n*ff l/r/ Ihf l' Th" t rff, .o.. J, A( th in at c( Al al rh +l br he searchtirr the perf'ectcruising boat, especiallyfbr f al I couples.cun be a long,frustlating one. Eachhas their S( priorities "rnake own setof and or breakissues." Finding t\ a boatthat satisflesenough priorities of both parties o without any leal "break"issues is, well...difficult. For Jakeand Jackie Adarrs, the searchtook a coupleof years, V but the outconre,Hokulc'u. a Liberty458, is one they are p both thlilled with. Jakehad been cruising betbre. which greatly influencedhis prioritiesfbr the nextcruising boat. In his early30s, he and two friendswent into partnershipon a I Sr Tayana37, Far Niente,and setsail for Mexico and the SouthPacific. He was satisfledwith the boatexcept for Jakehad tried to talk Jackieinto going on the cruisc, its windwardperfbnnance. The nextboat would needto but shewas contentto help the guys with all the prep performwell on all pointsof sail. and then visit sornewherealong the way. That ended up being Tonga,and Jackiegot a good tasteof what cruisingwas reallyall about. Shewas readyand willing to give the lil-estylea try. Fastforward a few years... Jakeand friends finished their grandadventure, sailed back horne, sold Fur Niertte and went backto their respectivecareers. Jake and Jackie got rrrarried,bought a Hunter Passage42 narnedHokLrlatti and movedaboard. The plan was to live aboardand cruiselocally fbr a few years,and if all went well, start lookingfor their ultirnatecruising boat to takethem on a circumnavigation.Needless to say,all went very well. The searchwas on. Jackie'srnain priority was a strongbluewater boat with a greatlayout fbr living aboard.She was spoiledwith the liveabilityo1'the Passage 42. Jake'spriority was a strong bluewaterboat that sailedgreat on all pointsof sail. They lookedat Inanybluewater cruising boats in the 40- to atartnq.c0tn 46-loot range. Jakesaid it seemed thateither the boat sailedgreat or the interiorlayout was perl'ectlbr living aboard,but the two neverseemed to coexist. Then thcy lbund the Liberty 458. "We were looking at tl.tcspecs andpictures of one onlineand we both thoughtsomething has to be wlong with it. It just seemedtoo good to be true:a greatperfbrnrin-t sailboat and a greatliveaboard interior. After i,I seeingseveral ol'thcnr and sailing on .4 two of thern.wc knew wc had lbund oul boat. Shestill inrprcsscsus when we takeher out in dil'l'crentconditions. Whetlrerin light air or rouglrscas, she a *ak-J pellorrns I itj -qreat." The Libertyui-5tl hirs irn irrtelesting history. PelerHoyt had beendealing jE[*T\ with boat yardsin Forn.rosaon ,r severaldesigns, including a Forrnosa U ng ( Uil ith ne o b oill zttTttzrt.-s cLt-l 0rt ttq. to nl Ldtlntdt-a ad -{tflfrrlt'-i -r-r P sellt 47' which had a terrific layout,but was a warranty Peterson44s were so successfulthat Shin Fa could not 458s nightmare. Peterwas in the processof developinga keepup with productiondemands and therewas a legal befo new line of boatscalled the Passport40. Meanwhile,he disputeover the molds,which were ordereddestroyed by took becameacquainted with Jack Kelly who designedand a judge. Jack Kelly movedthe Petersonsto a new yard shop producedthe Peterson44, an excellentsailing bluewater and built new molds. Jr boat. Jackhad encounteredgood and not so good While gettingproduction of his Passport40 going. Hokt experienceswith variousyards in Formosa,and had PeterHoyt decidedto try to incorporatea greatly modified in St chosena srnallfamily-owned yard calledShin Fa, whose versionof the Forn-rosa47' interior into a new boat and Ownl boats were relatively warranty free, to build the Peterson build it at a much higher quality yard. He approached sale. 44s. Shin Fa built the molds at their own expense.The Shin Fa to seeif they would be interestedand found that decir they had built a new mold, which was an extendedversion of the Peterson44, for someGermans who were importing them as charterboats. Shin Fa wantedto utilize this mold for Peter'smodified 47' interior. A new deckmold was designed,the 47' interior was compressed,and the Liberty 458 wasborn. 