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| Rusalka Mist back in St Helier Harbour after one of our crossings of the English Channel. Photo by Nicky's Dad. |
Rusalka Mist is our Vancouver 28 cruising yacht. She was built by Northshore Yachts Ltd in West Sussex, England in 1989 and launched in 1990. I bought her in 1992 and Nicky joined her company in 1995.
A boat is not like a car, which comes from the manufacturer ready to use and fairly well complete. While a yacht may be sailed out of her manufacturers slip, she needs an lot of other fittings and work to be done before she becomes a long-distance cruiser and a home for her crew.
To the surprise of my friends, family and bank manager I spent almost every penny I earned over five years on Rusalka. Vancouvers are well built, and they are designed to be 'blue water cruisers' but there were many areas that needed improvement.
Here is the story of this process. We hope you find it interesting and if you are planning or fitting out your own magic carpet, then we hope you find it stimulating and helpful.
