Big News: Varuna is SOLD

UPDATE: VARUNA IS SOLD

We've got big news people - we are listing our beloved Varuna FOR SALE. I know, I know, how could we possibly sell her after ALL the work we've done! Well, here's the story:

We bought Varuna as a project to see what we could do with such a diamond in the rough. The 2 year refit was so much fun, full of good memories and lots of learning! After finishing her (and making some more money) we finally got the chance to live onboard and sail through the Caribbean islands. All of it was amazing and created memories that will last forever. That brings us up to date and now we have to go back to work. We run a charter catamaran in the BVI's  for 9 months of the year. During our next 3 months off, we are traveling to see friends and family and won't have time to enjoy poor Varuna. The thought of leaving Varuna on the hard in Grenada is so sad. She is in her prime and such a beauty RIGHT NOW! Everything is brand new or restored. So this is how we came up with the idea to see if anyone out there wants to buy her right now and enjoy her at her best. We can easily keep her on the hard in Grenada and come back to her in a few years, but if there's anyone out there that wants to buy her and enjoy her we thought we should share this and see. She's a boat to be enjoyed, appreciated, and loved and we are happier selling her for that reason than keeping her on the hard for us in the future. Our journey with Varuna was getting her ready for the sea again. Now that's done and and it's time for your journey to begin...

Asking $30,000 obo

Here are the specs:

1968 Allied Luders 33, hull #38, designed by Bill Luders for Allied Boat Company
Length: 33'
Beam: 10'
Draft: 5'
Displacement: 12,800lbs
Fiberglass

Chain: 200' of 3/8"
Anchor: 45lb Delta and a Fortress G16
Rode: 150' of 5/16"
Engine: Beta Marine 28hp with 76 hours, 100A alternator for fast charging
Tender: New Carib LT8 8' RIB with a rebuilt 9.8 Tohatsu outboard

-New rigging, 7mm stainless steel
-New sheets and halyards
-New Ullman Sails mainsail with 4 battons and 2 reefs
-2 Used headsails
-New Garmin Echo depth sounder/fish finder
-New AdvanSea S400 wind instrument
-New solar set up: 255W Kyocera panel (produces up to 18A) and 45A Morning Star MPPT charge    controller
-Used AirX400 wind charger with New Morning Star 45A charge controller (separate from solar)
-420 Ah battery bank (2 x Exide Gel) with separate start battery
-New VHF and 1 handheld VHF
-New marine wiring throughout entire boat
-4 12V outlets for easy charging and less power draw
-1 AC GFI outlet with 800W inverter
-4 new Caframo fans
-LED waterproof strip lights in warm white along ceiling, under cabinets, and inside cabinets all with their own switch to control lighting
-40 gal flexi water tank in keel
-no heat or a/c
-New 8" memory foam mattress
-No oven, but new drop-in stainless steel 2 burner cooktop with an Omnia Oven (cooktop baking)
-Large top-loading fridge with cold plate and Danfoss compressor (draws 3A)
-New dodger with isinglass and Charcoal Sunbrella
-New sail bag in Charcoal Sunbrella
-New privacy/weather panels in cockpit in Charcoal Sunbrella
-Fully loaded with melamine dishes, tupperware, pots and pans, beach umbrella, solar shower, etc.
-Varuna was featured in Sailing Magazine and on Tiny House Blog

Varuna is currently located at Hog Island, Grenada, Caribbean. Here are some of our favorite photos of her. Also, look back through our blog to see the entire refit documented and the amazing Before and Afters:

The Tobago Cays

The Tobago Cays at last! They are every bit as beautiful as we were told. I can see why everyone raves about this place. The water is almost a fluorescent aqua color and clear as gin. It's like a tiny piece of the Bahamas down here in the Caribbean. The white sand anchorage provides great holding, beautiful water, and surprisingly, loads of tiny sea creatures to explore. The reef in front of the anchorage does offer some protection from the swell, but it is still a little choppy in there. That doesn't really matter though, because you'll spend most of your time swimming around face in the water or hiking on the islands nearby.

Look at that water!!!!!

We dinghed over to the nearby reef to snorkel and then came back to the boat and snorkeled around there as well. Matt found loads of cool things right under the boat: 2 seahorses, pike blennies, a long-armed octopus, sting rays, eagle rays, turtles, tons of urchins, and lots of cute trunkfish. Amazing! I kept getting out of the water to lounge on the bow (thinking there was no way we'd see anything else after all that) and Matt would stick his head up out of the water and say "you've got to get back in here and see this!" This happened 3 times. All of which times I was already rinsed and dried, but all 3 times were totally worth it!

