Boating New Zealand – April 2018

70 Boating New Zealand

During construction, the central bulkhead

between the two cabins was pushed over to port,

to make one cabin larger than the other, rather

than creating two symmetrical spaces. Now, the

starboard cabin is the ‘master’, with a larger bed

positioned athwartships, with room to get into

bed on each side.

“We’ve been climbing over the other person

for too many years. We saw the bulkhead going

in between the cabins and asked Craig if we

could change it. Tere was no reason for it to be

symmetrical, so he pushed the bulkhead over to

the other side.”

Te port-side cabin has a more traditional

fore-and-aft single which can be extended out to

a double, with turquoise upholstery and a large

storage locker in the forward bulkhead. A further

double can be created by lowering the saloon table.

Tere is a Lectrasan head and shower on both

sides aft of the steps down. On the port side,

aft of the head is access to the ‘man cave’, which

houses all the electrical services, including the

batteries and inverter, and on the starboard side

there is access to the water tanks. Te boat has

six large solar panels on the cabin roof, charging a

bank of lithium-ion batteries.

“We can have the boat ticking over on the

solar panels in the marina, and when you’re away

you can start the day with half-full batteries and

be fully-charged by lunchtime without moving or

turning the engines on. Te lithium-ion batteries

also weigh about one-third of regular batteries.”

Solar panels bring the luxury of a freezer,

which the Elliotts haven’t had before. Of course,

this means they can now make ice-cream

margaritas.

CRUISING TIME

Tere is no doubt Margaritaville is going to enjoy

plenty of use. While she’s been in the water for

nearly two years, the Elliotts have been too busy

with work, travel and other commitments to take

her out much. However, having the boat moored

at Orakei means it’s close to home, and getting

out on the water doesn’t take long. Sandra is also

enjoying the ease of getting set up for cruising

expeditions.

“I don’t miss the hard yards I used to have to

go through to take the yacht out of race mode and

put it into cruise mode – hauling all the sails of

the boat and putting all the squabs back on. Now,

I walk on and walk of,” she says.

Not that the Elliotts are walking away from

yachting entirely: in 2017 they bought back

their much-loved Wasted Away, which has been

refurbished by Partridge, ready for more racing.

It’s the best of both worlds. BNZ

PACKAGES FROM

POA

DESIGN

Ron Given

MANUFACTURED BY

Craig Partridge Yachts

http://www.partridgeyachts.com

Given E-Cat

11.5m

loa 11.5 m

beam 4.75 m

draft 0.7 m

displacement 5800kg

engines 2 x 87hp Lombardini

fuel 800 litres

water 400 litres

cruising speed 14.5 knots

accommodation Sleeping for

four in two double cabins with

bathrooms

SPECIFICATIONS

Fuel-efciency

Fun decor

Space, space, space

HIGHLIGHTS