Seattle-based Swiftsure Yachts says the Sou’wester 59 Sula is for sale with an asking price of $524,000. The brokerage house describes the yacht as “heirloom quality” and ready for a new owner who is interested in short- and long-distance cruising.
Sula is a 1997 build from the Hinckley Company in Southwest Harbor, Maine, with design by McCurdy and Rhodes. Her classic good looks include Awlgrip topsides and a gold leaf cove stripe, along with a cherry interior with a teak-and-holly sole.
Just a pretty face, perhaps? Oh, no. Not even close. Sula did a passage to New Zealand, and the boat is built for long-distance cruising, with a protected center cockpit, and with stowage above and belowdecks.
Sula is also a boat designed and outfitted for shorthanded sailing. The features include a pushbutton mainsail, genoa furling and powered winches, as well as a bow thruster for close-quarters maneuvering. A cruising couple can handle this boat without extra crew.
Or, the owners can invite friends, given the three-stateroom interior layout. The master stateroom spans the 15-foot-6-inch beam at the stern, with a private companionway and ladder that lead to the aft deck and provide ventilation. The Pullman-style master berth is to port. A pullout and removable cushion extend this berth inboard. To starboard is a quarter berth with a barrel dressing seat. For even more ventilation and natural light, there are three opening ports are in the cabin sides, along with two opening hatches and two fixed portlights in the hull.
The guest stateroom is to port of the forward passageway, with a Pullman-style berth. The third stateroom, abaft the forepeak, has two bunk-style berths to starboard. An expansion board widens the lower bunk without impeding passage forward.
In terms of upgrades throughout the yacht, the current owners (who are Sula’s second owners) have spent the past decade adding a fold-down swim platform, Simpson powered davits, a solar array, new standing rigging, a hydraulic Harken furler, a B&G electronics package, and upgraded engine-room insulation.
That last upgrade reduced the onboard noise level at cruise speed by 7 decibels in the salon, and by 12 decibels in the aft cabin, according to Swiftsure Yachts.
Why are the current owners selling Sula? They recently purchased a larger cruising sailboat, according to the brokerage house. The single-asset LLC through which they own the yacht is transferable to the next owner. Schedule a viewing: contact a sales broker at swiftsureyachts.com.
