"Sun Dog"

I came across this Rogger 35 MK2 “Sun Dog of Ramsholt” for sale in Ipswich (2007) and she looked like she would be an eminently suitable boat for the West of Scotland, where, let’s face it, it has been known to be a wee bit cold and also rain a little and after checking her out with a surveyor, and subsequent sea trial I ended up buying her. Then with the help of my mate Marcus we sailed her up to Scotland.

The decison to buy her has proven to be a good one, because whilst she will never win races, she is without doubt a really practical and safe boat, well suited to our climate in the northern hemisphere. Without doubt she meets our requirements for safe comfortable family “sailing/boating”.

Apart from the “workboat/lifeboat hull shape” which I fell in love with, other factors that swayed me, included the fact that she had been totally refurbished/rewired in 2004 to a very high standard and also had a brand new Perkins 92hp engine fitted at the same time.

Hull Number 40.

As at time of purchase in 2007:

The following has been copied from the original brokers literature, with subsequent annual upgrading work listed at the foot of the page.

Dimensions

LOA: 34′ Beam: 11′ 4″ Draft: 4′ 0″

Engine(s): Perkins Engine(s) HP: 92 Cruising Speed: 6.0
Max Speed: 8.0

ELECTRICAL
Battery charger
Electrics – Totally professionally rewired in 2004
Solar panels
Shore power
2 x fuel tanks
Bow thruster & engine fitted in 2004
New R&D coupling & 45mm stainless prop shaft fitted 2004
New stern bearing fitted & stuffing box repacked in 2005
Engine room gutted and repainted 2004

NAVIGATION
GPS
Chart plotter – Raymarine 530 & secondary “back-up” plotter
Auto pilot – Raymarine 300 & remote control
Echo sounder
Wind speed
VHF radio
Compass
Clock
Nav lights
All instruments new 2004/5

DECK
Anchors, 35lb CQR & 64m heavy chain, 20lb Danforth kedge with chain & 60m warp
Winches 6 – Lewmar mainsheet winch new 2004 & Lewmar reef winch new 2004
Extra cleats 6 x custom stainless steel cleats new 2004
PushPitPulPit – Pulpit & lifelines new 2004
tanchions guardwires
Boarding ladder
Hatches
Opening ports
Cockpit table
Warps fenders
Windscreen wipers – 2 x Pantograph wipers new 2004

Cockpit locker
Wheel steering in wheel house
Tiller steering in cockpit
Self contained gas locker
Stainless steel mushroom vents new 2005
Teak handrails on wheel house & coachroof
Saloon fixed windows replaced
Skylights to wheelhouse new 2004

CANVAS
Cockpit cover – Dark blue new in 2004
Sail cover – Dark blue new 2004

SAFETY
Lifebuoys
Bilge pumps
Fire extinguishers

INTERIOR/DOMESTIC
4 X Berths
2 X Cabins
Teak & holly flooring
Interior joinery in teak & Afromosa
Alcantara cloth covered upholstery new 2004
Curtains
Stereo
Chart table
Saloon table
Hanging locker
Wet locker
Heating – Force 10 Cozy Cabin gas heater fitted 2004
Shower tray fitted
Wash basin
Cooker
Oven
Refrigerator
Hot & cold pressurised water system
Water heated via calorifier & immersion fitted 2005
Water tank capacity (500 litres)

2008: Upgrade work

New wind instrumentation on masthead along with a new Raymarine 60 series wind instrument fitted to replace the old unit.
New VHF/DSC Radio fitted in wheelhouse.
New float switch fitted to activate automatic bilge pump.
Main compass reset by Thomas Gunn.

2009: Upgrade work

New tan mainsail (Owen Sails)
New tan stackpack (Owen Sails)
Cage built over gas heater vent to prevent genoa sheets fouling.
All winches including mast winches replaced with new Lewmar self tailers apart from the mainsheet winch.
New stainless steel grab rails manufactured for the sides of the wheelhouse.
New teak block made for under the mast and also for the reefing winch.(what a job finding solid Burmese teak!)
Underside cleaned and anti-fouled with new main anode plus bow thruster anodes replaced.
Renewed the top guardwire on both sides.
New bilge pump.
Prop cleaned and polished.
Brightwork varnished.

2010 Upgrade Work

New Garmin HD Radar on Scanstrut gimballed frame.
New Garmin 4012 Chartplotter.
New Garmin AIS600 fitted.
New Echomax active radar fitted.
Raymarine 530 moved down below.
New (small) Invertor for laptop.
New flexy white/red light fitted at chart table.
New combined tricolour & anchor light.
New combined steaming & deck flood light.
Swan neck fitted and old deck connections removed – all cable connections are now internal.
New reefing arrangement and clutches fitted to mast and boom.
New stainless steel grab rails on doors.
Cleverly designed (not by me!) and constructed chart storage unit built into the boat.

2011 Update Work

New speedlog fitted – Raymarine
New (neat/clever) fitting inside gas locker to securely store outboard in an upright position – no more leaking from outboard!
New lockable gas locker lid manufactured to suit above modification.
New multi stage battery charger fitted.
New galvanic isolater fitted.
All seacocks serviced + anodes replaced.
New ss tiller bracket + tiller manufactured – can now sail from cockpit.
Stern gland cleaned out completely and repacked.
New electric anchor windlass fitted – Lofrans Tigres.
New chain counter/control fitted in wheelhouse + remote control.
90 Ltr Bespoke Tek Tanks Holding Tank fitted
Galvanic Isolator Fitted
New Eberspacher heater fitted.

2012 Painted.

Topsides and Hull Painted in Awlgrip. Products as below.
Awlgrip Oyster White
Awlgrip H1313 Seattle Grey
Awlgrip Flag Blue
Loctite 34986 – Wheelhouse roof base.
Prop: Marlin Primer + Velox Plus

Wheelhouse doors stripped back to bare wood and varnished both sides. Other brightwork stripped and varnished.

Sara and I are absolutely delighted with the final results of the boat prepared and painted by Paradocks Painting in Barcelona. (Contact number for Peter is 0034 677 216783)

Here are a few shots of the hull being prepared before being painted with Awlgrip Flag Blue, this being the closest match to the original colour.

Hull primed and filled – as you can see there were a few scrapes and scratches that needed filled

Hull finished – what a difference – only the masking tape to come off!!

Hull names were via Funky Monkey Boat Names – excellent service.

Topsides and superstructure were fully prepared, then painted with Awlgrip Seattle Grey and Awlgrip Oyster White (some of the masking tape had still to be removed when these shots were taken)

The wheelhouse roof was sanded back prepared then coated with Loctite 34986 before being given a few coats of non slip deck paint.

With the extensive refurb in 2004, followed by the investment in upgrading with new equipment since we bought Sun Dog in 2007, the painting of the boat was the final piece in the jigsaw. We now not only have a safe and comfortable boat, but now one that looks superb and will do so for many years to come. The investment in having her repainted using Awlgrip is worth it, because Sun Dog is a unique, rugged, and tough boat that really would be hard to replace.