Fuel: 20 Water: 40
Engine and Mechanical- Inboard Yanmar 2GM 20 18hp FWC diesel engine, two battery system, 12V and 110V systems, Pro Plus battery charger, manual bilge pump, automatic bilge pump, engine alarm, manual head with holding tank, hot water heater
Electronics- Depth Finder, Auto Pilot, CD/Radio, VHF Radio, Shore Power hook-up
Other Gear- 2 Danforth anchors w/ 30' of chain, bimini, roller furling jib, cockpit cushions, rail mounted grill, all saftey gear comes with the boat
The Cabin
This Watkins really has alot to offer. It has a beam of 10'4" which makes for a rather large cabin. Forward, there is a large v-berth that is a comfortable bed for two, this is where my girlfriend and I sleep. On each side of the v-berth there are shelves that are absolutely great for storing whatever. We usually keep our luggage and blankets on these shelves. They can hold a pretty good bit of stuff, they need too with all the stuff my girlfriend brings with her.
There is a hanging locker in the forward v-berth cabin that is plenty large and you can hang alot of clothes in it. It is large enough for normal hangers, not like those small RV-like hanging lockers. The door to the locker is a woven mesh to allow for air circulation so that you don't need to worry about your clothes mildewing. The top of the hanging locker is a large shelf that can hold a large bag or you can prop up the flat screen TV so that you can enjoy it from the v-berth.
Underneathe the v-berth there are large storage compartments for gear, and the large fresh water tank. There is a fill valve for the water tank in the anchor locker that makes it easy to top of the fresh water.
The head in the boat is nice and tidy. There is a pretty good bit of storage in it, I was surprised when I first checked it all out. You can see in the video the sliding glass that opens up to storage where I store all the cleaning supplies and stuff, it has a shelf that allows for smaller things to put up out of the way too. Underneath the sink there are two opening doors that give access to much more storage. Here I usually have some bleach, larger cleaning supplies, and toilet paper. Speaking of toilet paper, I have a strict rule and there is to be no toilet paper thrown into the head, although you are suposed to able to dispose of it there. I don't want it clogging up my new head that I installed and making it not as efficient. There is also a shower head so you can take showers on the boat, it uses the pressure water system onboard.
The salon on the boat is pretty large thanks to the very wide beam. There is alot of storage that is easily accessable. I like to store the things that I need regularly in the four different compartments behind the sliding glass doors. The stuff will not fall out and stays put pretty well. I have added shelves inside two of them to double the storage capacity. Behind the backrests there is also fabulous storage. If you just tilt the cushions forward, there are some decent sized holes that are cut out and allow for instant access to great storage. In these, I have a few small rectangle baskets that hold some small items in place. Underneath the couch seats there are large storage compartments where you can store nearly anything. I like to store some heavier items here, I keep all of our bottled water and collapsible water containers here. Underneath the port bench seat is the holding tank for the head. Its in a good spot so that you can check it regularly to always know just how much more "waste" you can hold.
The starboard bench seat converts into a large comfortable double berth with use of 2 nice wide boards. Its pretty neat how it works and can be set up easily. Sometimes we opt to sleep there.
The galley is nice and functional. It has a two burner alcohol stove so that you can cook whatever you need. There is a microwave onboard so that when we might stay in a slip we can just zap some meals real quick. There is alot of storage for cans or whatever other food stores you may have. There is a deep sink with pressure water for washing dishes and what not. Underneath there are three drawers and a good bit of cabinet space for pots and pans. There is also an ice bax that is pretty large in my opinion. It has a grate in it so that you can put the ice in the bottom and have the food up off of it. I usually freeze a few blocks of ice to take down for weekend trips and they last the weekend even in the summer.
Aft on the port side is the quarter berth. It is definately large for someone to sleep in but I usually use for storage. It usually has the A/C, cockpit cushions, hatchboards (regular ones and special ones for when the A/C is plugged in), the boards for the double berth in the salon, my smaller tool bag, and whatever other stuff that finds it's way there. I have never had the need for one more plac to sleep so its never been used for it.
Improvements:
I have added alot of great things to this boat since I have owned it. When I first bought the boat, it was in good shape but some of the equipment definately wasn't the best. The first thing I replaced was the head. The previous one worked, but it was older and I couldn't find any replacement parts locally for it so I just decided to install a new one. So thats what I did and Im really glad that I did.
The next thing was probably the new battery charger. Its a Pro Sport 20 Plus, the best one I found locally. So far it has has kept both my batteries topped off every time I go down to the boat, its really nice compared to what I was used to (our power boats at home always seemed to have dead batteries). I also put in a new starting battery to ease my mind.
Some of the lines on the boat needed replacing so I bought new lines for the main sheet and the jib furling line. One is blue and one is red, it really gives the boat some color and looks really good in my opinion.
I installed a ICP Stainless Steel Solar Vent in the forward hatch. This thing really made a difference. When we first would get to the boat on say a Friday, we would open it up and it would smell pretty musty. The Solar Vent sucks air out of the front hatch to promote ventilation and it really helps the smell in the boat. It also helps greatly reduce mold and mildew. One weekend I turn it off for some reason and forgot to turn it back on before we left, there was a little mold growing on the walls when we returned so this thing really helps.
There is a new flat panel TV on the boat, not exactly sure the size. This thing comes in real handy on a rainy day when you don't feel like sailing. It simply hooks up to cable at the dock and plugs in to an outlet that is directly connected to shore power (you are not going through the batteries when you are connected to this plug, the microwave and A/C also connect here so you don't drain your batteries). There is a mount on the wall that you can see in the video but we usually take it off and prop it up wherever is most convenient.
We also bought a new air conditioner that really will cool you off on a hot day. It is a window unit and plugs into the direct shore power plug. There are some special hatch boards with a section of the bottom board missing where the unit fits. Its really simple to set up, the previous owners said that they would have to show me how to set up the air conditioner but I tried it without them and can't seem to find out what they needed to show me, it's too simple.
I put in a new VHF radio and a new CD/FM/AM/MP3 Player/Ipod ready radio. Both work wonderfully.
