Dreams do come true!

[Gordon]

It has been my life's dream to build a boat and take it around the world. It is nearly finished and with a little help from my friends cancer couldn't even stop this one! I have to do the rigging and she's ready to be commissioned. See ya on the water!

Specs; 45' with a 13' beam, 6' draft, 50' sail steps onto the deck, 49,000 lb displacement, 9,000 lbs ballast epoxied into the keel. Center cockpit offers a lot more room in the aft qtrs, the main salon has 7' 4" of headroom! I'll post some shots of the deck after this weekend, got to finish up the non skid.
The engine is a Vetus diesel, Edson steering, I just couldn't see taking any shortcuts because this is my retirement home!
She was origionally going to be a cutter but I will be doing a lot of sailing alone and a sloop is just easier to manage.

[Skipper599]

... Holy Mackerel there Gordon, that's one heck of a big boat! Looks great too. Fantastic is the word.
... Congratulations on completion of your dream.
... Can you post pics of the topsides and interior?
... How about providing the specs?
... You say it is a Sloop and yet, the chain plates 'look' to be about amid-ships, suggesting it could be a Cutter.??? Of course, the photo could be creating a wrong impression here.

[Oscar]

She was origionally going to be a cutter but I will be doing a lot of sailing alone and a sloop is just easier to manage.

Not sure I agree with that. Having three head sails (working jib, and a genoa on a furler that can work as a, say, 135 or 150) on deck ready to go saves a lot of work. Also, if the working jib is self tending you can tack all day long with one finger. Finally, if you make the working jib reefable you have a storm jib close to the center of effort, which is the best way to try and get some windward performance in heavy weather. (And yes, I have done a lot of sailing alone on a 42' sloop, and many times wished it was a cutter.)