40 Blue Water Sailing • April 2000

Blue Water Boats

by Liza and Andy Copeland

W e purchased Bagheera, aBeneteau First 38s, fromthe factory in France in1985. Our criteria for a

cruising boat included sound construc-tion, good performance on all points ofsail, and sufficient accommodation andstorage to provide a long-term home fora family of five. Budget was a major con-sideration. We planned to cruise for twoyears in the Mediterranean and Carib-bean, then sell the boat in Florida. Wenever dreamed that six years later wewould have completed a circumnaviga-tion. To date, we have cruised over70,000 miles aboard Bagheera and vis-ited 88 countries. The Beneteau First 38s is a JeanBerret-designed sloop introduced intothe European market in 1979 with bothmedium- and deep-draft versions avail-able. A tall double-spreader “S” rig,keel-stepped as opposed to the standarddeck-stepped single-spreader rig, wasavailable also. In 1985, the tooling wasupdated to become the First 405 usingthe same hull and keel but with a modi-fied deck and interior. At this time,Beneteau considered the Beneteau Firstseries a line of performance cruisers,while the First Class models representedthe racers. More recently, Beneteau hasoriented their Oceanis line toward blue-water cruising and the First series hasbecome more race-oriented.

About our dream Our love affair with the Beneteau First38 started in 1983. Andy was a part-

ner in a yacht dealership in Vancouverrepresenting Swan, C & C, Whitby andYamaha. The French boats exhibited atthe London Boat Show that year werenoteworthy, and a few weeks later bothof us toured the five major French manu-facturers. The Beneteau company’s ap-proach to the building of high-quality,affordable cruisers was impressive, aswas their willingness to adapt their pro-duction to suit the North American buyer.Andy returned to Canada as their dealer,and that summer we took delivery of ourown personal First 38, a boat that subse-quently we sold to order the new boat inEurope. Some may question whether a produc-tion-built boat has the structural integrityto undertake a prolonged offshore cruise.The French government has long im-posed strict requirements on their build-ers, who must specify the standard towhich each boat is constructed. The First38 has a Category 1 certificate, built for

Beneteau First 38 after 70,000 miles

unrestricted offshore use. Others mayquestion the modern hull and keel andthe moderate displacement that contrastso with the traditionalist’s view of theideal passagemaker, but we had nodoubts on the matter. Dozens of offshore passages were be-ing made each year by the better produc-tion boats, and in Andy’s dealership theyhad encountered no structural problemswith Beneteaus. As to design philosophy,we both had sailed offshore extensively– as amateurs and as professionals – in avariety of boats ranging from ultralightracers to the heavy and traditional. Andover the years, we had grown to favorboats that are somewhere in the middle– quick, well mannered, not too heavy,and a joy to sail. For us, the most desir-able characteristic from the perspectivesof safety and comfort in an offshorecruiser is sailing efficiency – the abilityto make fast passages and to sail out oftrouble upwind and down. Had money not been a consideration,we might have chosen a boat such as aSwan, similar in design concept andbeautifully built. But being on a budgetwe felt that the First 38 offered us themost “bang for the buck.” It’s a decisionwe have never regretted. In fact, we knowof four First 38s besides ours that alsohave circumnavigated. Bagheera, named after the black pan-ther in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book,is a standard deep-keel Beneteau First38s, the tall-rigged version with Ameri-can specs. Besides its performance,workable deck design and comfortablecockpit, we were attracted to the lay-out below. For our family of five, the

After several voyages, including a circumnavigation, it has proven to be the per-fect combination of seakindliness, seaworthiness, performance and fun, whileproviding a comfortable home at anchor

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Blue Water Boats

(Clockwise from left) Bagheera, a Beneteau First 38s, started life as aproduction racer-cruiser. After 70,000 miles, the boat was transformedinto a world voyager that still sails like a champ. As a liveaboardhome for the Copeland family, Bagheera attracted the cruising kidsin the harbor wherever they sailed – with Duncan leading the plungeoff the spinnaker pole. Andy and Liza, looking hale and hearty fromthe cruising life.

