Moira is number 14 in a production of 356 Peterson 44s. Considered
one of the best cruising yachts in the world, she was designed by Doug Peterson - well
known for his championship designs in one ton racing sloops.
She was designed as a fast, center cockpit, aft cabin cruising
yacht, with excellent performance in all conditions of blue water cruising. The notched
keel and waterline double ended design handle well headed into the wind or with a
following sea.
Moira is built out of fiberglass trimmed in teak. The hull is hand
molded fiberglass up to 2.5 cm thick at the turn of the bilge. Her decks are fiberglass
with internal plywood for rigidity. She is painted with linear polyurethane.
At sea, Moira's main propulsion is from 83 mē of sail (894 ttē).
Her sails were built by North Sails of San Diego. There are three sails. A 110% roller
furling headsail on Harken Roller Furling gear, a hanked on - very rugged staysail just
aft of the headsail, and a slab-reefed mainsail. From a broad reach to hard on the wind
all sails are used together. With a following wind we find the boat handles best with only
the 110% lapper. We are too lazy for drifters or spinnakers and seldom even use a
spinnaker pole. Under prime conditions Moira sails comfortably at 7 to 9 knots. Usual
average passages maintain 6 knots.
The mast is made by LaFiell, in California and is stepped on
the 5 ton iron keel. The top of the mast is about 19 meters from the water. All fittings
and standing rigging are stainless steel except the turnbuckles and chainplates which I
had cast out of aluminum nickel bronze.
I designed and built the fiberglass dodger that protects the roomy
center cockpit. The cockpit cover can be completely zipped up at sea, making her very
comfortable in all weather conditions. She has pedestal steering with a large stainless
wheel that is almost never used. The boat is normally steered by the Autohelm 6000
autopilot with a linear drive suitable for a yacht twice the length of the Moira.
Navigation is by Garmin GPS (2) with sextant back up. Moira has SSB
and VHF radio, and a Satellite Receiver for obtaining weather images from orbiting
satellites.
The 60 hp fresh water cooled, 4-cylinder Cummins Diesel provides
auxiliary power, driving the Moira at 5 knots under most conditions. In an emergency she
can make 7 under power. We run the engine once a day, every day, for about an hour to
provide electricity (12 volts or 110 VAC), heat the water for the showers, pull down the
freezer to -18š C., and make fresh water for the day from our Pur desalinater. There are
three big 210 amp hour batteries charged with a Balmar 150 amp alternator. All our
energy needs are met for 2.4 liters of diesel fuel a day. Moira carries 440 liters of
diesel in two steel fuel tanks.
Our ground tackle includes
350 feet of 10-mm chain hauled in by a Nilsson
Electric Windlass. The main anchor is a
27 KG CQR plow. We use a 10 KG High Tensile
Danforth back-up in tandem with the plow,
under really horrible
conditions.
We use an Avon 4 meter inflatable dingy with a 25 hp Mercury
outboard. Our current Avon is 11 years old and in excellent condition. We tried Zodiac,
but like many (most?) zodiac owners we discovered they tend to come unglued in important
places.
Moira's 4 stainless water tanks hold nearly 500 liters of water but
this is used only for bathing and washing up. All water is supplied via Whale foot pumps,
although there is a pressure water system available.
All our drinking and cooking water for the past ten years was
provided by two Pur PowerSurvivor 35 desalinaters from Recovery Engineering. These are the
best engineered desalinaters on the market and have been relatively trouble free.
Desalinaters have to be used every day to stay happy.
We changed to a Sea Recovery dessalinator when we could not get the old ones serviced any longer and the parts became unavailable. It is by far the best made piece of complicated junk, a real POS model.
It is suposed to make 63 liters per hour and we only get it to make 15 liters per hour. Disapointed....
Freddy's galley has a highly efficient, large refrigerator/freezer,
which I built myself, driven by belt off the engine. There is a three burner Force 10 LP
gas stove with oven and broiler, a microwave oven, food processor, blender, juicer, and pressure cooker. Counter tops are white Formica.
Moira is exceptionally roomy compared to other boats her size, with
the interior divided into four sections, a main salon, forward stateroom, companionway aft
(and engine room), and a spacious aft cabin. There are two showers and toilets.
The bulkheads are teak and teak veneer and the interior deck is teak and
holly. The wood work is beautifully finished by the Chinese builders. Three opening
hatches scoop air and light into the interior. There are also three ventilators to provide
air in all weather conditions. At sea, all these are normally sealed.
The forward cabin has two Vee berths with hanging lockers and
drawers (in practice this is a storage area). The main cabin has a settee on the starboard
side that we use as a bunk on the port tack. The dinette table lowers to form a
queen-sized bunk on the port side that we use on starboard tacks. In port we sleep in the
aft cabin, with its king-sized bed.
Moira's Statistics
Length Overall |
13.4 Meters |
Length Water Line |
11.8 Meters |
Beam |
4.0 Meters |
Draft |
2.0 Meters |
Ballast |
4,536 KG |
Displacement |
12,701 KG |
Sail Area |
83 Metersē |
Fuel |
440 Liters |
Water |
500 Liters+ |
Batteries |
630 amp. hr. |
|
