Custom Thomas Colvin "Pipistrelle"
Chester, Canadaon the market since 17 days
Price on request
SY
Sunnybrook Yachts
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About
"CLASSICALLY RIGGED"
TRADITIONAL"
"UNIQUE"
"Interlude", a hermaphrodite steel schooner, can be well described by these few words.
Pleasing to the trained and untrained eye, she was custom built by Island Star Marine in Gulfport, Mississippi in 1985 based on Thomas Colvin’s “Pipistrelle” design.
She is a true blue water cruiser and her current owners have enjoyed her sea kindliness and her down island charm for ten years.
For sailors looking to cruise and seek new adventures, "Interlude" is a rare opportunity in today's marketplace.
March 2023 survey available for review on request.
Her extensive inventory is found under Additional Information.
FULL VIDEO REVIEW BY "LEARN THE LINES", JUST COPY AND PAST THE LINK BELOW https://youtu.be/_7ZjISgtbNU
Full Owner Description website https://sv-interlude.ca
The following are excerpts from an article by John Paul White published in Southern Boating in December 1988.
“The design chosen was Thomas Colvin’s 50’ Pipistrelle, a larger sister to his famous Gazelle. These boats are shoal keel developments of the traditional V-bottomed sharpie and are of moderately light displacement. They are easily driven under both power and sail and are well-suited for short handed cruising.
The lines show a single-chine clipper bow hull, with a long shallow keel and a raking curved counter stern. There is a raised afterdeck, a flush mid-ship steering station over the full width of the engine room, and a traditional trunk cabin forward with water-ways and bulwarks.
Under the supervision of Ray Merrill at Island Star Marine in Gulfport, Mississippi, the hull was sandblasted to white metal subsequent to plating, flame sprayed with aluminum on the exterior and multiply coated with Devoe epoxy anticorrosive paint inside and out. All frames, longitudinals and inside corners were covered with epoxy to eliminate moisture pockets. Thereafter and on delivery of the hull/deck to Pensacola, Florida, two additional coats of Devoe epoxy were applied to the hull followed by finish coats on the inside. All bronze fittings are set in neoprene with sleeved bolts and bedded with 5200 sealant. Every hole drilled in the boat was drilled through a paper cup to collect shavings and the hole immediately vaccuumed, acid-treated and primed with Devoe Bar-Rust to eliminate rust specks.
An absolute minimum of epoxy fairing was applied to the hull and then only in areas of continuous welding, to prevent future spalling of fairing putty under hard use. Instead, more than 30 mandays were spent applying and sanding 12 coats of high build primer and acrylic glazing before the polyurethane paint job.
In consultation with the designer, a special construction process replaced the after cabin steel top with a laminated wooden structure covered with 1/4” teak planks set in West System Epoxy. This avoided the rust problems associated with wooden decks laid over steel and in addition, saved almost 600 pounds in the after section of the boat.
Traditional scuttle hatches, skylights, cap rails, and monkey rails with turned styles were built of Honduras mahogany and covered with ten coats of ultraviolet-filtered varnish.
The interior woods are cypress for hull, ceiling and bulkheads, Honduras mahogany for joinery and ash for floorings, all varnished.
The rig was given special attention to bring to the traditional advantages of the gaff rig evolutionary advances of the last 100 years development in materials and hardware.
Custom aluminum spars were built by Johnson Sails in St. Petersburg, all with internal halyards, reefing lines, outhauls, and topping lifts. Harken 3” Big Boat blocks, several custom made for this boat, were used throughout. Lewmar line stoppers and winches add sail control and shaping. Powerful 6-1 Harken vangs help handle the long booms.
Sails were built by Shurr of Pensacola, Florida, a racing sailmaker who happened to also have experience with the gaff rig. They incorporate moderate roach supported by battens and shelf feet for draft control.
Many other details of this boat, as varied as her hand-carved nautical scenes by Otto Preske and Barry Simpson of Gatlinburg Tennessee, to her powerful electrical system designed and installed by Kevin Carney of DC Engineering Inc., were worked out among the owner, the designer, and several specialists in an effort to construct a steel boat which all could be proud of.”