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accommodation works well: two aftdouble cabins, workable galley, largechart table with abundant space for elec-tronics, long settee/sea berths, full-sizedtable in the main cabin, and spacious for-ward cabin. The boat came with two heads, butbefore long we’d turned the small afthead into storage. To give each of ourthree children his own sleeping area,Andy added an upper berth in the portaft cabin. We had the berth cushions di-vided lengthwise and fitted with leecloths– both in the interest of sea berths andto provide extra storage on long pas-sages. to protect the upholstery, we hadlight slipcovers made, comfortable andeasy to launder. The interior has good stowage, includ-ing four hanging lockers and a wet-locker. We modified the galley to includeextra drawers, and Andy fitted book-shelves and lockers outboard of the set-tees, soon filled with school supplies andbooks. Whether fiction or reference,reading was a major source of recreationfor the whole family; at one time we hadover 600 books on board. Initially, Bagheera enjoyed basic elec-tronics. These included a log, wind,depth, VHF radio, Transit satnav andAutohelm 6000 pilot. Three furlingheadsails, a storm jib, a conventionallybattened mainsail with three very deepreefs, and a racing spinnaker completedour sail inventory. Two changes includeda) going up one millimeter in wire diam-

eter for all standing rigging, and b)fiberglassing in a 5/8-inch marine-plyhorizontal bulkhead at the waterline un-der the V-berth forward to improve im-pact resistance should we encounter ahard floating object. Belowdecks, thestove, batteries, floorboards, drawersand lockers were all made secure in theevent of a knockdown.

About our voyages Andy commissioned the boat in En-gland, then two months later Liza andthe boys arrived. Duncan had just turnednine, Colin was six and Jamie two. Fol-lowing a shakedown cruise along thecoast, we headed south and the first yearwent by very successfully. The Mediter-ranean was ideal for our boys, with shortpassages, great cultures, interesting food,and sightseeing ashore. We fitted quicklyinto the routine of schooling on board. On our return to Gibraltar from Tur-key, we increased the lengths of passagesto prepare the boys for the Atlantic cross-ing. Time was starting to run out on ourtwo-year cruising plan, but, we askedourselves, did we really want to gohome? An invitation to join the TallShips events in Australia in 1988 to cel-ebrate their bicentenary, a successfulAtlantic crossing, and the boys’ enthu-siasm persuaded us to keep on going. For the longer Pacific passages weadded a Ham/SSB radio, an Arieswindvane, a wind generator and a cock-

pit bimini. We departed Panama for thewonderful nature fix of the GalapagosIslands, then sailed on to FrenchPolynesia, Rarotonga, Tonga, Fiji andNew Caledonia, making our Australianlandfall in November 1987 at Coffs Har-bor, New South Wales. We loved Australia with its friendlypeople and exotic birds and animals. Theboys did well at school and we, havingbeen given work permits, rebuilt the kitty.We also made several additions toBagheera which included a freezer withholdover plates, solar panels, radar, anelectric anchor windlass, and aweatherfax. April 1989 found Bagheeraheading up the Barrier Reef, then takingpart in the Darwin-Ambon race and cruis-ing through Indonesia, Singapore Malay-sia and Thailand. For a year we ambled across the In-dian Ocean, meeting few cruisers andstopping in the Andaman Islands, SriLanka, India, the Maldives, Chagos andthe Seychelles. Then it was down the EastAfrican coast to Madagascar and aroundthe Cape of Good Hope in early 1991.After visits to St. Helena, Fortaleza, Bra-zil and French Guyana, we crossed ouroutgoing track northeast of Barbados,and in Antigua we celebrated the comple-tion of our circumnavigation. After six years, it was time to go home.The boys wanted to be in regular highschools, and we had to recoup financially.Andy returned to yacht brokerage and

As miles piled up under Bagheera’s keel, equipment continued to sprout ondeck and below. The Aires windvane does the heavy steering chores; thesolar panels and wind generator top up the 690-amp/hour battery bank; radarkeeps an eye on the horizon; below decks, the new fridge and watermakermake life aboard more civilized.

