Sudana – Our 1st Sailing Yacht!

DETAILS OF SAILING VESSEL

NAME   SUDANA

CLASS AND TYPE   Mirage 29.  Pleasure yacht.

RIG   Masthead sloop.

HULL CONFIGURATION   Bilge keels and shallow skeg.

REGISTRATION NUMBER   None found.

BUILDER   Thames Marine/Mirage Yachts Ltd.

DATE OF BUILD   1986.

DESIGNER   Philippe Harle.

APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS

Length    8.86m / 29ft 1inch

Beam   3.23m / 10ft 6inches

Draft    1.15m / 3ft 9inches

MATERIAL   GRP

ENGINE   Volvo Penta 2002 18hp

ABOUT SUDANA

The Mirage yachts were built to last with substantial strength engineered into the hull. Whilst changing skin fittings the hull laminate thickness is roughly 8mm thick. Sudana gives a smooth ride in even the roughest conditions and has easily coped with Stormy Bristol Channel and Irish sea crossings. She sails exceptionally well and we were pleasantly surprised by her sea keeping, mainly her ability to sail flat(ish) and steady, rarely heeling more than 12°. Under sail she will cruise between 5-8 knots when trimmed properly.

ON DECK

Sudana is a mast head sloop that is easy to handle for two people. The cockpit is deep and feels very secure, there are companionway steel grab rails and harness points. There was a large spray hood but this has been removed as it’s condition is poor. We will either have it replaced or this can be negotiated with the buyer. There are spray dodgers which share the same fate. At the stern are two rather substantial davits with falls for the Honwave inflatable dinghy and fixed transom boarding ladder. A manual diaphragm bilge pump is situated next to the cockpit locker. Sudana has a transom hung rudder, hung via three stainless steel gudgeon/pintle assemblies and extendable tiller with auto pilot fittings. The Autopilot is a Simrad. Simbad the extra sailor works great on long passages and is a much needed extra pair of hands for single handed sailing, his only downfall is his attraction to large metal bouys in a channel.

Mast and spars are the original black anodised variety which makes her easy to spot in a marina. Both spars are in good condition with the usual scuff marks. The majority of running rigging is led back to the cockpit. The genoa is roller furlled on a simple Nemo drum with forestay foils, this is all lead back to the cockpit. Sudana’s main sail is track fed in the mast with the foot fed into the boom. The sails I assume are the originals but are perfectly serviceable for cruising. The rigging was last replaced in 2006 according to documentation.

GROUND TACKLE & DECK FITTINGS

Stainless steel pushpit pulpit, stanchions/sockets and divided taffrail, together with stainless steel guard wires. Substantial stainless steel stemhead rollers for anchor, alloy cleats and fairleads.

One Bruce anchor, 10 meters 8mm galvanised chain and 50 meters warp. Inflatable fenders and misc warps.

ENGINE

The two cylinder raw water cooled diesel engine has always performed as expected and pushes her along at a respectable 5 knots. A single lever control is installed in the cockpit and is easily controlled by foot for docking manoeuvres. She has a folding prop for speed under sail and have never had any problems. The engine has been DIY serviced and is accessed via an acoustically insulated panel behind the companionway ladder in the saloon.

ELECTRICS

Located under the galley sink are two 110ah leisure batteries (reported new 2013) and battery switch. These is an one engine starting battery in the cockpit locker. There are two fuse panels in the nav station. There is a shore power system with four double sockets with usb points, this is completely separate from the 12v system.

BELOW DECKS

Cabin space below is huge and the boat was used as a live aboard for 2 people and a four legged sailor. Sudana has space to sleep 4 people comfortably or 6 people for a cosy weekend. The cabin is split into 3 sections with a large forward V double berth, heads and cupboards midships, main saloon with 2 single bench berths either side, a double pilot/quarter berth starboard aft by the nav station and galley port aft. The main saloon has 6’ft headroom and seating for a lot of friends around the central folding wooden dining table. Our best was 8 people and three dogs for an evening of eating, drinking and boat talk.

