At that time, I understand that the Taiwanese boat yards were some of the few in the world that could produce a vessel of this quality at an affordable cost. The Shin Fa yard apparently had a good reputation for high quality. More information about the design can be found on the liberty website http://libertyyachts.net/ . What I have since learned from my own experience and having discussed these Taiwanese built vessels with folks who know about such things is that, though their hulls and joinery were impeccable, their systems such as wiring and plumbing were rough. Having fitted out the Adams 45 back in the '90's I had some specific features in a yacht that I was looking for:
- Be of solid construction that will stand up to the rigors of sea. If glass, be heavy and overbuilt. I loved the steel Flinders Chase for it's strength but the steel was too hard to effectively maintain in the saltwater environment. There is a sister ship to the Australis, the Nine of cups, which has sailed some 60,000+ miles by David and Marcie from Kemah, TX. They've successfully sailed their Liberty around the world, twice. That track record gives me some confidence that this hull design has what it takes to carry me and my loved ones over the ocean in safety.
- Have a skeg mounted rudder (so many stories of woe at sea go something like this "The seas were up but we were holding our own until the rudder post sheered" or something along those lines).
- Have a cutaway forefoot keel. I wanted as shallow a draft as was consistent with fair performance. The cutaway forefoot is a good balance between shallow draft, seakindly tracking and ability to point to windward.
Skeg mounted rudder and cutaway forefoot keel. Ideal combination for bluewater sailing.
- Comfortable accommodation. With beautiful teak joinery throughout and well thought out accommodation, the Liberty 458 is extraordinarily comfortable to live in. I lived in her for two years on hard alongside my workshop in Dexter, MI and can attest to that level of comfort.
- It needed to be affordable: At 30 years old when I bought her, the Australis has pretty much devalued as much as she is going to so long as I keep her up. Quality never ages.
I bought her in Ensenada on Mexico's Baja Peninsula in April 2012 and changed her name from Menagerie to Australis (latin for "Southern") to reflect the general direction in which I hope to sail her. The previous owners sailed her back up to San Diego where I had her trucked over to Michigan. There, alongside our workshop, I kept and lived in her for two years as I tidied up a few issues and waited till I could afford to launch her.
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| Unloading Australis after delivery from California |
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| "Stitched" view of deck |
While I had her on hard I performed a number of repairs and additions, the most significant of which was to sandblast and treat with potable water safe epoxy the four 60 gallon 316ss water tanks which were leaking at the rusted weld seams and to install a 22 gallon holding tank to satisfy Coast Guard regulations for heads used on the Great Lakes (the Great Lakes has a zero discharge policy).
In the spring of 2014 I launched her and kept her at the Toledo Beach Marina on Lake Erie, about 1hr from Dexter where I live during the winter months. I try to spend as much time living aboard her as my work and family life permit. This old lady really gives me a great deal of pleasure.
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| Home Sweet Home |
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