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formed a new dealership. Liza started towrite cruising books and articles, and togive seminars at the major U.S. boatshows. Bagheera sat for too many week-ends (when Duncan wasn’t using her) atthe yacht club dock, although we didmanage a trip to the rugged Queen Char-lotte Islands and a few weeks of cruisingwith her every summer, and her mileagecontinued to mount. Two years ago, we decided we’dearned a sabbatical. We upgraded a lotof the old gear and added a Profurl in-

miles like a teenager. Future plans includeexploring the U.S. East Coast more ex-tensively, and then of course there is thelure of the Caribbean…

About Bagheera Hull and deck: The hull is hand-laidfiberglass with a massive grid glassedinside. The balsa-cored deck is bondedand bolted to the hull, and all bulkheadsare secured for their entire perimeters tothe hull and deck. The result is an incred-ibly strong structure with so little move-

boom mainsail furling system, a Spectrawatermaker, extra solar panels, a secondGPS, 12-volt refrigeration, and a cruis-ing chute. A wind generator was installedduring the trip. In August 1998, we leftfrom Vancouver to spend a fascinatingyear cruising 11,500 miles down the Pa-cific Coast, through Panama, gunkholingCentral America and Cuba, then continu-ing up the U.S. Atlantic Coast to NovaScotia. Now we are again at work inVancouver, but Bagheera sits in a cradlein Deltaville, Va., wearing her 70,000

(Clockwise from left) On the bow of their floating home theCopeland family –Jaimie, Glin, Duncan, Andy and Liza— poseinside a tropical lagoon. Bagheera’s interior is homey andcomfortable, with the main dinette to port. Home from a divingexpedition in Indonesia, Duncan displays dinner. Andy and Lizaat the chart table, with Andy in the process of changing the paperin the recording barometer.

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ment that we have never been troubledby leaks or squeaks. The keel is a deepcast-iron fin and the rudder a balancedspade. In Australia, areas below the waterlinewere treated for osmotic blistering atBeneteau’s expense. The hull was paintedwith Awlgrip at the same time to hide thedamage done when a teenager in chargeof a fast aluminum runabout tried to takea short-cut through our topsides while wewere at anchor. There are wide side decksand a very large anchor locker. The cock-pit is large and is protected by a dodger,bimini and side-curtains. A stainless steelscaffold mounted aft carries four elevatedsolar panels, a wind generator and radar. Sails and rig: The original Hoodgenoa furler was replaced in 1998 with aProfurl unit when the new in-boommainsail system was fitted. We feel thelatter is one of the best cruising develop-ments we’ve seen in recent years, givingus an efficient, fully battened, deeplyroached and nicely shaped mainsail thatcan be reefed or stowed quickly by oneof us from the cockpit. There are threefurling genoas, a storm jib that hanks onto a retractable inner forestay, a new

cruising chute with a snuffer, and a veryold racing spinnaker. Except for the spin-nakers, all sails are of cruising Dacron,which we find long-lasting, reliable andeasier to handle and repair than laminatedsails. Before heading offshore again lastyear, we replaced all the standing riggingand the lifelines, as we feel strongly thatstainless steel rigging more than 10 yearsold cannot be relied upon in extreme con-ditions. Engine and systems: The standard 50-h.p. Perkins 4-108 has lived up to its repu-tation for reliability. It continues to startinstantly and run well, though now it isusing oil and lacks vigor. After 10,600hours, this is hardly surprising, and thiswinter we’ll have it rebuilt. Except for arear oil seal, which entailed removing theengine in Fiji to change this $2 part, theonly replacements needed have been threeexhaust elbows. One of the great featuresof the Beneteau First 38 is the cockpitfloor that unbolts, allowing the engine lit-erally to be lifted straight out. Bagheera has a high-output alternator,an Air Marine wind generator, and 240watts of solar power to feed six 12-voltdeep-cycle batteries that provide 690

