Vessel

Kianda is a 32 foot Allied Seawind Mark II. She was built in Catskill, New York in 1981. We're the third owners. Most Seawinds are ketches but our little oddball is a sloop. The Allied company changed owners through the decades which created differences among the fleet depending on the production era. Our hull number 128 was one of the last to be manufactured and reflects a taste for a classic teak interior and lots of coziness.

The marina manager said the previous owners “didn't get her out much”. We could tell she was very gently-used with her original sails and engine still in good shape with low hours. She had no offshore equipment but then we came along and threw some money at that problem!  With a one-year journey in mind, we outfitted her with a solar panel, wind generator, windlass, new anchors and ground tackle, a life-raft, a wind-vane, new standing rigging, new comm equipment and a ton of other upgrades.  And now with a second one-year journey happening, we've added more goodies and swapped out some old gear for new technology as equipment is advancing so quickly in the cruising world.  We're big on making sure she ages gracefully (plus as we "mature" ourselves, we want certain comforts such as heat, an auto-pilot and a deck wash system. Washing ground tackle with a bucket on a rope is so last year).  

When we're aboard Kianda, we're safe, we're happy, we're home. (In truth, sometimes we're sweaty, exhausted, and ready to sell the damn thing but it wouldn't be a boat otherwise!)

The significance of her name - Clip found in the Bradt Travel Guide Angola.

Interior:

(more to come...)