Have I mentioned how amazing our new Costa Del Mar sunnies are? Well, if not, they are the BEST sunglasses we've ever owned. Great for the water. You can look right through the glare and see the anchor/fish/coral perfectly. Essential! And look how cool you look in 'em too. 

Varuna is so happy in water the same color as she is :) 

We headed to shore to hike to the top of the island and get some amazing photos. We saw a few iguanas along the way as well. How beautiful is this?! We couldn't believe it! Matt FaceTimed his parents just to show them how gorgeous it was. Heck of a place to call home from, huh?!

The Tobago Cays are a must see if you are in the area. And make sure you have enough time, because you could easily spend a whole week there!

Bequia

We left St. Vincent in the morning for what we thought would be a "quick trip" over to Bequia. It's only 14 miles, but there were many squalls blowing through and the weather was nasty. We geared up in our rain jackets and it was kinda fun at first (free shower for us and the boat!). Then when the rain didn't actually ever stop, it got cold. Very glad we had jackets! Being cautious, we started the trip out with 2 reefs in the main and left the head sail down. That ended up being such a great call since the wind was gusting from 6-40 knots! The seas were choppy, but not too terrible, but the strong gusty wind left us cruising along at a whopping 2 knots. Watch out! Once the main squall had passed, we threw the head sail up (left the 2 reefs just in case) and picked up speed. Our quick sail ended up taking forever, but we felt safe so that's all that matters. Slow and steady.

We anchored in Admiralty Bay near Princess Margaret Beach. Town is very cute and there are a few good groceries to reprovision if needed. Or pick up a bottle of the local rum (from St. Vincent) called Sparrow, it's really good and cheap! On our way back to the boat we saw a Moorings catamaran that had dropped it's mast on their way from St. Vincent. They obviously got caught in the same squalls as us and must of had a full main out. The mast busted in 3 places, yikes!! They were fine, but man how scary it must of been! We were really glad we pottered along with our 2 reefs in after hearing that. 

More wonderful produce! Great local bananas and green peppers. We stayed in Bequia 2 nights and it rained all day the first day, but was nice and sunny the next. Made for great days lounging around, making a cheesy Vegemite loaf, watching movies, and catching loads of rainwater! 

Good for me: Matt used to be a baker (in Australia hence the Vegemite obsession) Woo hoo! Bonus!

Mmmm look at the delicious cheesiness going on there! Another Omnia Oven success! I was going to link the oven to Amazon where we bought ours, but it looks like they are out of them. I found the Omnia from sale on this site, but they seem more expensive. They are worth it though!

More and more rain. We kept trying to find things to throw outside for a fresh water rinse! Boardies, bikinis, towels - on the deck! Hurry and do the dishes and fill the tea jug and all the water bottles! Once the tank if full and any bottles you've got laying around, it feels like you are wasting all that precious water that's just falling from the sky!

Matt watching our flexible water tank fill up and telling me when to close the deck fill. We just let it rain for a few minutes to wash the deck before collecting the rain. Then I open the water deck fill and put a rolled up tea towel behind it to sort of "dam up the water". It works great! We just have one deck fill on the starboard side, but in a downpour it fills our little tank right up!

We sat outside and had a few rum and cokes while we played Bananagrams. It's a fun game, but after 2 rounds you are kinda over it. We realized we forgot to bring a deck of cards so will definitely need to get some. Not that either of us remembers any card games anymore! Be sure to bring a few games along for rainy days/nights. Or just put on some music and have a dance party like we did. 

Here's the pretty anchorage. The sun was shining the next day so we headed back into town to walk around a bit. 

Matt found the best bar in town called Whaleboner (hehehe). The bar and entrance are made from whale bones, very cool! The locals are allowed to hunt 1 whale a year, but they must do it the old school way (whatever that is) and since the youngins aren't really into it anymore, they rarely even kill the 1. Anyways, that's where the bones came from to make Whaleboner bar.

As we were leaving Bequia we were told to watch for the Moonhole Hotel on our left. From the sea, it looks like homes out of the Flinstones or something. So cool to look at through the binoculars. A little community of homes built by stone and whalebones and running on solar and rainwater collection. Google it to see some incredible pics of the insides. I think the main one in the pic below is not open anymore because of falling rocks, but the others are open and can be rented. How awesome!