1979 Fast Passage 39

Friendly Cove offers a practical, sea‑kindly interior designed for long‑distance cruising and comfortable living aboard.

Accessed from a deep, secure cockpit, the companionway leads directly into a warm and inviting salon finished in cedar and teak with oak trim. The cockpit itself is well protected, featuring a hard dodger with safety glass, large canvas bimini, high coamings, teak grate sole, and a drop‑down table, making it an excellent helm station and watch‑keeping space offshore.

Below decks, the salon provides generous seating and dining space, with excellent ventilation from a large butterfly deck hatch and bronze opening ports.

The layout includes a private cabin forward with a pullman berth, hanging locker, large ceiling hatch and drawer storage. There is a head to starboard, and the salon has a dinette, with a folding table to port and a settee across. There is also a very large quarter berth in the rear of the cabin.

The galley has a propane stove and oven, ice box, and on-demand hot water. There is also a navigation station across from the galley.

Overall its a clean and tidy space with massive amounts of storage for long distance supllies.

Headroom reaches up to 6 ft 3 in, enhancing liveability.

The galley is well equipped for offshore and liveaboard use, featuring a Seaward three‑burner gimballed propane stove with oven and lock‑down, allowing safe cooking underway. A large, deep stainless‑steel sink is supplied with both hot and cold pressurized fresh water, as well as saltwater via foot pumps. Hot water is provided by a Raritan 6‑gallon system and an on‑demand propane Poloma heater, ensuring flexibility at anchor or underway. There is a portable refrigerator under the navigation station.

Cabin heating is supplied by an Arctic diesel heater with gravity feed from a dedicated holding tank, providing reliable warmth in cooler climates.

The head is fully enclosed and serviced by a fibreglass holding tank with vacuum attachment and macerator pump, suitable for extended cruising and regulatory compliance.

The electrical system is built to ABYC standards and designed for reliability offshore. House power is supplied by two 6‑volt GC batteries, with a dedicated 12‑volt starting battery rated at 750 CCA. Charging is handled by a 65‑amp alternator on the main engine and a 15‑amp resonant battery charger when connected to shore power. A 30‑amp shore power system with a 50‑foot cord supports dockside living. Electrical protection and upgraded LED lighting throughout the vessel reduce power consumption while improving efficiency and safety.

Friendly Cove is well equipped for coastal and offshore navigation. Electronics include a Garmin GPS Map 400/500 series chartplotter, Furuno DRS 4W radar, Navico DS 200 depth sounder, and a Danforth Constellation compass. Steering is via a tiller, supported by a Pelagic tiller pilot and an Autohelm 2000 spare autopilot, providing redundancy for long passages. Communications are handled by an SMR Sea Lab 5555 VHF radio, ensuring dependable contact at sea.

Ground tackle is robust and suitable for serious cruising. Anchoring equipment includes a Lofrans 12‑volt windlass with drum and gypsy, paired with multiple anchors, including CQR, Bruce, and Danforth. Primary rode consists of 200 feet of 3/8‑inch BBB galvanized chain and 200 feet of ¾‑inch three‑strand nylon, offering excellent holding and flexibility in a wide range of conditions. Additional secondary and tertiary anchors provide redundancy and confidence when anchoring in remote locations.

Secondary anchor is a 30 lb Danforth with 50’ of chain and 200 ft of nylon line.

There is a Zepllin Zulu 265 rigid hull inflatable tender included with the boat.

Propulsion is provided by a Beta 50 diesel engine installed new in 2014, delivering 50 horsepower through a TMC 60 reduction gearbox. With approximately 120 hours of use, the engine is lightly run and well maintained. Fresh‑water cooling, dual Racor 500 fuel filters, heavy‑duty fuel hoses, and excellent engine access from all sides enhance reliability and serviceability. Cruising speed is a comfortable 6–6.5 knots with economical fuel consumption of approximately 2.75 litres per hour. The propeller and shafting are matched for efficient performance, and soundproofing in the engine room reduces noise underway.

The vessel is cutter‑rigged with a keel‑stepped aluminum mast and double spreaders, providing strength and balance offshore. Standing rigging is stainless steel 1x19 wire, with running rigging in serviceable condition. Sail inventory includes a 2020 North Nordac mainsail with three reef points, a 2020 North Nordac furling genoa, and an original staysail. Sail handling is supported by a full complement of Barient self‑tailing two‑speed winches, strategically placed on the mast, cabin top, and cockpit coamings for efficient short‑handed sailing.

The current owner has single-handed this boat all around the PNW.

The hull is solid C-Flex fiberglass, built by Philbrooks Shipyard in 1977. The deck and cabin structure feature deck beams sheathed in mahogany plywood, glassed over with Airex foam and multiple layers of fiberglass and roving. Fairing compound was carefully applied and sanded to a smooth finish, with no area exceeding 1/16 inch in thickness. The deck is finished in Cape Ivory marine paint.

Structural bulkheads are ¾-inch fir plywood, heavily glassed on both sides, with additional reinforcement at chainplates. Non-structural bulkheads are ½-inch plywood, also glassed for durability. Floors are substantial 2-inch by 8-inch fir members, bonded and glassed into the bilge with extensive reinforcement, effectively doubling hull thickness in this critical area. The external lead keel, cast by Metalex, is secured with stainless steel keel bolts and oversized backing plates, bolted and glued to distribute loads across the bilge.

Interior joinery was professionally completed at the Philbrooks yard, not as a kit. The interior features fir plywood cabinetry faced with red cedar paneling and finished with oak trim, creating a warm, classic atmosphere throughout.

The Construction of “Friendly Cove”

by Graham Herbert, builder.

• Hull, C-flex fibreglass built by Philbrook Shipyard, Sidney B.C. 1977. To layouts specifications

• Deck and Cabin:

  1. Deck beams installed and covered with “1/4” mahogany plywood. Glassed over with 2 1/2 mats.

  2. “3/4” Airex Foam bonded to the wet fibreglass layup and held in place with weights to get a void-free bond.

  3. outside layup of “1 1/2” mat, 18 oz roving, “1/2” mat, “18 oz” roving, hand layered on top of foam.

  4. Fairing compound of microballoons and resin applied over fibreglass and sanded back to a smooth, fair surface. Note: in no place is the compound in excess of “1/16” thick!

  5. Deck painted with “CHPE IVORY” marine paint

• Interior Bulkheads:

• “3/4” Fir Plywood for main structural bulkheads, glassed in place with 2 mats + 2  rovings on each side, except where chainplates are attached, where 4 mats and 4 rovings were used on each side.

• “1/2” ply with 1 mat + 1 roving on each side was used for non-structural bulkheads

Builder Notes 2:

• FLOORS:

  1. 2” x 8” Fir floors were installed on 2’ centres. These were bonded to the bottom of the bilge.

  2. The floors + gussets were glassed in place with 4 mats + 4 rovings on each side, completely covering the wooden members and the entire bilge area, effectively doubling the thickness of the hull in the entire bilge.

  3. 3/4” plywood floor boards were glued and screwed to the tops of the floors, and these were glassed to the hull around the edges, with 2 mats + 2 rovings.

• KEEL - cast by Metalex

• External keel was cast with 9” X 1” steel bolts cast in place. The stainless steel keelbolts have 4”x4” stainless plates welded onto them and cast deep into the lead.

• Keel is bolted and glued in place with oversized washers (steel plates) to distribute the load over the entire bottom of the bilge area.

• INTERIOR JOINERY
  Most interior joinery is ½” Fir plywood faced with 3 1/4” x 7/16” Red Cedar panelling and capped with 2”x2” oak trim.