about the boat
It may not be the biggest surprise in the world for those of you who have known us for awhile. However, it's been a long time coming and after a lot of time refitting her to support our family for an extended cruise - we're off and cruising. Pictures and videos are below if you want to skip the words!
The boat is a Dean 441 catamaran built in 2009. It's ~44 feet long and is powered by the wind (we purchased a new Neil Pryde brand mainsail) and two Vetus 42hp engines. We've added ~2600 watts of solar power and a bunch of batteries to store all that solar energy.
With some food on-board, we've been able to be quite self-sufficient. This is due to the systems that came with the boat and upgrades we've made along the way. We make roughly 30 (or more) gallons of fresh water an hour, the boat has 3(!) showers, and a combo washer/dryer.
Starlink keeps us connected wherever we roam and 3 separate cabins (bedrooms) give us enough room for privacy. We have a built in fridge and freezer that is supplemented by a portable Dometic fridge/freezer combo unit that we love.
Cooking is accomplished using induction cooktop, electric counter top style oven, a microwave/grill combo, a bread machine, instant pot and hot water kettle. We use all of the options quite frequently and the kids have really become proficient at using the kettle for ramen/oatmeal on their own.
We carry a 10ft AB aluminum inflatable dinghy with a 20hp Honda outboard to get us around. Every night we lift it up with our davits out of the water and lock it to the boat to keep any opportunistic thief away.
Our boat came with 2009 era Raymarine electronics that include a radar and an autopilot. We've been slowly upgrading components but vendor lock in and no upgrade path with the radar has kept us from completely changing everything out.
Finally, the name Yoto. It may be the most frequent question we get and the honest answer is that we have no idea what the name means. The family that purchased the boat before us named it Yoto and we couldn't think of anything better. We were never able to talk to anyone from the previous ownership (they are in France) but maybe someday we'll find out. Until then, we're rocking the name and continuing on...
