The Shearwater II was built in Cape Town, South Africa by Voyage Yachts, a small specialty builder of catamarans. Typical of a new, well-built sailboat, she has a few basic amenities such as a stove, fridge, head, and bunks. What is on board is of high quality and the labor in South Africa is very good. The exterior and interior finish are superior, bonded into one large piece of glass reinforced plastic. There are no squeaks, joints, or leaks.
The manufacturer or broker normally installs extra hardware to meet the taste of the new owner. The extras are a high profit item that helps the factory earn their income. Voyage Yachts refused to make any but the smallest additions, giving us a clean slate to install alternators, invertors, air conditioning and many of the luxuries considered normal on a cruising yacht.
Voyage Yachts, our boat’s factory, further limits special modifications they will make to ensure each boat is produced on schedule and to uniform high quality standards. That leaves us, the new owners, with the task of acquiring specialized marine hardware, transporting it to South Africa, and finding qualified labor to perform the specialized installations.
We were blessed with the good fortune of hiring Ricardo Martin, an artist in fiberglass, plumbing, air conditioning and everything about our boat. He created our ducting, installed our cooling and heating plant, put in several storage compartments, and turned our boat into a home we have grown to love. His work is flawless, inexpensive by American standards, and shows the taste that comes with practice, patience and pride. He claims, "it is all in how you hold your tongue." We believe him and thank him for his fine work.