NEREID V


WELCOME ABOARD!

| HOME | FLAG LOCKER | SPECIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT | ENGINE / PROPELLER PERFORMANCE |


INTRODUCTION

Picture of Nereid V NEREID V LYING AT HER HOME BERTH IN LACONNER
Click to Enlarge

Nereid V is a 45 foot trawler style cruiser that was built in Taiwan in 1981. She is powered by twin diesel engines that provide a very comfortable cruise speed of ten knots. The tri-cabin design features a guest cabin and head as well as galley forward. The salon including a helm station is located amidships with the engine room below. The owner's cabin and head are located aft. A second helm station is located on the flying bridge.

Nereid V is the center of our retirement lifestyle. She came into our lives during our first year of retirement in 1995. She was the answer to several of our desires, to travel upon the beautiful waters of the northwest, to meet the wonderful people of this area and to enjoy views of the wildlife and scenery. Also Nereid V provides us a never ending outlet for our energies, both mental and physical, in improving and maintaining this vessel.

Chart of LaConner Area CHART OF LACONNER
Click to Enlarge

Her home port is LaConner, Washington, USA, a historic port on the Swinomish Channel. This channel is an alternate passage to transiting the sometimes turbulent waters of Deception Pass. LaConner is about 80 miles north of Seattle and just east of the San Juan Islands. These waters offer great cruising opportunities and are the gateway to the passage north via the inside passage of British Columbia and Alaska. Beautiful Puget Sound lies to the south.

CYBER-SPACE

Cyber-space provides us a new way to share our experiences with those interested in boating. These experiences have ranged from an emotional high of watching a humpback whale with youngster in Greenway Sound, B.C. to an emotional low of learning we needed new fuel tanks. Our goal is to share our cruising experiences as well as the day to day reality of improving and maintaining the vessel. An extensive equipment list is provided for those having an interest in the vessel's details. Please contact us if you have interest in our experience with any specific piece of equipment.

We first posted this site in November 1998. Continuous improvement is anticipated with a major goal of providing a log which is updated daily while cruising starting in May 1999. Another goal is to provide a real time chart display of the vessel's position.

Back to the Top

HISTORY

Name

The name of the boat stems from Greek mythology. Nereus, a sea god, had fifty daughters, the Nereids, sea nymphs. Each of the daughters was a Nereid. Thus we felt that a "sea nymph" was an appropriate name for our first cruiser. At the time we selected the name we were not aware of one of Neptune's moons of the same name nor of the nereid worm which is found in our cruising waters.

Our First Nereid

Our first cruiser, a 24' Trojan, was purchased new in 1967. This plywood lapstrake express cruiser introduced us to the waters from Olympia, WA to Desolation Sound, B.C. The growing boys of our family of four plus our two dachshunds caused us to start thinking about a larger boat whenever we were confined aboard in rainy weather.

Nereid II

In 1970, we purchased a twin screw 1963 32' Fairliner, "Nereid II". This express cruiser was perfect for our lifestyle at that time. She expanded our cruising grounds northward to the Queen Charlotte Strait area in British Columbia. Her 17 knot cruise speed was well suited for destination style cruising but her 17 gallon per hour gasoline consumption sorely tested our budget as the price of fuel rose. With the boys on their own we started looking for a vessel that was more economical to operate.

Our Third Nereid

Our next vessel was an single screw 1961 38' Monk-McQueen sedan that we acquired in 1981. We replaced the original V8 gasoline engine with an economical Perkins diesel. This boat was well suited to sustained 7 knot cruising with our empty-nest family of two and one dachshund. In naming this vessel we forgot to include the Roman numeral "III". Upkeep of this carvel planked wood boat got the better of us so we started looking for a "maintenance-free" fiberglass boat.

Nereid IV

We found a 34' 1985 Fu Hwa sedan in 1987. This vessel was our first fiberglass hulled cruiser, it reduced the maintenance burden but was hardly "maintenance-free". Nereid IV served us well until we decided that we wanted a larger vessel consistent with our desire to spend four or five months aboard each year, the schedule freedom that retirement provided us. She has been re-named Brigadoon with a hailing port of Anchorage, AK and is moored in Whittier, AK.

Back to the Top

DECK CREW

Picture of Misty and Thor THOR AND MISTY ASHORE AT CLAYDON BAY, B.C.
Click to Enlarge

Through the many years we have had six dachshunds who have served as deck crew. They all have been excellent boat dogs and have added to our fun of cruising. They must have enjoyed as well, we have found it impossible to get out of the house if the dogs detected any sign of boat gear in our hands. We have a pair of small standard wire-haired dachshunds as our current crew, they have been with us through eight years of cruising. Misty is a wheat colored female and Thor is a wild boar coat (black and tan with a brown undercoat) male. They are ready to repel all boarders until they have been suitably introduced. Thor loves to swim from a beach and he remembers his favorite coves for swimming even though he only may visit a given spot once a year.

I wish I could say that we had trained them to use a suitable place on deck to attend to their business. This has meant many a trip ashore via a dinghy through the years. We have two major concerns about these shore trips, eagles and bears. Misty is small enough that we believe that an eagle could spirit her away so we keep a watch aloft before releasing her leash. We have encountered numerous black bear so we are careful to look for signs of bear before going ashore. I don't know how fast we could launch and reboard the dinghy as a bear approaches but I question that we could outpace a bear. All our bear sightings have been north of Desolation Sound, B.C.

REGARDS, CAPTAIN AND FIRST MATE

Email

| HOME | FLAG LOCKER | SPECIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT | ENGINE / PROPELLER PERFORMANCE |

VISITORS TO OUR SITE SINCE 12/30/98

NEREID V

Revised 03-27-99