Spars
Tallest Mast Height: 48’ (Main 39’ above deck, Fore 34’ above deck)
Spars constructed of aluminum tubing
Masts: 6” diameter, material thickness of 1/4”
Bowsprit: 6.5” diameter
Booms: 6” diameter
Gaff: 4.5” diameter
Square yard: 3.5” diameter
Rigging
Bobstay: 1/2” chain, approx 14 ft
Standing Rigging: 1X19 Stainless wire, diameter 5/16”. Reported renewed in mid-2000s. Stalok terminals.
Ratlins: constructed of teak steps on port side of foremast, and starboard side of main mast
Running Backstays: 1/4” braided wire
Running Rigging: Halyards, sheets, braces, tacks are 10mm or 12mm Spunflex, all new in 2015/2016. Selectively renewed in March 2023.
Working sails
Main: Listed 525’ (gaff) Calc 480’ - Luff 35’ Foot 24’ Leech 38’ (Converted from gaff to marconi by a previous owner; original gaff is available but not on the boat)
Foresail: 260 - Luff 20’ Foot 10.5’ Leech 28.5’ Head 12’
Boomed Staysail: 125 - Luff 27.5’ Foot 8.5’ Leech 28’
Jib: 190 - Luff 35’ Foot 15’ Leech 26’
Square: Calc 300’ Leech 21’ Foot 14’
Main, Foresail, Staysail, and Jib were inspected and serviced by Andy Soper, Sailmaker of Kingston Ontario, in December 2016. Work done included some reshaping of the main for better performance, new luff lines in the staysail and jib, and minor repairs as needed. Andy is well-known as an expert on sailmaking for traditional rigs and built some of the sails commissioned for the Master and Commander movie.
Further adjustments to the main were performed in the sail loft at Barefoot Barefoot Yacht Charters in 2022 under the direction of Phil Barnard.
The square sail was purchased second hand in 2016 from another schooner owner. It was originally built using Oceanus sailcloth by Andy Soper, who inspected its condition in 2017 and found no issues.
Sail Area: 1,355 sq. ft. total, 1,055 sq. ft fore and aft, 1230 sq. ft. with square (excluding staysail)
Pin rails: on foremast shrouds, forward and aft of foremast, at base of main mast, on rails on either side of cockpit
Winches:
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on port side of foremast
- Lewmar #30 ST winch starboard of main pin rail
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on foremast boom
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on main boom
- Lewmar #16 ST winches on starboard and port sides of cockpit
- Multiple winch handles and spares stored in helm station deck box
Track: for boomed staysail
Blocks: multiple double and single blocks for sheets and halyards
Engine: Alaska Lugger L854/HE/H150 four-cylinder 43 Hp, fresh water/heat exchanged-cooled diesel engine (serial # 854-0365) & with ZF Hurth reverse/reduction gears (model HBW150). The Lugger diesels were the choice of many fishing vessels that ran the engines continuously for weeks. Their design emphasizes internal plumbing with a minimum of hoses. The transmission was replaced with a new version in 2022. The fuel injector pump was rebuilt in 2022.
Shaft: 1” stainless. Conventional flax packed shaft seal. Cutless bearing replaced in 2014. Shaft and cutless bearing replaced in January 2022
Prop: Feathering 3 blade, RH 19x12 Stainless steel Autostream, purchased new from West by North Industries in 2018
Spare props: 2 bronze RH 1X 18
Fuel tanks: 2 112 gallon fuel tanks port and starboard in engine room, vents at deck level (total 224 gallons)
Fuel filters: mounted on forward face of engine room bulkhead. Changed to Racor filters in 2022, and added a third filter system so filters can be changed while underway.
Exhaust fan: 3” blower to vent engine space
Rudder: shoe-mounted welded steel rudder with auxiliary tiller, sight glass, and eye terminals for emergency rope steering
Steering: Hynautic hydraulic system. Steering pump rebuilt in 2022, and the seals on the cylinder were replaced also in 2022.
