Norcold fridge and cleaning behind it
– Adding a beverage fridge
– Removing old oven/stove combo and installing induction cooktop with custom stainless steel trim
– installing new galley drawer and shelves
– New custom mounted admiral’s chairs on the flybridge
– Multiple canvas/Eisenglass upgrades
– Removing and disassembling built in cabinet in salon
– Shortening a couch in the salon so it did not cover the engine room hatches
– Fixing a bunch of janky wiring, both 12v and 120v
– Installing USB charging stations in the stateroom, salon and bridge
– Installing a new stereo
– Installing new reading lights in the cabins
– Changing all of the florescent fixtures in the boat to custom LED
– Adding lighting to the galley
– Adding lighting to the engine room
– Installing an accumulator tank for the water system
– Adding an AIS transponder