"Freedom, that´s what a ship is, you know.
It´s not just keel and hull and a deck and sails. That´s what a ship needs.
But what a ship is...is freedom"
- Kapt. Jack Sparrow -

The technical aspects of MOON: 

MOON is a Koopmans 47, designed with classic lines by Dick Koopmans (NL) and built to the highest standards at Klaas Bood shipyard in Holland, fulfilling the specifications of her original owner. Launched in 2001, MOON is a robust full-keel, centerboard vessel with a wooden core of Red Cedar strip-plank, reinforced with Twaron (identical to Kevlar) and epoxy, offering unparalleled strength and resilience. A high finish teak interior complements her classic design, and with a draft of only 1.5 meters when the centerboard is raised, she can sail and anchor comfortably in shallow waters. The pilothouse and hardtop provide excellent protection in all weather conditions.

In 2012 after several dormant years the second owner took possession of her in Malaysia and commenced on a thorough and major refit lasting well into 2014. Starting in 2014 MOON sailed over 40,000 nautical miles through diverse regions—Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Canada, Alaska, and the Americas via the Panama Canal, reaching as far as Newfoundland and Greenland before arriving in Sweden, where she became my possession in 2023. MOON has provided her previous owners with years of dependable cruising, adaptable to both warm and cold climates.

Equipped for long-distance voyages, MOON carries substantial water (850L/ 224 US Gallon) and diesel capacity (840L/ 222 US Gallon), complemented by a range of critical onboard systems, including a water-maker, dual autopilots, wind vane steering, and two chart plotters. Communications are ensured through Starlink, IridiumGo, SSB Long Range Radio, and LTE 4G connections. With four separate heating systems, she remains comfortable even when cruising in cold climates and icy waters.

Interior Layout

MOON’s interior is configured for optimal comfort for 2-4 occupants. Upon entry, you find a navigation table with a clear view, a head, a seating area, and an aft cabin with a double berth. The pilothouse offers 360-degree visibility, enhancing safety and navigation. Moving forward, a large galley features an induction stove and electric oven, next to an “office area” with a dedicated table, seating, and storage. The main saloon has a welcoming layout with a sofa and two armchairs. Forward of the mast bulkhead, there is a second head with a shower, and a cabin with a double berth. The thoughtful layout and quality of finish make MOON both a superb expedition vessel and a comfortable home.

Construction and Insulation

MOON’s hull is a composite structure, with Red Cedar planks epoxy glued with fiberglass and and then reinforced with Twaron (identical to Kevlar) in exposed areas both on the inside as well as on the outside from the bow to amidships. This construction provides excellent durability, structural rigidity, and lightness, comparable to similar vessels made of aluminum or steel.  The Twaron reinforcement ensures great collision protection, while the Red Cedar core offers superior insulation, reducing condensation in colder regions and helping maintain comfort in tropical climates. In addition, the hull is also insulated inside.

The hull's composite design minimizes maintenance and is immune to corrosion and osmosis.

(Got the picture from the previous owner, hence the Swedish flag)

Rig and Sail Plan

MOON’s white painted masthead cutter rig is built by Holland Spares with two sets of straight spreaders and a Dimond Jumper. She is rigged as a true cutter, with dual furling headsails, providing a stable, powerful configuration. The conventional mainsail is featuring five battens and two reefs (position 1,5 and 3), and can be hoisted from the cockpit or the mast with an electric winch. The two headsails, yankee and cutter, is rigged in such a way that they can and will be used at the same time pretty much any time the apparent wind is forward of the beam. They are easily controlled from the cockpit.

The spinnaker pole enables efficient wing-on-wing sailing with the high-cut clew Yankee poled out together with the main sail, offering a forgiving sail configuration in changing winds. A cutter rigged masthead rig like this is fully sufficient in most conditions.