Autopilot: Raspberry Pi unit with fluxgate compass and hydraulic pump was replaced. The new system consumes a fraction of the power of the original, which could not be used without the engine running. The RPI-based system steered the boat 98% of the time in the 2023 passage from St. Vincent to Halifax.
Anchors:
- Starboard bow: 65# CQR with 380’ 3/8” all chain rode. Rode fully inspected and measured in 2017. Bitter end secured to boat
- Port bow: 55# Danforth with 10’ 3/8”chain and 300’ 3/4” nylon 3-strand rode in two 150’ sections, rode new in 2018
- Stern: 20” Danforth with 10’ 3/8” chain and 150’ of 3/4 nylon braided rode
- Storm Anchor: NA
- Shackles moused with stainless wire
Windlass: AB Industries bronze 2-speed manual windlass, with stainless handle and spare handle
Mooring lines: new in 2018
- 2 X long’ 3/4 inch braided line
- 2 X mid length’ 3/4 inch braided line
- 1 X shorter’ 3/4 inch braided line
Davits at stern support white Boatex 7’ rowing dinghy with wooden oars.
Covers:
• Sunbrella Main stak-pak constructed and installed in 2019
Bimini
Dodger
• New Sunbrella dodger and side curtains installed in 2019, manufactured by Paul MacDonald (colocates with Wiggers in Bowmanville)
Exterior Finishes
Hull: Awlcraft 2000 Cream applied in 2011, recent touchups as required. Further touchups in 2023
Deck: Base coat: Petitt oil-based white, Non-skid: Kiwi-Grip Cream
Bottom: 2 coats Fibreglas Bottomcote ACT, first coat blue, second coat black, Fresh coat 2025 bottom paint.
Spars: Existing coat unknown, we have some paint from previous owner for touchups
Brightwork: Cetol 2 part system, gloss over marine teak finish, renewed 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2022 / 2023
On deck
• Ring buoy with 50’ floating line
• Lifesling with 150’ floating line
Below
Fire Detection and Suppression
Requirement: 10BC fire extinguishers(require updated inspection)
• Engine Room: Fireboy Automatic Halon System, Model 70MA Halon 1301, heat activated at 175F, fan cut-out. Verified weight on April 3, 2019 to still meet the marked gross label weight of 10.3 lbs
• Cockpit on port side of binnacle
• Forward cabin: starboard side
• Galley: under sink
• Salon: aft wall on port side of companionway ladder
• Aft cabin: port side
• Fire extinguishers inspected and retagged in spring 2019
• 2 Smoke detectors: forward cabin, main salon, aft cabin (2015)
Bilge Pumps and Alarm
AC System
DC System
Solar Power (installed in 2018)
100watt Sunpower (USA) monocrystaliine semi-flexible panels (600 watts total)(2 new 2024)
Through-hulls
Fresh water
• Two 100 gallon steel tanks port and starboard in salon, air vents at deck level
Grey water
Black water
Washdown
Binnacle
Above Companionway
At Nav Station
Transducers
Antennas
Aft Cabin
Salon
Aft cabin
Forward cabin
- Wrenches
- Sockets and driver
- Pliers
- Screwdrivers
- Hammers
- Hacksaw
- Files
- Small push saw
- Hex drivers
- Standard crosscut saw
- Axe
- Electric drill
- Drill bits
- Driver bits
- Small socket set
- Electric sander
- Multimeter and spare multimeter
- Wire stripper
- Crimper
- Painting tools and supplies
- Rigging cutter
- Extension cords
- Oil change pump
- Air pumps (manual and electric, to top up pressure in steering system)
Various spares in box under companionway, under salon settees
2014
• Installed Wallas Nordic Dt stovetop unit
2015
2016
2017
• Replaced glass and gaskets in portlights
2018
2019
2022/2023
• Replaced condenser unit and control unit in fridge
• Replaced prop shaft and cutless bearing
2024
2025
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.
