I'm Nicolas Granovsky, I've been sailing all my life, first on my father's boats: Arpège, Dufour 34 then Chassiron GT. Then, I was lucky enough to travel for 2 years on the Rara Avis and the Bel Espoir for a transatlantic race, on a Hanse 342 from Venice to the Peloponnese and back to Croatia. Finally, on a Garcia 62 from Turkey to Brazil.
Reduced specifications
At the end of April 2024, back from a cruise on a friend's boat, I set out to find my " divorce exit ". A beautiful yacht on a tight budget. The search criteria are simple, with reduced specifications, but constrained by the available budget. I have 6k? including any work that needs to be done. The sailboat has to be around 10 m long, offer space for at least 4 people, be seaworthy and efficient, simple and solid.
I know that this budget opens up interesting possibilities, based on two criteria: work that I can carry out myself, and an enthusiast whose age is forcing him to change companions, and who wants to pass on his boat properly.
Nichloson 33 announced
I came across the ad on the day it appeared. " Alibi "A Nicholson33 3/4 Tonner designed by Ron Holland. For sale at 4500 ? in Le Minihic sur Rance. I'm on board the day after tomorrow. In addition to her recent VHF and AIS equipment, she is generally well equipped and in good overall condition. The full batten mainsail is in very good condition and I have 5 headsails, including an almost new tri-radial genoa.
The black spot is the engine. The owner tells me that it only starts with Start Pilot. His usual yard on the Rance gave him a 15k? quote for a new engine, and he doesn't feel like taking the plunge.
A short trip on the Rance under solent alone and I'm struck by the serenity that emanates from this sailboat. She looks 5 meters taller, so determined does she seem in her wake. It was love at first sight. I take the bet. I'm stung anyway. And at this price, I'm not taking any great risks.
I'm buying!
I bought this boat without digging deep. I'm basing my decision on trust and intuition, relying on the reputation of its architect and the original shipyard, whose motto was " Camper & Nicholson designed exceptional boats 100 years before Rolls & Royce built the world's best cars "
It's May 1st, and I'm committed. I leave the boat to its ex-owner until the end of June. Gone on a roll of the dice, it works or it's complicated. I have part of July to get her back in the water, in working order, before the vacations with my sons at the beginning of August.
Work and launching
The boat is out at Chantier Grand Val and I'm taking her out of the water at the beginning of July to start work on her. Firstly, the living structures are in good condition. The hull is sound, and it's clear that the boat has been well maintained. Inside, there are no unpleasant surprises, and all the boat needs is a little cosmetic work and comfort enhancement for future cruises.
I test the engine, following a hint of a lack of compression. First great piece of luck, the boat is so designed that the engine is ultra-accessible and doesn't need to be taken out to be opened. Secondly, it's a Yanmar YS12, a rudimentary single-cylinder. I had a YS8 on my previous Sangria, and I know a great guy who's a sharp, enlightened mechanic for the old Yanmar just next door, in La Richardais.
I start dismantling the engine step by step, from the simplest to the heaviest. Cylinder head, valves. Disassembly, cleaning, compression test, all OK. Injector? It's spitting well, in small quantities, but regularly. So I take out the cylinder... The mass is said; the piston is broken between the rings. I've never heard or seen anything like it. Surely, the after-effects of the Start Pilot.
Hours of research and the kindness of certain builders and enthusiasts who keep parts on hand in case they become unobtainable. I found a piston. Second-hand, but a good piston nonetheless. I changed the connecting rod bearings and all the seals, fitted new rings, and thoroughly cleaned the cooling system, starter motor and oil circuit.
I'm not going to go into the details of the crankshaft bolt that broke because I hadn't read the torque wrench properly, or the rusty breather that broke the day before the boat was put back in the water. Replaced by pulling them from a wreck where they were the last parts! Luck was with this project. Special thanks also to DAM, who still supply parts for these antique engines!
The injector pump is adjusted on the straps at the last minute, just before it's no longer possible to put the boat back in the water before 15 days and miss the planned cruise with my sons.
It floats, the engine purrs, or rather backfires, as it should. The first night, alone at anchor on my boat. The silence after the battle, the calm before the adventure...
Out of the Rance and on your way!
The next day, I pass the Rance dam for the rebirth of Alibi, a name it should never have borne, an insult to its history. She was named Alibi to preserve a berth for one of her former owners. I'm renaming it Seabird, after the Alessi Brothers.
I discover a lively, powerful, fast boat, a liberated racehorse that I take to the Ebihens for her "baptism" with some friends.
Then the anchor was raised for a tour of Brittany, from St Cast, Paimpol, Roscoff, Ouessant, Loctudy, Groix, Belle Ile, Port Navalo to Vannes with my sons and Rufus and back, alone, to Vannes, Roscoff, Cherbourg, Le Havre, his new home port. It was a magnificent sailing experience, full of beauty, happiness, wonder and all the joys of being at sea.
Let's get on with it!
Here comes September and its grey Paris. The boat is in Le Havre, and I go there as much as I can. And the idea of continuing her resurrection germinates. And why not take part in the Fastnet 2025? Two sister-ships won the 1975 and 2005 editions. Is this a way of thumbing your nose at modern grasshoppers, and getting back into the race for the 50th anniversary of the boat and the centenary of the race?
Now, at the beginning of 2025, we've done it, the boat is registered, we just need to find partners to solidify the project and give our future partners the opportunity to endorse the values of resilience, determination, maritime tradition and, above all, pleasure!