There is stacks and stacks of storage space on Sudana, scattered under berths and behind seats, belongings and kit disappear like you are loading the tardis. When full I reckon a whole week is needed to empty her out.

The Galley on the aft port side has a 2 burner gas stove with grill and oven, sink with electrically pumped cold tank water tap, whale fresh water pump, 2 cold storage areas, pots and pan storage under the cooker, storage cupboards behind the cooker and to the right hand side with cutlery draw.

The Nav station is on the aft starboard side with a fold up chart table and chart storage built in. All the fun stuff lives here, Garmin GPS Map 172 which I believe has a south coast of England map chip, ICOM IC-M421 VHF DSC radio linked to GPS chart plotter, electrical switch panels and the cd player radio. Under the aft pilot berth is large flexible water tank fed via a deck mounted inlet on the stern. Forward of this is a smaller “I have yet to see the bottom” storage locker filled with ropes warps and the pump for the galley sink. Above the berth is a horizontal locker with the shore power ECB panel and Galvanic isolator.

The Heads is located between the main cabin and forward berth to the right and storage cupboards to the left. The heads has its own room with a ceramic bowl and a Jabsco twist and lock pump. This new pump and new waste hoses were fitted shortly after we bought her in 2015. Sea cocks are located starboard side under the V berth. There is a vanity station located above the toilet with a sink and small amount of storage for toiletries. Neither the tap or drainage for the sink are connected. The cupboard storage opposite comprises of a wardrobe with hanging space and two horizontal storage spaces.

RECECT WORK & REFIT

She came out of the water a year ago for a full refit, she was starting to look a bit shaby above and below. Sudana had to be stripped back with a few bits of deck and fittings needing some desperate attention. Below is a list of the work we have done since owning Sudana.

Work carried out in 2015 – 2017

• The starboard window was leaking so this has been removed, cleaned out, filled and re-seated.
• Port window trim removed and inspected, no leaks found but the exposed balsa was epoxy coated.
• LED bulbs fitted to most lights.
• Saloon skylight was taken apart serviced and glass re-beded.
• Solar fan fitted to heads for particularly stinky occasions.
• Shore power fitted (not connected to 12v system) 4 double plugs with usb charge ports fitted, 2 in the Nav station and two in the saloon.
• Jabsco twist and lock toilet pump with new inlet and waste pipes.
• Propane regulator and new flexi hose in locker.
• New main sail battons.

Current works over the past year

• The deck was delaminating in a few places, years of dreaded silicon repairs to fixtures and fittings had not been kind. All delaminated areas were stripped, wet balsa removed and replaced, deck fittings re-beded and the deck faired back in.
• The public convenience blue deck paint was removed and painted a nicer shade of grey.
• Gunnels and toe rails stripped and painted.
• Gel coat cracks/chips ground out and filled.
• Rubbing strake removed cleaned an re-fitted.
• Weeping Mast step fittings removed and re-beded.
• Forward cabin stripped, insulated, new headlining and lights fitted.
• Heads stripped, new headlining and light fitted.
• Saloon cushions re-upholstered.
• Internal bulkheads and table sanded back and varnished with Le Tonkinwai (Posh Varnish).
• New Hatch Boards.
• New gas locker Door.
• New galley cupboard/splash back boards.
• Extra Cockpit drain fitted.
• Stainless Steel Fuel tank removed, drained, stripped and cleaned, new fuel pipe fitted.
• Engine serviced, fuel filters, impeller etc.
• New Log impeller and plug.
• New instrument covers.
• Teak kick boards stripped and oiled.
• Anti fouled.
• Keels sanded back, hammerited and anti fouled.

Things left to do and wish list

• Pilot/Quarter berth headlining.
• Galley headlining.
• Genoa Uv strip.
• Galley flexi gas hose.
• Lazy jacks.
• New Clipper mast head wind fitting.
• New anode.