TRADITIONAL"
"UNIQUE"
"Interlude", a hermaphrodite steel schooner, can be well described by these few words.
Pleasing to the trained and untrained eye, she was custom built by Island Star Marine in Gulfport, Mississippi in 1985 based on Thomas Colvin’s “Pipistrelle” design.
She is a true blue water cruiser and her current owners have enjoyed her sea kindliness and her down island charm for ten years.
For sailors looking to cruise and seek new adventures, "Interlude" is a rare opportunity in today's marketplace.
March 2023 survey available for review on request.
Her extensive inventory is found under Additional Information.
FULL VIDEO REVIEW BY "LEARN THE LINES", JUST COPY AND PAST THE LINK BELOW https://youtu.be/_7ZjISgtbNU
Full Owner Description website https://sv-interlude.ca
The following are excerpts from an article by John Paul White published in Southern Boating in December 1988.
“The design chosen was Thomas Colvin’s 50’ Pipistrelle, a larger sister to his famous Gazelle. These boats are shoal keel developments of the traditional V-bottomed sharpie and are of moderately light displacement. They are easily driven under both power and sail and are well-suited for short handed cruising.
The lines show a single-chine clipper bow hull, with a long shallow keel and a raking curved counter stern. There is a raised afterdeck, a flush mid-ship steering station over the full width of the engine room, and a traditional trunk cabin forward with water-ways and bulwarks.
Under the supervision of Ray Merrill at Island Star Marine in Gulfport, Mississippi, the hull was sandblasted to white metal subsequent to plating, flame sprayed with aluminum on the exterior and multiply coated with Devoe epoxy anticorrosive paint inside and out. All frames, longitudinals and inside corners were covered with epoxy to eliminate moisture pockets. Thereafter and on delivery of the hull/deck to Pensacola, Florida, two additional coats of Devoe epoxy were applied to the hull followed by finish coats on the inside. All bronze fittings are set in neoprene with sleeved bolts and bedded with 5200 sealant. Every hole drilled in the boat was drilled through a paper cup to collect shavings and the hole immediately vaccuumed, acid-treated and primed with Devoe Bar-Rust to eliminate rust specks.
An absolute minimum of epoxy fairing was applied to the hull and then only in areas of continuous welding, to prevent future spalling of fairing putty under hard use. Instead, more than 30 mandays were spent applying and sanding 12 coats of high build primer and acrylic glazing before the polyurethane paint job.
In consultation with the designer, a special construction process replaced the after cabin steel top with a laminated wooden structure covered with 1/4” teak planks set in West System Epoxy. This avoided the rust problems associated with wooden decks laid over steel and in addition, saved almost 600 pounds in the after section of the boat.
Traditional scuttle hatches, skylights, cap rails, and monkey rails with turned styles were built of Honduras mahogany and covered with ten coats of ultraviolet-filtered varnish.
The interior woods are cypress for hull, ceiling and bulkheads, Honduras mahogany for joinery and ash for floorings, all varnished.
The rig was given special attention to bring to the traditional advantages of the gaff rig evolutionary advances of the last 100 years development in materials and hardware.
Custom aluminum spars were built by Johnson Sails in St. Petersburg, all with internal halyards, reefing lines, outhauls, and topping lifts. Harken 3” Big Boat blocks, several custom made for this boat, were used throughout. Lewmar line stoppers and winches add sail control and shaping. Powerful 6-1 Harken vangs help handle the long booms.
Sails were built by Shurr of Pensacola, Florida, a racing sailmaker who happened to also have experience with the gaff rig. They incorporate moderate roach supported by battens and shelf feet for draft control.
Many other details of this boat, as varied as her hand-carved nautical scenes by Otto Preske and Barry Simpson of Gatlinburg Tennessee, to her powerful electrical system designed and installed by Kevin Carney of DC Engineering Inc., were worked out among the owner, the designer, and several specialists in an effort to construct a steel boat which all could be proud of.”
