MY BOAT & NEW HOME

KARL

The most essential thing to start a sailing trip is most likely a sailing boat. My new home is a Reinke Super 10 that I call KARL. He is a tough boy, sturdy as a tank and I love him with all my heart. Even if our first encounter in Panama, the following months refitting him and the first troublesome trial runs have been a rough time for me, I would not change him for any other boat.

KARL is derived from the old German word “karal” which means “husband” but also “the free one” – the perfect partner for me to sail the world. With his 11,20m length he provides a lot of room for me and up to three guests. He has surely not been built for racing, but with his twin keels and therefore little draft, we can enter into many shallow bays and rivers.

Find out more about how I found my good old KARL in this blog entry.

MODEL & YEAR

KARL is a Reinke Super 10, built in 1992 from Aluminium (AlMg4.5Mn). The casco was built by the Gerdes Werft in Germany and the interior by the first owner of the vessel.

LENGHT, WIDHT & DRAFT

11.20m or 37 feet is Karl’s length over all with a draft of 1.3m (twin-keels), 3.5m width and 8.5t of weight.

SAILS

The main sail (26m²), a big Genoa (46m²), a self tacking jib (26m²), a storm jib (8m²), a storm trysail and a Blister (56m²) have all been made for Karl by Lee Sails.

WATER & FUEL

There are three water tanks on Karl that can store up to 560 liters of water. For diesel, there is a tank of 400 liters.

SAFETY, COMMUNICATION & NAVIGATION

Viking life raft, EPRIB, Katadyn manual watermaker in the grab bag. Iridium, VHF with AIS receiver, Navionics / SeaIQ open on iPad, OpenCPN on PC, papercharts and two handheld GPS.

LIVING

There is a lot of space on Karl for me with one cabin and four berths. The stern cabin is only used for storage.

SPEED

Usually, KARL & me cruise around 5 knots of speed. The maximum we did so far was 8.5 knots in a small storm with just the main in second reef.

ENGINE

A brand new (2017) Beta Marine Engine with 43 HP is a strong heart for KARL and keeps us safe in strong currents or bad weather.