BOAT OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2010
FOR SALE $275,000
Instead of a dayboat, or cramped yacht, this is more like a mobile waterfront home where the Melbourne-based owners, Don Musto and family, have lived for weeks at a time in comfort. “Life takes on a slow rhythm with a little light exercise, drinks, nibbles and fine food, and a chilled white wine while moored in a bush setting in Sydney Harbour or a bushy waterway. It is definitely the way to go,” says Don.
“Sailing up the Hawkesbury River to dine at Berowra Waters is another great memory. There is a certain style about arriving at a restaurant’s own moorings by boat. Sydney Harbour is full of restaurants that welcome motor or sail-in customers,” Don discovered while driving Evening Star.
To help with reaching your table, Evening Star has a heavy-duty electrically operated davit on the roof that pops the 40hp outboard-powered Zodiac (The Evening Starlet) into the water for a quick trip to restaurants like Echo at Roseville Bridge, or run up onto Manly beach and stroll into the shops, or Hugo’s on the local wharf.
Darling Harbour has also seen Evening Star’s company on more than one occasion, where she’s served as a Harbour-side apartment in the heart of the city. The Volvo bowthrusters simplify the berthing exercise. This was a perfect base for excursion to the Ivy, Yum Cha in Chinatown, or just strolling in Darling Harbour.
BACK TO NATURE
“Sometimes you want to get away from the bright lights and get back to nature and the Evening Star has made a great base for accessing the bushwalking tracks and reaching those quiet destinations all along the coastline of NSW,” Don says. “Going from bay to bay at 8.5kts means the trips are more about the journeys rather than the destinations. The GPS is interfaced with a color TV screen and shows all the charts. A depthsounder reinforces the navigation suite,” he explains.
The expansive aft deck, with its large flat area, teak table and chairs, and soft comfy couches makes for a peaceful morning with papers or a book or even the computer, to zone out on the water, or to stay connected to the real world.
For those occasional rainy or chilly days the saloon is still light and airy with windows all around, banquette seating, a large table, a full sound system and flatscreen TV. Here you can enjoy a cozy day or night without having to hunker down in a dark, squeeze into a tiny saloon or cabin. You can also stay on the rear deck, roll down the clears and enjoy the views while protected from the rain!
GOURMAND’S GOLD
As a 45-foot boat, there is room for a proper kitchen on the rear deck, so the cook doesn’t need to be cut off from the action, and it’s equipped with a full-size barbecue, gas cooktop burners, or the microwave. As there is 240V power on tap, one can also use the rice cooker, kettle, toaster, and so on. “It is easy to produce a dinner party for eight and sit down with proper plates, glasses, and cutlery. With its heavy-duty anchor winch and wide beam, the boat is very stable and provides a steady platform for on-water living,” Don says.
In case you need to whet the appetite any further, Don says some of the classic dishes cooked and served onboard include figs with prosciutto, goats cheese and balsamic; fresh oysters with salsa; lamb cutlets with rosemary, chilli, lemon and garlic; satay chicken; freshly made salads and potato salad; and mango and berry desserts. No camp cooking here! There is one large fridge that holds enough food for weeks, plus two iceboxes for drinks.
HOW MUCH?
To counteract all the eating and drinking, the large flush aft deck has a lazarette hatch with gas struts, with plenty of room to store watersports equipment, fishing gear, and so on. The 40hp Mercury outboard on the Zodiac is powerful enough to tow waterskiers, too.
After a hard day’s relaxing, the main cabin calls with its king-size bed, plus there’s room for another five people to sleep onboard. The domestic WC and regular shower mean comfortable living.
Don, who is based in Melbourne, has used the boat as his Sydney floating apartment. However, the boat is not getting enough use and is now offered for the bargain price of $275,000. The lifestyle, entertaining, day trips, weekending, voyages, or holidays come gratis.
Specifications
Converted 45ft Trawler
EVENING STAR
For sale: $275,000
Build date: 1989 by IJ & EJ Boustead, Caboolture.
Type: Converted trawler. Single engine, single deck, hard-chine trawler-type hull with a straight sheer and large transom stern, central deckhouse and large open aft deck incorporating the galley kitchen.
Construction: Triple flooded-gum diagonal-planked hull on cut frames. Solid laid, 38mm thick full-walkaround deck caulked.
Plywood deckhouse on sub-frame.
Length: 13.95m
Beam: 4.6m
Draft: 1.70m
Displacement: 25 tons
Speed: 8kts
Engine: Single Caterpillar 3208T V8 turbo-diesel
Power: Approx 230kW
Generator: Savage 6kVa four-cylinder diesel coupled to Genlight alternator and additional large alternator main engine
Bowthruster:
Volvo 10hp electric
Fuel: 1200lt
Water: 800lt
Equipment list: GME GX558A VHF, Sony CDX-GT250S sounder, Koden CVS-106 sounder, GeoNav 4 CXS GPS; Teac TV/DVD combo, TV interfaced with GPS, Nexus DVX-368 DVD/CD/MP3, Victron Phoenix 24V 3000VA 70amp charger/inverter. 240V power throughout, auto charge plus shorepower, Omega convection/microwave (stainless steel), Tudor gas stove, The Entertainer gas barbecue, top-loading fridge, plus two large-capacity iceboxes, safety gear, tender and 40hp, and more.
Details: Owner’s representative, Nigel. Phone 0416 110 346