Sailing Performance

For a high-latitude cruising vessel like MOON, her strength lies in maintaining steady momentum rather than sheer speed. In terms of sailing performance on a high latitude cruising boat as this, the point is not how fast you can go, it is how slow you don’t go. Her proven track record across the world's oceans is a testament to her seaworthiness and the quality of craftsmanship invested in her construction.

Up to now, the boat has sailed around most of the world, even the remote and cold waters of Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and Greenland. The fact that it has taken good care of its crew testifies that the very best qualities have been built into it.

Notable Upgrades and Enhancements:

Sealing of deck and hull (2012-2014): The boat was put on the hard and hull, centerboard and deck were completely refurbished during this period.
The original teak was replaced with cork on top of a waterproof 24 mm plywood deck, sealed with fiberglass and epoxy, providing excellent insulation and secure footing, wet or dry.

The old hull fittings were removed, the hole drilled slightly larger than the original and moulded with epoxy before being replaced with new through hull an seacock made of Marelon. The new grommet was made flush with the hull to prevent ice or other debris in the water from tearing or damaging it.

Engine Replacement (2023): After extensive use, the original Perkins engine had more than 6,000 hours on the clock, had aspirated seawater a couple of times and needed close attention most of the time, so the time had come for retirement. 

It was replaced by a Lombardini Kohler KDI2504M-MP, a 50 hp naturally aspirated engine. This new engine achieves 6.5 knots as cruising speed at 1700 rpm, consuming approximately 3.5 l/h.

Bow Thruster (2023): Long keeled boats can be a real nightmare to handle in close quarters, especially when the wind don’t play along. Hence a powerful Sleipner E-170 bow thruster with integrated inverter was installed. 

Chart plotters (2023): A B&G Zeus3S 12" plotter is mounted in a stainless steel box at the pedestal together with the control units for the bow thruster and autopilot offering intuitive and reliable navigation. Inside at the navigation table a 9" B&G Zeus3 plotter found its place as successor of the 10 year old B&G T8.

The boat has an electric galley with induction top and electric oven. Together with the other electrical equipment such as navigation instruments, plotters and autopilot, the load on the batteries often made them reach the limit. Thus well made and taken care of this led to challenges and limitations on the batteries when spending several days at sail on passages, or at anchor without access to shore power. To overcome this, we  installed a powerful (24V/ 600A) lithium battery bank, a more powerful alternator (24V/ 165A) and the larges solar arrays (2 x 380W) that could fit.

Solar. On the stainless steel solar arch there are 2 x 380W C-Sun solar arrays, Starlink and IridiumGO antennas.

Batteries. Moon now has 3 x 25.6V 200A Victron Lithium Smart batteries that provides 12.3kW at 80% discharge. It implies that capacity has been raised with more than 100% of usable energy compared to the older AGM batteries. The batteries are controlled by a Victron Smart BMS500 and the Victron CerboGX.

Inverter/chargers. The new electrical system contains of a Victron Multiplus-II 24V charger/ inverter 120A/ 5000A, Orion TR-Smart 24/12V and 12/24V DCDC converters, Victron Solar 100/30 MPPT Smart Charge Controller and the Victron Cerbo GX  Monitoring and Control Unit w/ 7" remote Touch Screen.

Alternator. The new ElectroMaax 24V 165A alternator with an external rectifier produce significant less heat during high loads than the old Mastervolt. A Wakespeed 500 is set up as alternator regulator. 

These refinements—alongside safety enhancements like raised lifelines for better stability on deck—equip MOON for the challenges of offshore and high-latitude sailing, offering peace of mind and exceptional performance to her crew.

MOON Technical Data:

Homeport: Elnesvågen, Norway

Callesign: MOON - LL4007

MMSI: 259019540

HULL/ CONSTRUCTION:

RIG/ SAIL:

ENGINE/ PROPULSION/ STEERING:

ELECTRICITY:

NAVIGATION/ COMUNICATION:

DECK/ COCKPIT:

INTERIOR/ GALLY:

SAFETY:

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