The route (intended)

This is where we're planning to go this summer, depending on weather, the flow of time and the usual host of other variables encountered at sea.

Propulsion

The sails, obviously.
And the auxiliary diesel. This is the original, a classic, the SABB G-10. That's right, it's SABB, not SAAB. They're a Norweigan company who have been building marine engines for nearly a century.
These are seriously rugged engines, by all accounts. It's single-cylinder, hand-crankable (in a pinch) and coupled to a variable-pitch propeller. There's a lever up in the cockpit for adjusting the pitch of the propeller. Looking forward to trying this out. Apparently, you set the prop for maximum efficiency, according to rpm, speed, sea-condition, etc. There's no reverse gear, you just turn the blades of the prop around. When under sail, the prop can be set to cause minimum drag.

The cockpit

The cockpit is relatively small. This is a desireable quality in an offshore vessel as there's less capacity to hold water, when a large wave washes over the deck. The tiller lifts up out of the way though, which maximises available space when you wish to recline in the cockpit with friends at anchor or in the marina.
Note the nice teak gratings too. They'll look a lot nicer, once Sonja has finished varnishing them ;-)
You'll also note the radar tower and the self-steering gear hung on the stern. It was something of a relief to discover that Fettler was already equipped with self-steering. Not a job I fancied repeating so soon after the last time (http://sailvagabond.blogspot.com).

The vessel (interior)

Part of Fettler's major refit, back in the 90s, was the refinishing of the lovely teak bulkheads. Also, installation of the Taylor's paraffin cabin heater (which will be much appreciated in the cooler northern waters). The cushions with their vinyl covers are new too.
The galley is nicely fitted out with fiddled storage for cups and crockery, handy in a heavy seaway. The cooker is propane, but is as large as the space will accommodate and so will not swing on gimballs. We're thinking of replacing it with a smaller paraffin model.

The vessel

Fettler is a Trintella 29, designed by the great E. G. Van de Stadt and built by Offshore Yachts in Royston, Hertfordshire. Her GRP (glass reinforced plastic, or fibreglass) hull was laid up in 1968 and then finished and launched in 1969.
The late 60s marked an interesting period in yacht-building history as the transition from wood to GRP construction really took hold. During this relatively brief transition phase, before shipbuilders were fully conversant with the properties of GRP, vessels were constructed to the same sort of specifications as they would have been in wood. As a result, the GRP hulls from this period are massively overbuilt and massively tough. Hence, many of them are still going strong today, forty years down the line.
Fettler underwent an extensive refit in the mid-90's before her then-owners sailed her from Bristol down to Mallorca. They lived aboard her for 5 or 6 years, before moving ashore and settling in Mallorca. Her previous owner bought her to be his base in the Med, but his plans subsequently changed and she has been on the hard for the last two years.
This is where we enter her story. For long months we have anticipated joining her and now it's only a few weeks to go. We will update our progress on this site regularly as we prepare Fettler for her return voyage to the UK and along the way, whenever we get the opportunity.
In the meantime, I'll add the photos we already have, to lay the foundations for what's to come.

Our new boat.

This is Fettler, our new boat, currently waiting for us in Mallorca. We'll be joining her there in 3 weeks and getting ready to put to sea for a summer of cruising. Destination: Edinburgh.