Avatar and crew are now happily basking in the Southern Hemisphere winter warmth of Vila in the island nation of Vanuatu. We sent her skipper, Rod Bradley, a list  of questions about the passage which we was kind enough to answer. Rod’s comments provide an interesting look at how the first of the FPB 64 series performs on an ocean passage. Follow Carol and Mike Parker’s adventures with Avatar on their website by clicking here.

First, a bit of background on Rod.

I come from a boating family and have been on and in the sea all my life. I could call myself a Pacific specialist. I had intentions of sailing on other oceans, not anymore. So on a variety of boats, from wet, leaking 1909 yachts to, well this has to be the driest, the FPB. I have sailed and motored a number of miles all over the pacific. I moved off the land onto a boat fulltime in1997 and have lived on the sea since then. I have done time as a boatbuilder, a racing yachtsman (my own and other peoples yachts), scuba diver, and professional skipper.

What was the weather like during the passage?

We left on the back of a subtropical low, first day south 25/30. Day 2 south10, day 3 northwest 15, day 4 south 15, with trades filling in on the last day southeast 25, so a perfect milk run.

What was your crew and watchstanding routine, and how they compared to Rod’s sailing experience are next.

Usually I do 4 hours on 4 off, this trip we did 3 on 3 off. I don’t feel there is any advantage of one or the other. At first due to the cold all watches were done at the inside helm, as it warmed up the flybridge was the favored spot. Radar watch was the most important part of the watch keeping. On this passage there was no set routine. This is due to the fact of both Niko and myself being very familial with the FPB and our many miles of experience. With an inexperienced crew there would of been a set routine. The very comprehensive alarm system also makes a more casual approach possible. But of course we are constantly monitoring engine condition, battery voltage, power use and generation, noise and making lots of coffee….which is very nice to do on the FPB as in the galley you still have a view pretty much the same as at the helm station. A far more relaxed passage in all respects compared to a sail boat. Including, leaving, the middle bit and arrival. It could be called very boring, but I did not find it boring.

How did the  interior layout work at sea and where did you stand watch?

Good, and as I said the galley is in a very favorable position to be used when on watch. The port seating area was also a nice spot, so we kind of went, helm seat to port seating area to galley to flybridge all watch long. The flybridge is one of the highlights of the boat.” Your own balcony with incredible sea views”. Both underway and at anchor, this is the spot. Sitting is dependent on wind and sun angle. With our “seat style” cushions you move were ever is best, including the roof of the entrance door.

Maretron is a great system for the alarms and engine functions. Not so good for information functions (like depth, sea temperature etc.) due to the fact nothing can be calibrated on this unit.

The genset is never required at sea. Using all the power we could,  auto pilot, water heaters, air con, oven, hot water jugs….we were never short of power from the alternators.

Well to start this answer, my cruising style is, have power, use it. We never scrimp on power or water. I always say, just use as much power and water as you want, if it gets too much, I will tell you. The FPB has plenty of both, power and water.  So in NZ, we were not using the aircon, but we were using electric and kabloa for water heating. Generator was on once in the morning for 2 hours and in the evening for 2 hours.

In Vanuatu we are using aircon and electric only for water heating. The generator goes on in the morning and off at night. It is very quiet and unobtrusive. Of course the aircon is the big power draw. No aircon, no need to run the generator.

The system is the best I’ve ever worked with….quite and very efficient, I do not even notice the amp draw of the system.

The systems and quality are great.

Deck layout for a 20m boat is awesome. As you have seen, we carry two dinghys both with engines on and can launch either with very little fuss. Having the dinghies aft protects them from the sea also. Deck layout for docking is fine, large side decks and power winches make this easy.

After about 3000nautical miles of time aboard the FPB, the highlights are:

• Downwind comfort (it really is incredible to motor down wind in large seas and sleep on a perfectly level bunk).
• Able to carry and easily launch large dinghys. Huge water capacity.
• Large range, minimal fuel burn.
• Large power generation.
• The flybridge.
• Ease of moving from one place to another.

Overall a great boat.  Carol and Mike (the owners) will be here in a few days to have their first tropical cruise aboard their new FPB64 Avatar .I am sure they are going to be very happy with the FPB and have some great adventures aboard her.