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VALIANT
YACHTS
For 30 years
Valiant
Yachts has built serious offshore cruising
yachts. The Bob Perry Design has become a standard by which all other
cruising yachts are measured. Valiants hold the undisputed record for more
single and short handed (2 person) circumnavigations than any other sailing
boat *.
We chose our Valiant 42' for safety, comfort, strength,
stability and performance. She is built to cross any ocean and we believe
she is the best yacht for us, as we will be attempting a circumnavigation. This journey may take 6 – 10 years.
Valiant builds
semi-custom yachts to order, building 7 - 10 each year, offering the 42' and
50' design. We commissioned ARGO in March 2000 and specified the right
equipment for a circumnavigation. The hull was laid July 9, 2001, and we
took delivery April 12, 2002. At that time, ARGO was the most fully equipped
Valiant 42’ ever built.
* One of our
requirements when boat shopping was that Debbie needed to be able to handle
the boat by herself. Steve says it's so he doesn't have to be woken up
during the night to adjust sails, but Debbie says it's because she has to be
self sufficient in case Steve is sick or injured.)
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CONSTRUCTION
Valiant Yachts are built in the
unlikely place of Gordonville, Texas, on the Texas side of Lake Texoma.
Living in Houston, a 5 1/2 hour drive put us at the factory so we made a
visit about once a month during the 9-month building process. We have hundreds of
pictures fully documenting the building process, from the laying of the hull
to the re-commissioning in Houston.
Valiant has a 1-piece solid
fiberglass hull design that cannot be modified. They have three "standard"
interior layouts that can be modified as much or as little as the owner
wishes. We made many "small" changes to the interior, and of course had
Valiant fully equip the boat for cruising. Our numerous decisions included
everything from sails to electronics to appliances to systems to
upholstery! More involved than building a house!
The long waiting time to start on our
boat actually was a blessing in disguise, we quickly realized. The extra
time allowed us to attend two Annapolis Sailboat shows, the Pacific Sail
Expo, the Miami Boat Show, visit the Valiant factory several times to view
other Valiants in various stages of production, and to meet/email many other
Valiant owners to get their feedback on their finished boats. It was
helpful to hear the things that they were really glad they had done, and
also the things they wish they would have done differently in retrospect.
Because we had close to 2 years to extensively research everything, we have
so far been very pleased with all our decisions.
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SYSTEMS / SPECS
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2002 Valiant 42CE (center entry,
queen forward), hull #154 (numbering starts with 101)
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LOA 42’0", LWL 34’6", Beam 12’9",
Draft 6’0", Mast height above DWL 57’11"
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Ballast: Solid lead keel weighing
9,500 lbs.
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Total weight upon delivery
approximately 29,000 lbs.
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Dual power: 120 AC and 12 volt DC
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120 AC by shore power, generator
and inverter
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12 volt battery charging by shore
power, generator, engine, wind generator and solar panels
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Air conditioning and heater
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Refrigeration / freezer / icemaker
by 120 AC and 12 volt
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Communications by VHF radio, SSB
radio, HAM radio and email
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Navigation by compass, GPS
(differential), radar, electronic charts, forward looking sonar, sailing
instruments, auto pilot and dead reckoning
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Galley has propane stove / oven /
broiler (2 – 20 lbs. propane bottles), microwave
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Water maker capable of producing
400 gallons/day of fresh water from sea water
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Killer stereo and video system
(AM/FM/XM radio/CD, DVD/CD changer, flat screen TV, cockpit speakers)
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Safety systems include life raft,
C.A.R.D. (Collision Avoidance Radar Detection), GPIRB (Global Position
Indicating Radio Beacon – uses GPS), radar alarm and other items
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All sails are furled: Leisure Furl
main (furls into boom) / Shaefer jib and staysail. Electric winch for
mainsail, and other uses.
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Windlass for ground tackle
(anchors) plus stern anchor and deck wash down bib
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Anchors are 66 lbs. Bruce and 45
lbs. CQR off bow; Fortress FX23 off stern
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Davits for dinghy and foredeck
chocks for carrying dinghy offshore
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Storage for scuba tanks
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Tankage: Diesel fuel
135 gallons /
Water 100 gallons
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ARGO
(Greek argos, ‘swift’) In Greek mythology, Jason and the
Argonauts sailed the vessel ARGO in search of the Golden Fleece, and along
the way had many successful adventures. Jason enlisted 50 of the
greatest heroes to serve as crew on the Argonautica, or voyage, including
the Gemini twins Castor and Pollux, Hercules, Orpheus the musician and Hylas.
ARGO, named after its builder Argus, who also served as crew, is the first
ship in history to be given a name. In honor of this, there is an ancient
constellation, ARGO NAVIS, which lies in the southern hemisphere, just below
the equator. In 1763, the French cartographer Abbe’ Nicolas Louis de
Lacaille divided this large constellation into 3 smaller manageable
constellations: modern day Carina (keel), Puppis (stern or "poop") and Vela
(sail). Historical facts lead us to believe that there is some truth to the
ARGO and that this was probably the first important maritime expedition.
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