There are many small touches that make Last Dance a more functional, safer, comfortable, and attractive boat. None are reasons in themselves to make a decision on purchasing a boat, but taken together, they demonstrate how many of the details have been addressed and improved - the care that has been taken to make Last Dance an exceptional boat.
The engine room is equipped with an automatic fire suppression system, a FireBuoy. The rest of the boat has many fire extinguishers. You are never more than a couple steps away from a fire extinguisher.
A story to share. Once, on Lake Oneida, NY, on a holiday weekend, the US Coast Guard intercepted Last Dance and boarded her for an inspection. His first command was: "Show me your fire extinguishers!" Before we could show every one, he stopped, looked at us, looked around the boat, and exclaimed, "Looks like you have everything on this boat in order. Sorry to have bothered you."
Since we are in the engine room, another feature there is that the sound/heat insulation has been replaced with a foam, lead, foil sandwich style material None of the rough surface ceiling tile like, always dirty, insulation that still adorns many earlier trawlers is in this engine room.
Covers
Critical equipment has custom-made covers. The helm has a Sunbrella cover, as does the dinghy, the outboard, the forward hatch, the aft hatch, and the windlass.
The windows have covers, some solid and some Textilene, to cut the sun but still allow sight. There are awning sunshades that attach over the side windows to create shade keeping the boat cooler. A custom Textilene awning covering the entire foredeck and front cabin windows can be quickly erected to cut the sun's heat.
Textilene sunshades have been made for the flybridge. On a clear day, having the sun on the beam can create scorching heat on your skin. These shades attach to some fittings on the bimini and can be positioned in many places. They drastically cut the sun, yet allow vision out over the water.
This shot was taken running down the Hudson River. Jeeves is driving, our nickname for the Robertson autopilot.
Recently, we anchored in the Wye River off the Chesapeake Bay. The temperatures were in the 90s. (Who planned this trip, anyway?) So, the Bahama shades were broken out of storage. This image is of the foredeck cover looking down from the flybridge. We also used the side awnings. Amazing how much temperature difference can be made by getting the direct sun off the decks and house.
Yes, it is a cupholder. A solid stainless steel one. Big deal? Yes. There are two of these on the flybridge, one in easy reach of both the pilot and the navigator. On an early morning departure, it is great to have a cup of coffee right at hand. Having a refreshing beverage handy all day helps keep the crew from becoming dehydrated.
And, it will hold a real cup of coffee or the ever popular insulated Turvis Tumbler.
A small feature, but one of the highest quality and function. Just one more item that makes cruising on Last Dance enjoyable and denotes the attention to detail that has been made.
Another small touch is the folding teak screen door for the starboard cabin door. Easy to open and close. Keeps those pesky bugs out and allows the cool breeze in. This image was taken while at anchor in San Domingo Creek behind St. Michaels, MD.
Anchor Light
Managing power while at anchor is always a major concern. The less power you extract from the batteries, the less time you have to run the generator to recharge the batteries. While the traditional incandescent anchor light bulb may only draw one amp, when multiplied by the hours every night, and hours during the day when you forgot to turn it off, the total use can be many amp hours.
A single LED bulb does not have sufficient lumens to adequately light the boat for safety purposes. To reduce power consumption and provide a bright light, a special fixture with multiple LEDs has been fitted to the anchor light This fixture also has a photocell to sense darkness, turning on the anchor light at the correct time and automatically turning it off after sunrise.
A small touch, but one that saves many hours of generator time.
Trash Can - A custom made, teak trash box was constructed to hold the garbage generated aboard. It fits just under the edge of the settee, holding it securely in place. A plastic bin and bag fit inside.
It keeps the garbage out of a cabinet, saving space. And, why would you want to put garbage inside a cabinet anyway? It is right across from the refrigerator, providing a nice seat when digging something out of the bottom of the refrigerator or when defrosting. It is sturdy enough to use as a step stool. An attractive box that meets many purposes. Another small touch that improves life on Last Dance.
Mast Crutch - Attached to the back of the aft cabin is a mast crutch to securely support the mast and boom. The mast is 21'6" tall. Some of the bridges on the eastern Erie Canal are 20' tall. Something has to give. The mast has a hinge and can be lowered to sit in the top notch in the crutch. The boom would then fit in the notch to the right, but is occupying the higher notch in this image to give more space to work under. The mast and boom are used to launch the dinghy on Last Dance.
Many a trawler will be seen on the water with lines loosely holding the boom in place as it swings with the roll of the boat. In canals, rough, temporary structures crudely constructed of 2x4 lumber can be seen holding a mast in a horizontal position so that the boat can clear low bridges. The mast crutch is a ship-shape means of handling the mast and boom in a safe and professional manner.
Spare Props
A set of props are aboard. If a prop becomes dinged, needing repair, sending it off to a prop shop and getting it returned can be a long process. Having spares aboard allows the journey to continue with only a brief stop rather.
