OWNERS’ EXPERIENCES
S/Y DASHZANI (2011, HN 814)
Andrew (54) and Swade (49) Pickersgill bought Dashzani, a three-cabin model, new at the Southampton Boat Show. They added composite wheels, a bimini/cockpit tent, a Flexifold prop and extra anchor chain. They’ve since replaced the lighting with LEDS, installed a new battery charger and added 300W of solar panels plus a battery monitor. Recently, they’ve fitted a second chart plotter and instrument repeater at the chart table as well.
They’ve had a few minor faults, such as nav light failures, defective wind transducers, a faulty skin fitting and a leaking engine oil seal, but nothing structural other than beefing up the boom vang fitting.
Andrew says: ‘I have sailed all my life and spent more than 20 years chartering in the Solent, West Scotland or the Med with my wife. After buying this, our first yacht, we spent four years cruising the UK south coast, northern France and the Channel Islands, before giving up work to sail. We joined the ARC Portugal across Biscay and then carried on down to the Med, where we spent three seasons cruising Corsica, Italy, Sardinia, Sicily and Greece, before basing ourselves now on Menorca in the Balearics.
‘Dashzani is surprisingly quick under sail once the wind reaches 10 knots. The self-tacking headsail makes tacking a doddle, but the large mainsail needs reefing at around 16 knots true wind. She is well balanced and her helm light, making handling easy for a couple, but she doesn’t like light winds or beating into short choppy seas. In the past, racing crews have commented “It’s almost like helming a dinghy”, although not now with all our liveaboard kit onboard.
‘Downwind is fun, especially with the Parasailor spinnaker. Our fastest recorded speed is 14 knots, with 30 knots of wind behind us.
‘Though I’ve not sailed her singlehanded, it shouldn’t be a problem and the bow thruster certainly makes manoeuvring under power easier.
‘We love the comfort and usability and,
having lived onboard for 10 months of the year for five years, find her ideal for two people cruising. There’s ample room in all cabins and the cockpit tent provides excellent entertaining space. The transom platform extends the deck, making her feel much larger and providing almost step-free access when moored stern-to.
‘If travelling further afield we would prefer a larger battery bank to accommodate a freezer and water maker. However, the impact on storage space would probably steer us towards a larger yacht.
‘Being able to use her for extended periods has allowed us to enjoy her more than we could have imagined. Dashzani has ticked all the boxes (and more), from winning silverware in the Solent to sipping martinis on deck in the Med’. S/Y GREY GOOSE (2005, 400E)
Owner, Mark Johnson, says, ‘My wife and I bought Grey Goose as second owners in 2012 and she has been exceptional. I’ve sailed 12,000 miles in other boats but the 3,000 miles in her have been the best. Our best 24-hour run so far is 187 miles crewed, and I have nearly equalled that solo.
‘When we bought her, she had a suit of rather aged Dacron sails, including a 130% genoa and self-tacking jib. They survive to this day, however a new offshore set has replaced them, providing a significant increase in performance. An asymmetric was an early upgrade for cruising, plus we added a spinnaker pole and track, though they’re mainly used for poling-out headsails as we rarely have sufficient crew to fly the spinnaker. After heavy weather experience, she now has a trysail and storm jib on an inner forestay too. Though the self-tacker and third reef are great high into the 30-knot wind range, I’d like to be able to change down a further gear when things get truly interesting!
‘My joy is sailing Grey Goose singlehanded, which is ridiculously easy.
One powered primary winch enables swift mainsail hoisting, the other controls the mainsheet while simultaneously helming. She has a big rig for a 40ft boat – 108m² (1,163sq ft) upwind with the genoa hoisted.
The single-line reefing is simple to use too, although you do end up with a copious amount of line in the cockpit.
‘Like all high freeboard designs, berthing in unfavourable winds can be awkward, although I sailed her happily for four years without a bow thruster. When we did add one, together with a Featherstream prop, the two were a great upgrade for slow speed manoeuvres under power.
‘Grey Goose makes a great second home. My wife loves her and I’m pleased to say, on the occasional trip with crew, they’ve also found the accommodations comfortable.
Build quality is great; after 16 years there are some gelcoat stress cracks, but they’re only in non-cored deck areas and are mostly ‘wounds’ inflicted by crewmembers dropping winch handles or similar. The epoxy hull is very sound and strong. We did get an issue with the fairing covering the cast iron section of the keel, but that was lobster pot impact induced!
‘The internal woodwork has held up very well but she is getting a mid-life rig refurb and upgrade this year. It will, however, leave the rig stronger for future Atlantic crossing plans.
After eight years I still don’t hanker after another boat. She’s the perfect fit for us as a cruising couple and a good balance of initial cost, versus passage making capability and running costs.’