MINKE

MINKE is a Lyle Hess custom-designed cutter. She is a sister-ship to the Pardey's TALEISIN of VICTORIA (see https://www.woodenboat.com/register-wooden-boats/taleisin-victoria-0) and Ken Minor's MORNING SONG (see https://www.woodenboat.com/boats-for-sale/morning-song-2016-lyle-hess-b…, and the July/Aug 2017 WB Mag Article). She has a cold-molded hull, a 3YM30 Yanmar Diesel, a retractable bowsprit with Colligo roller furling.

Lyle Hess designs have been "top of our list" for many years. We saw MINKE and she "spoke" loudly to us. So rationalizing "one-last-big-boat" before we hang up our jib sheets - we bought her. The builder's wife, in a document we found on the interwebs, finished an article with a quote that went something like "we traveled over 100,000 miles and never once was I afraid"! We have the philosophy that stability is not just and important thing, but the only thing - so this testimonial and Lin Pardey's many books sold us that MINKE is the right boat for this moment in time for us.

Completed in 1992 in New Zealand by shipwright Chris Lowrey and his wife Helen, MINKE's interior layout is galley to port at the base of the companionway with a gimbaled stove, chart table opposite to starboard. Bunk arrangemet is a single berth to port and a double berth to starboard. She has a sail locker forward and a work bench opposite. The cabin is finished in varnished cedar and has the appearance of a cabin in the northwoods - she drops your blood pressure by 10 points just on entry! The previous owner installed a composting toilet (which, to be honest, we're still a bit skeptical about). Other modifications included a change to retractable bowsprit with traditional block and tackle for the shrouds and stays. While this allows a shorter slip in SoCal (charged by LOA), the constant stretch from the "traditional" three-strand line is a problem and a short term project will be to re-rig with ss rigging or synthetic. Colligo roller furlers and luff torque ropes were added to the headsail(s) along with an in / out haul which greatly eases sail handling from her foredeck. The staysail is hanked on and another mod will be to set up roller furling for it. We like the continuous wheel furlers, but these also need some attention as they bind and are difficult to use (inadequate leads). A great improvement was changing out all lights to LEDs.

Our immediate work included new bottom paint and zincs, and replacement of a very rusted and leaking exhaust riser and removal and clean-out of the heat exchanger. We added a new (better) raw water strainer to handle the incredible eel grass in Morro Bay, and a vacuum gauge to the Raycor filter. We're about ready to move MINKE from SoCal to Morro Bay where we'll be able to spend a lot more time enjoying her.