Wasting no time, the crew of Roam headed off the day after the shake-down sail, Friday the 18th of December. Averaging 9 knots for the trip they were back home in St Helens Tasmania on Sunday evening. Mick reports: "Awesome trip! She's sea-trialled now! Feels real nice, regularly hit speeds of over 20 knots with very light loads on sheets, rig and boat". They could easily reef downwind with the Harken slider system on the main which was originally a concern because they were not ball bearing cars. 

The trip can be viewed on the sailsurfroam website or below on an earlier news post.

The plan is to now circumnavigate Tasmania in the New Year and then across to NZ to do a lap of the North Island. Then across to Fiji!

Keep an eye on their site for more adventures! 

For those who are not on our mailing list you can view Craig's report on Roam's first sail here. 

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 24th Spirited 380 in Brisbane Qld on the 16th of December named "Bush Spirit". You may have read in a previous post where this boat was built at the back of the owners bush block. Access was via a rough 'goat' track and this is the same track the boat was brought down for launching! 

This boat will be sailing soon and we will hopefully have some sailing shots to post of 'Bush Spirit' very soon.

Congratulations to the proud owners!

This Spirited 380 was built literally in the 'bush' at a property in Cedar Creek outside Brisbane. The goat track to the building site behind their residence is almost unpassable in the wet and a challenge even when dry! The temporary shed structure required careful planning to disassemble in a way that wouldn't risk damage to the boat. This has been a family build through and through with all members of the family involved. The finish is first class and the eye-catching red stripe is definitely a head-turner! 

This project was started in 2008 with part-time dedication put towards it to see it through. 'Bush Spirit' is due to be launched prior to Christmas so we will keep everyone informed once we see the 24th Spirited 380 in the water!

Michael Hoult's 'Roam' is now rigged with an Allyacht Spars rig and now looks like a sailing boat! The boat was motored across Bass Strait to step the mast in Melbourne. The sails have been measured up and on their way but in the meantime Mick has borrowed a headsail to at least get a feel for Roam. Roam has settled in nicely on her lines while still floating high. 

For those who haven't seen the new 'RoamSailSurf' website its worth checking out with amazing photos of their adventures so far. 

We will keep you updated but if you would like to follow the Roam adventures you can join the mailing list to receive up to date news.

This Spirited 480 kit order is nearing completion. Shown here is the first resin-infused hull just removed from the mould. The kit will be shipped to the clients in Melbourne where they have already been working on their furniture, bulkheads and other smaller parts. Progress should be rapid once they receive their components and will be a case of assembling all the pre-made parts. 

We will keep you informed as information comes to hand re this project.

The 4.2m Ripple custom project we recently built for a client in Brisbane has had its first real test while cruising North on the mothership, a 50ft powercat. This was a customized version of this design to suit wheelchair access and use. The owner has reported that he is pleased with the boat and its performance and had the following to say:

'All good, probably could have got away with a 20hp engine though, with the 30hp it gets up and sits on the plane at half throttle with ease!'

Some may remember that we weighed this boat before it left and it came in at 155kg's! This is an excellent example of how important using light weight materials is. Less horse-power required, using less fuel and in this case less weight stored on the roof of the mothership. 

For more information on this design click here