Spars
Tallest Mast Height: 48’ (Main 39’ above deck, Fore 34’ above deck)
Spars constructed of aluminum tubing
Masts: 6” diameter, material thickness of 1/4”
Bowsprit: 6.5” diameter
Booms: 6” diameter
Gaff: 4.5” diameter
Square yard: 3.5” diameter
Rigging
Bobstay: 1/2” chain, approx 14 ft
Standing Rigging: 1X19 Stainless wire, diameter 5/16”. Reported renewed in mid-2000s. Stalok terminals.
Ratlins: constructed of teak steps on port side of foremast, and starboard side of main mast
Running Backstays: 1/4” braided wire
Running Rigging: Halyards, sheets, braces, tacks are 10mm or 12mm Spunflex, all new in 2015/2016. Selectively renewed in March 2023.
Working sails
Main: Listed 525’ (gaff) Calc 480’ - Luff 35’ Foot 24’ Leech 38’ (Converted from gaff to marconi by a previous owner; original gaff is available but not on the boat)
Foresail: 260 - Luff 20’ Foot 10.5’ Leech 28.5’ Head 12’
Boomed Staysail: 125 - Luff 27.5’ Foot 8.5’ Leech 28’
Jib: 190 - Luff 35’ Foot 15’ Leech 26’
Square: Calc 300’ Leech 21’ Foot 14’
Main, Foresail, Staysail, and Jib were inspected and serviced by Andy Soper, Sailmaker of Kingston Ontario, in December 2016. Work done included some reshaping of the main for better performance, new luff lines in the staysail and jib, and minor repairs as needed. Andy is well-known as an expert on sailmaking for traditional rigs and built some of the sails commissioned for the Master and Commander movie.
Further adjustments to the main were performed in the sail loft at Barefoot Barefoot Yacht Charters in 2022 under the direction of Phil Barnard.
The square sail was purchased second hand in 2016 from another schooner owner. It was originally built using Oceanus sailcloth by Andy Soper, who inspected its condition in 2017 and found no issues.
Sail Area: 1,355 sq. ft. total, 1,055 sq. ft fore and aft, 1230 sq. ft. with square (excluding staysail)
Pin rails: on foremast shrouds, forward and aft of foremast, at base of main mast, on rails on either side of cockpit
Winches:
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on port side of foremast
- Lewmar #30 ST winch starboard of main pin rail
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on foremast boom
- Lewmar #16 ST winch on main boom
- Lewmar #16 ST winches on starboard and port sides of cockpit
- Multiple winch handles and spares stored in helm station deck box
Track: for boomed staysail
Blocks: multiple double and single blocks for sheets and halyards
Engine: Alaska Lugger L854/HE/H150 four-cylinder 43 Hp, fresh water/heat exchanged-cooled diesel engine (serial # 854-0365) & with ZF Hurth reverse/reduction gears (model HBW150). The Lugger diesels were the choice of many fishing vessels that ran the engines continuously for weeks. Their design emphasizes internal plumbing with a minimum of hoses. The transmission was replaced with a new version in 2022. The fuel injector pump was rebuilt in 2022.
Shaft: 1” stainless. Conventional flax packed shaft seal. Cutless bearing replaced in 2014. Shaft and cutless bearing replaced in January 2022
Prop: Feathering 3 blade, RH 19x12 Stainless steel Autostream, purchased new from West by North Industries in 2018
Spare props: 2 bronze RH 1X 18
Fuel tanks: 2 112 gallon fuel tanks port and starboard in engine room, vents at deck level (total 224 gallons)
Fuel filters: mounted on forward face of engine room bulkhead. Changed to Racor filters in 2022, and added a third filter system so filters can be changed while underway.
Exhaust fan: 3” blower to vent engine space
Rudder: shoe-mounted welded steel rudder with auxiliary tiller, sight glass, and eye terminals for emergency rope steering
Steering: Hynautic hydraulic system. Steering pump rebuilt in 2022, and the seals on the cylinder were replaced also in 2022.
