bought Kate

Jan 28, 2025 | boats.com | Heather Francis |bought Kate

Waves are a disturbance that travel through water caused by wind blowing across the surface. The size of a wave is affected by many things including how strong the wind is, how long the wind has been blowing, the depth of the water, and the distance the wave can travel without obstruction. The ‘disturbance’, or wave, is energy, and when a wave comes in contact with a boat there is a transference of energy from the wave to the vessel.

Jan 20, 2025 | boats.com | Heather Francis |bought Kate

Over the years, we’ve hauled out our Newport 41, Kate, in the US, Panama, Fiji, Philippines, and Malaysia. We’ve done everything from the routine bottom job to a full paint job on the topsides and deck, had our engine completely rebuilt, installed a new shaft and feathering prop, fixed rotten spots in our deck, and most recently replaced our standing rigging.

Jul 29, 2024 | boats.com | Heather Francis |bought Kate

Life on the hook offers a unique blend of adventure, solitude, and freedom. Although our recent experience spending ten days at a marina in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, was a notable departure from our usual lifestyle, as it had been nine years since we were tied to a dock. While the conveniences of marina life, such as endless hot water showers and the sheltered security of our sailing yacht KATE, were initially appreciated, we soon longed for the freedom of being back on anchor.

Jun 30, 2024 | boats.com | Heather Francis |bought Kate

I stood in the cockpit hopping from foot to foot, my foul weather gear wet, my snack pocket empty, and my eyelids heavy. We were hove-to in the lee of Niue, waiting for daylight. After five days at sea both of us wanted nothing more than to pick up a mooring and fall into the bunk, but we didn’t have up-to-date information about the unlit fishing platforms that were rumored to guard the harbor. We didn’t want to make the approach blind, yet another night at sea was the safer bet.

May 23, 2024 | boats.com | Heather Francis |bought Kate

Step onto a boat that has damp bilges and you can smell it, especially if the vessel has been closed for a few days. At the best of times its the prickling odour of musty library books laced a vague damp forest smell that hangs in the air. At the worse is the suffocating stench of spent fuel and rancid oil, mixed with the decaying funk of salt water and stinky shower drains. Any way you smell it, it isn’t pleasant.