56 Latitufe-sA Attitudu www.seafaring.com l Peterand his wife, Jo, openedan office in Seattleto Beach,CA, than to sail her all the way down the coast. sell the Liberty 458s and Passport40s. Only 31 Liberty Since then, however,they've installed all new standing 458s were built, along with a handful of Liberty 49s, and running rigging, stripped,painted and rewired the beforea combinationof political and economicchanges mast and replacedthe lifelines. They've also replaced/ took their toll on the yacht market and Peterand Jo closed rebeddedall the deck prisms,replaced all fixed portlights, shopin 1989. installednew navigationlights and wiring, installeda Jakeand Jackie'sLiberty 458, which they christened new radar and chartplotter,updated other electronics, Hokule'a,is hull #14 built in 1984. They found her cleanedand polishedthe fuel tanks,and installeda high in Seattleand bought her in May '05 from the original water bilge alarm. The exteriorteak has been stripped owners,who had lived aboarduntil shortly beforethe and revarnished,they had new canvasand a new dodger sale. Becausethe boat still had the original rigging, they made,and just recently addednew cockpit cushions. Yep, decidedit would be wiser to ship her home to Redondo they'vebeen busy. www. seaf aring. com Latitu[es (, Attitu[es 57 Jake and Jackie also spent a couple of months redoing work bench and the nav station. Now here's where you'll the interior before moving into their new home. After 2l find one of the many kewl and well thought out features. years in the Pacific Northwet (typo intended), the interior The chair for the nav station doesn'tjust swivel in and was showing the effects. But with some elbow grease out, it's removable and can be inserted into the base of and an assortmentof cleaning agents(Jackie is now an the saloon table pedestalfor extra seating. There are two expert on mold removal and available for consultation) chair inserts at the table, the second chair coming from the the interior, including the teak with its five coats of hand forward stateroom. The dining table itself can be replaced rubbed polyurethane varnish, has been brought back to with a smaller cocktail table for those times when you its original luster. To ward off the cold and damp, the need more cocktailing space. But even with the larger original owners had installed "wall to wall" carpet. When table, the saloon is open, airy and very comfortable, with Jake and Jackie removed it, the teak and holly flooring storageeverywhere you look. Numerous ports and a large underneathwas in pristine condition. After having all- overheadhatch bring in lots of light and air. new upholstery made, the interior of Hokule'a looks like a The galley is starboardof the companionway, but still brand new boat. open to the saloon so the cook doesn't feel isolated. It It's easyto seewhy the Liberty 458's layout is so is perfectly laid out for cooking and food prep while popular and why these are a much sought after liveaboard underwayor in port. Everythingis close at hand while cruiser. The interior is huge, beautiful, and extremely still providing lots of marble counter space,a deep double functional. A lot of thoughtwent into making maximum sink and numerous cupboards and storagelockers. The use of the spaceavailable, and absolutelynone is wasted. refrigerator/freezerhave double door toploading as well wit Besidesan enonnousamount of living space,there is as front access. A gimballed four-burner stove with oven the storageeverywhere, in the companionway steps,the table and a microwave will keep the hot meals coming. bal pedestal,you name it. In over a year of living aboard, Okay, here's the kewlest of the many well thought out sec Jake and Jackie still haven't filled it all. features. Unlike most center cockpit designs which have wo Like most center cockpit designs, the Liberty 458 either a V-berth forward with the headjust aft, or place the cor has a comfortable owners stateroom aft. In this case, head in the bow with a pullman berth aft, the Liberty 458 comfortable might be a bit of an understatement. The is very unique. The head is in the bow (with accessto boz berth accommodatesa full king-size mattress and is sail storageand the chain locker through louvered doors), "th, surrounded by cupboards and shelves. There are large but the stateroomaft of that is designed as an office and fivt storagedrawers underneathand hanging lockers to each lounge area. A desk top with drawers, shelves and storage tan side, plus plenty of "moving around" space. A vanity lockers is to port, along with that second removable swivel on( and sink are mounted on the forward bulkhead of the chair. To starboardis what looks like a setteewith a the stateroom,and the head and shower are to starboard. The single berth above and behind, but looks can be deceiving. Thr three aft ports let in a lot of light, while two opening side That "single berth" pulls out into a full-size queen berth, fon ports and the large overheadhatch provide ample air flow. sleeping a couple very comfortably. The versatility of this The passagewayfrom the aft stateroom to the saloon area is truly great. Arr is on the port side and is a true "walk through" rather than The main priority that Jake and Jackie sharedwas that as' a "crouch through" like the Liberty's cousin, the Peterson the boat had to be a strong, capable,bluewater cruiser and int 44. Along the way you'll passthe engineaccess and the Liberty 458s have proven themselvesin that category. Tri systemscontrol panels to starboard.