The facts
Our dream catamaran is 14m (46ft) long and 7m (23ft) wide.
Enough space for 4 beautifully appointed private double
cabins, 2 baths, a gorgeous main salon and cockpit, an open,
brilliant galley and a navigation-electronic-communication
corner. The enormous surface area and the big net in front
provide plenty of private space.
Being a ´Easton` design, Baju was built in 2004 in Australia
together with the previous owner and the aluminium-catamaran
guru Owen Easton. With smashing sailing characteristics
the speed record right now is 19 knots.
With a draft of 70cm we reach nearly each angle of a flat
bay.
How is Baju equipped?
Security is not an issue, since Baju is strongly built from aluminium
and outfitted for world-wide sailing. At all times we are reachable
per e-mail via our short-wave-radio; this could also be used should
any emergency occur. Of course all system electronics: GPS, radar,
SSB, EPIRP are at hand.
Power is gained though our wind generator and the solar panels,
so your batteries for mobile phones, laptops or cameras can easily
be recharged.
The
philosophy of the cat is quickly explained.
Baju is not a super deluxe white-shining showroom ship which
offers nothing except dreams behind the white polished front.
The qualities and a lot of excellent little things reveal
themselves only after the second view. Nothing against plastic
yachts, but our decision for an aluminium catamaran was taken
actively. Our aim is not to be the nicest and most luxurious
boat in the bay; instead if we therefore gain the trust of
the local fishermen and experience part of his life we are
happy. Or if it doesn’t rain through the deck since the windows
are not the nicest, but quality wise the best – perfect. Sailing
fast and safely is more important to us than polishing the
deck all day long. Baju is our little house on the water with
which we will experience adventures and discover the world
as self-sufficient and safely as possible.
The weight
Nearly all catamarans are far too heavy, so that the core
sailing characteristics suffer drastically. This does not
only press the fun factor, but could also be dangerous in
extreme situations. Baju, with less than 10t travel weight,
offers a good compromise between quality of life and additional
load. For example, we happily save the weight of the third
painting and invest this in 5 bottles of good wine to drink
at a place where no wine is available. Instead of the heavy
duty wooden interior, we prefer having 3 extra kites and 2
more tanks for diving on board.
Sense and Simplicity
The catamaran is robust, firmly built and simply fitted,
somehow “honest” – the most important features are solved
in a pragmatic way. Which means in our case: the features
are quickly understood, not prone to breakdowns and are
easily repaired. Basic fittings are used, so things which
need to be controlled are not over-painted or prettily
hidden behind 3 flaps. This might seem to some as a compromise,
but we love it since we don’t want to repair us around
the world. On the other hand we don’t want to miss out
on all the electronic features and pleasant toys. What
could be solved in a simple way is solved in a simple
way, but never at the expense of safety.
The space concept
So far we never have seen a yacht which offers on a catamaran
layout more space than Baju: in the centre a giant salon,
an enormous galley, an electronic-navigation-communication-corner,
in each hull 2 double cabins and 2 baths.
Having the galley in the salon above or down in the hull?
The kitchen besides the salon is very communicative but
consequently quite small; additional to feel homely the
galley needs to be cleared up. The kitchen in the hull is
mostly very big, could be a mess after cooking, but the
chef working, is always cut off from the happenings, and
left in the “cellar”.
On Baju this is perfectly solved, since the soil in the
hulls is high-pulled and the connection to the central salon
is open. One can look comfortably from one hull to the other,
and while peeling the potatoes being in contact with the
rest of the crew. The dishes can be cleaned later and no
one minds it.
In the other hull opposite the galley is our electronic-communication-navigation
centre. The 5x7 meter giant open area together with a standing
height of 2.0 – 2.4 m provides a wonderful open space feeling.
The view from the salon into the kitchen
.
Our guest bathroom -
view from the top
The fourdouble
cabins are beautifully equipped with a mattress
width of 1,50m. One of the cabins has an extra single berth,
besides the double bed, so that two single travellers or kids
can be comfortably placed.
The huge kitchen
Also
the perfect spot for watching the dolphins play.
The nets in front offer
plenty of space for sunbathing, sleeping, reading, ...
Or just relaxing in a hangmat with the
shadow of the net.
Some use the nets to sleep outside
under the stars, just to be woken
up by the first sunlight.
Being self-sufficient
A very important component of the concept of Baju, apart from
general safety, sailing characteristics and quality of life, it
is to be as self-sufficient as possible. This has to do with simple,
rational reasons: we want to discover the most unique and remote
paradises on earth, where in general you won’t find a power plug
to get some electricity. Besides, it is simply nice to know that
one can produce its own power and water supply.
Energy concept
To have sufficient power supply on board enhances the quality
of life enormously. With enough electricity one can enjoy the
electronic toys much more, in addition, the beer should be cold
and nobody wants to sail without “Günther”, our autopilot. Fortunately
since the invention of the LED, lighting in general doesn’t
play a large role in the power consumptions.
Solar cells and our wind generator “Max” work continuously,
in order to satisfy our ampere hunger. Even if the wind decides
not to blow or the sun not to shine too strongly, we have 600
amps batteries, which accumulate the energy. The electrical
system on board has 12V and 220V.
Water concept
In general never completely easy; on Baju smartly solved. The
main components are 2 water tanks each holding up to 300l of fresh
water. They are accommodated under the seats in the salon and
therefore well accessible for cleaning. Our water maker provides
us with lots and lots of germ-free drinking water..
The entire top surface is a large rain catch basin which leads
the rain water along side the handrails directly into the tanks.
At times when the rain is not enough, the desalination plant supplies
fresh water.
Sailing
Baju is not a racing yacht. It is definitely a quick catamaran,
which sails comfortably 10-12 knots, without having big stressful
moments. So far we didn’t have the opportunity to break the
speed record of 19 knots, but during sailing we easily reached
15 knots. But much more important than speed records is for
blue water cruising the “etmal”, also understood as “the days
run” (meaning the distance in miles a ship has done from one
day noon till the next day noon). Our etmal in good conditions
lies around 185 - 200 miles.
Dagger boards provide for good (close-hauled) sail characteristics.
A draught of less than 70cm permits us to navigate past most
yachts in the bay in order to anchor directly before the 3 most
beautiful palm trees.
A special feature is surely the boom
patent, thus no classical boom exists, more a concept,
which is used for windsurfing, as you can see in the pictures.
The advantages are:
- weight-saving
- no dangerous boom
- no boom vang necessary
- the special boom is used as a big Lazy jet while retrieving
the sails.
Motor drive
The most unusual feature on Baju is probably the `tuk tuk drive'
- only in operation, if it’s really needed, since we are a sailing
yacht and not a motor boat. A car diesel engine in the port side
with a long shaft, like the Thai `long tail boats' or the indo
Chinese freight punts, permits a speed of 6 knots.
A fantastic concept, with a couple of advantages: easily to install
and repair, weight-saving since it only has one engine and not
two, no typical weak points (like sail drive) and additionally
the entire shaft and the propeller can be pulled out of the water
without a problem. As already sailing-guru `Bobby Schenk' said:
"… we cannot understand why such a simple and appropriate
concept did not become generally accepted on several catamarans."
It takes a little time to get used to; we think it’s perfect.
Baby Baju
Last but not least - our dinghy. Our connection to the outside world.
Our aluminium Dinghy from Australia was often looked at from other
sailors: it is light, no stone can hurt it and we surf immediately.
With "John" (our 9.9PS outboard) at our Dinghy - we fly
....
Also
the perfect spot for watching the dolphins play. 