Autopilot: Raspberry Pi unit with fluxgate compass and hydraulic pump was replaced. The new system consumes a fraction of the power of the original, which could not be used without the engine running. The RPI-based system steered the boat 98% of the time in the 2023 passage from St. Vincent to Halifax.
Anchors:
- Starboard bow: 65# CQR with 380’ 3/8” all chain rode. Rode fully inspected and measured in 2017. Bitter end secured to boat
- Port bow: 55# Danforth with 10’ 3/8”chain and 300’ 3/4” nylon 3-strand rode in two 150’ sections, rode new in 2018
- Stern: 20” Danforth with 10’ 3/8” chain and 150’ of 3/4 nylon braided rode
- Storm Anchor: NA
- Shackles moused with stainless wire
Windlass: AB Industries bronze 2-speed manual windlass, with stainless handle and spare handle
Mooring lines: new in 2018
- 2 X long’ 3/4 inch braided line
- 2 X mid length’ 3/4 inch braided line
- 1 X shorter’ 3/4 inch braided line
Davits at stern support white Boatex 7’ rowing dinghy with wooden oars.
Covers:
• Sunbrella Main stak-pak constructed and installed in 2019
Bimini
Dodger
• New Sunbrella dodger and side curtains installed in 2019, manufactured by Paul MacDonald (colocates with Wiggers in Bowmanville)
Exterior Finishes
Hull: Awlcraft 2000 Cream applied in 2011, recent touchups as required. Further touchups in 2023
Deck: Base coat: Petitt oil-based white, Non-skid: Kiwi-Grip Cream
Bottom: 2 coats Fibreglas Bottomcote ACT, first coat blue, second coat black, Fresh coat 2025 bottom paint.
Spars: Existing coat unknown, we have some paint from previous owner for touchups
Brightwork: Cetol 2 part system, gloss over marine teak finish, renewed 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2022 / 2023
On deck
• Ring buoy with 50’ floating line
• Lifesling with 150’ floating line
Below
Fire Detection and Suppression
Requirement: 10BC fire extinguishers(require updated inspection)
• Engine Room: Fireboy Automatic Halon System, Model 70MA Halon 1301, heat activated at 175F, fan cut-out. Verified weight on April 3, 2019 to still meet the marked gross label weight of 10.3 lbs
• Cockpit on port side of binnacle
• Forward cabin: starboard side
• Galley: under sink
• Salon: aft wall on port side of companionway ladder
• Aft cabin: port side
• Fire extinguishers inspected and retagged in spring 2019
• 2 Smoke detectors: forward cabin, main salon, aft cabin (2015)
Bilge Pumps and Alarm
AC System
DC System
Solar Power (installed in 2018)
100watt Sunpower (USA) monocrystaliine semi-flexible panels (600 watts total)(2 new 2024)
Through-hulls
Fresh water
• Two 100 gallon steel tanks port and starboard in salon, air vents at deck level
Grey water
Black water
Washdown
Binnacle
Above Companionway
At Nav Station
Transducers
Antennas
Aft Cabin
Salon
Aft cabin
Forward cabin
- Wrenches
- Sockets and driver
- Pliers
- Screwdrivers
- Hammers
- Hacksaw
- Files
- Small push saw
- Hex drivers
- Standard crosscut saw
- Axe
- Electric drill
- Drill bits
- Driver bits
- Small socket set
- Electric sander
- Multimeter and spare multimeter
- Wire stripper
- Crimper
- Painting tools and supplies
- Rigging cutter
- Extension cords
- Oil change pump
- Air pumps (manual and electric, to top up pressure in steering system)
Various spares in box under companionway, under salon settees
2014
• Installed Wallas Nordic Dt stovetop unit
2015
2016
2017
• Replaced glass and gaskets in portlights
2018
2019
2022/2023
• Replaced condenser unit and control unit in fridge
• Replaced prop shaft and cutless bearing
2024
2025
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.