amp-hours. Refrigeration started with a12-volt system, then an engine-drivenholdover-plate arrangement for a freezerthat necessitated running the motor onceor twice a day. We replaced this five yearsago with a Nova-Cool 12-volt unit thathas proven excellent for both refrigera-tion and freezing, even in 90° weather.In addition, it is self-maintaining whenwe leave the boat to travel inland. To cope with unreliable diesel qualityaround the world, we fitted a doubleRacor filter system ahead of the two stan-dard fuel filters, enabling us to switchfilters instantly if the one in use chokesup. We generally use biocide to preventbacterial contamination. The Spectra watermaker produces agenuine nine gallons per hour for eightamps, and reliably; it has made life onboard infinitely more comfortable. Wealways have full tanks, take frequentshowers, and have no concerns aboutpolluted water. It is quiet, its output isvirtually unaffected by temperaturechanges, and as it draws very little power,it can be run either by solar panels or bythe wind generator. Mechanical servic-ing is minimal because the high-pressurepump has no fast moving parts. Electronics and navigation: Andy isan ex-navy pilot who likes his gadgets,but we both enjoy good instrumentation,and like most cruisers we continue to addtoys and we always have a wish list. Fol-lowing a lightning strike in Mozambiquethat destroyed most of the electronics andmany of the electrics, we re-equipped thecockpit with Autohelm instruments, andnow also have their 7000 autopilot and24-mile LCD radar, plus a Furunofishfinder/depth-sounder. We replacedthe damaged weatherfax with a SEA unitand the Transit satnav with a GPS. At the chart table, we have the VHFradio and ICOM single-sideband/hamradio from which, with a TNC (whichconverts the radio’s analog signal to adigital one the computer can read), wecan send e-mail, plus a cockpit instru-ment repeater and gauges for electricaloutputs and consumption. We carry a121.5 MHz EPIRB, two magnetic com-passes, one electronic compass, onehand-bearing compass, a recordingbarograph, two sets of binoculars, ahandheld VHF and a powerful search-light. We have over 300 charts on board,with guides, almanacs, sight-reductiontables, nav-aid lists, and tables, and weare beginning to use electronic charts,

The chart table is surprisinglylarge for a 38-footer. A standardNOAA or Admiralty chart will fiton top or inside the table with adouble fold; light lists, coastpilots and cruising guides sit onthe shelf next to the HF radio;and the seat is wide enough tobe comfortable on both tacks.The U-shaped galley is compactbut works well at sea and hasenough shelf and locker spacefor living aboard.

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tidetables and whatnot on the laptop. Safety gear: Last year, we replacedour original Beaufort life raft with a newWinslow six-person raft packed withfood, water and a 406 MHz EPIRB. Afull range of man-overboard recoverygear goes with us, plus a seven-footdrogue with 400 feet of 5/8-inch nylon,and a collision mat. We find it is prudentto carry two large radar reflectors toavoid the threat of a blind spot from themast. Cruising as a couple, usually thereis but one person on watch, so we havestrict rules about using harnesses andjacklines: No one leaves the cockpit togo forward on deck unless the other isthere keeping an eye out. At night, off-shore we use our masthead tri-color, butin coastal waters we use the conventionalbow and stern lights because we feel theyare less confusing to others trying togauge our range and heading. In addition to our 33-lb. Bruce anchoron 300 feet of 5/16-inch high-test chain,we carry a 45-lb. CQR with 80 feet of3/8-inch chain and 400 feet of one-inchoctoplait nylon, and also a 22-lb.Danforth with chain and line that is usedas a kedge, or in a blow in tandem withthe Bruce. We find the electric anchorwindlass indispensable, not only for theground tackle, but also to hoist the din-ghy on deck and to take a person up themast. Bagheera is a dry boat, thanks to itsmoderate displacement and reserve buoy-ancy in the ends. We love the finger-lightsteering in all conditions, a sailplan thatcan be handled by a single not-so-youngwatchkeeper, and the performance thathas allowed us to average more than 150miles per day on all our ocean crossings.To us, she is the perfect combination ofseakindliness, seaworthiness and fun onthe ocean – and she’s a comfortable homeat anchor to boot.

Liza Copeland is author of the recentlyupdated Cruising for Cowards, JustCruising (Europe to Australia), and StillCruising (Australia, Asia, Africa andAmerica), the latter two about herfamily’s circumnavigation. They are pub-lished by Romany Publishing, 3943 W.Broadway, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Ph:604-228-8712, Fax: 604-228-8779. “In-cidentally, they are all CanadianBestsellers,” says Liza with justifiablepride.

The Jean Berret-designed First 38s, above, was first conceived as a racer-cruiser, with the emphasis on racing. Beneteau’s First line of designs has alwaysemphasized performance. By today’s standards, the 38s design falls at themoderate end of the performance-cruising spectrum, providing good all-aroundsailing performance with accommodations for extended cruising and livingaboard. Jaimie tackles school work under the awning at the cockpit table, below.Even with a family of five aboard for world cruising, Bagheera offered enoughinterior and cockpit space for everyone to find a place to work or play.

Blue Water Boats