The Boat

Mother of Perl is a forty-five foot (on deck) steel ketch with four private cabins, two heads, a saloon, galley, navigation station, and engine room. The hull was completed in Riga, Latvia in 1999. The boat was finished out in Tallinn, Estonia. She was completed in May of 2000.

The hull is modeled from the Spray, Joshua Slocum's boat that was the first to be single-handed around the world. That voyage was completed just over a hundred years ago. This hull shape is known to be very "sea kindly" in the open ocean, and has especially good characteristics for self-steering, even in heavy weather and choppy seas.

The Cabins

The interior of the boat is a white, prefinished, marine plywood (made in Finland) trimmed in teak. Practically all the wood on the boat is teak. There is no varnish bright-work. This design provides for cheery and bright cabins that can take abuse, and yet, with a little sandpaper and teak oil, return to their original beauty.

Captain Ben Smith and his family built Mother of Perl to be their world traveling home: two adults and two children. The forward cabins were design for the privacy that teenage children require, and as the study area for their on board schooling. These cabins not only have acoustic privacy, but also enormous amounts of storage space, and a desk. The berths in these cabins can easily be widened to make for double berths.

The aft cabins consist of the owner's (Captain's) cabin and a "pilot's berth." These two cabins have their own head.

The galley is large enough for two people to work at the same time, and yet narrow enough to be safe in rolling seas. It is equipped with a three-burner propane gimbaled stove, a well-type refrigerator that can keep frozen foods frozen for months, a double sink, and good lighting to facilitate cooking at night as well as in the day.

The saloon is a open space with a table that (with the leaves up) can seat eight. The table is a masterpiece of Estonian cabinet work.

The heads were designed for the needs of women passengers and crews. They are easy to move around in, have large counter spaces, and many cabinets. The faucets in heads extend to serve as showers.

On Deck

The deck area is divided in three areas: the cockpit, the aft deck, and the fore deck.

The cockpit is finished with unvarnished teak. There is room for eight people to sit in the cockpit. While under sail, the cockpit area becomes quite busy at times, and so we try to keep the occupants to six. When not under way, we cover the cockpit and superstructure with an awning and sling hammocks. The cockpit seats are long enough for sleeping, should you wish to sleep outside.

The aft deck is wide and clear enough of rigging to allow trolling for fish while under way. It is also the are from which we swim. The swim ladder leads up over the stern, and, when lowered, extends well below the water line, making it easy to re-board after your dive from the davits.

The fore deck is a comfortable area for reading and lounging even when under way. When beating into heavy seas, there is spray from the bow. This can be very refreshing on a hot day. The bow has a narrow platform over the bow sprit. This is the best place watch dolphins as they play in the bow wave.

The deck on the superstructure near the main mast is all business, criss-crossed with the many lines used for controlling the sails.

The outer decks, leading from the aft deck to the forward deck on either side of the boat, are wide enough for the crew to pass each other. The crew and passengers are protected from falling overboard by strong stainless steel safety lines and rails.

The steel deck has a pattern of non-skid material that provides good traction, even when covered with water. The material is comfortable for bare feet.

Amenities

Snorkeling is our favorite pastime. There is snorkeling equipment for six passengers. If you have your own equipment, feel free to bring it an use it, but please mark it so that it doesn't get mixed up with Mother of Perl's.

For entertainment, we have a fine sound system with Bose speakers in the saloon. We also have a VHS TV/VCR and a modest selection of video tapes.

The tender for Mother of Perl is a ten-foot rigid-bottom inflatable with a 15-HP outboard motor. It can accommodate six passengers safely and comfortably. Typically, we do not dock Mother of Perl, and so the tender is an important tool for our operations. If you require fast, water based transportation, there are water-taxi services in most harbors.

Equipment

Mother of Perl has four regular working sails: main, stays'l, jib, and mizzen for a total of 1500 square feet (140 square meters) of sail. She also carries a storms'l, spinnaker, mule, and spare stays'l, though these are seldom used.

She has an auxiliary engine which is used to propel her in harbors and when the wind and geography make tacking difficult as well as to charge her batteries. It is a Perkins M90 diesel, approximately 80 HP.

Her navigational and communications equipment consist of GPS, flux-gate compass, ComNav autopilot, Yeoman electronic plotter, Nobeltec electronic charting system, and VHF and SSB radios. For safety, she carries a 6-person open ocean life raft, a full assortment of flares and smoke signals, and two EPIRBs. There are fire extinguishers in every area of the boat. The cooking gas has a gas detector in the bilge that automatically cuts off fuel at the tank. We carry a full first aid medical kit, including sting antidotes, antibiotics, and wound dressings. (Only the sting antidotes has ever been needed.

Mother of Perl is a documented United States vessel.

For more on the history of Mother of Perl go HERE

E-mail Ben Smith