SV-Always is a 2019 Seawind 1260.  Seawind is an Australian company with manufacturing in Vietnam, and a part of the Corsair company.  See more at https://seawindcats.com

SV-Always is a 7/8 fractional rigged sloop with a square-top mainsail, self-tacking jib, a screecher (aka code zero), and asymmetrical spinnaker.  Update:  The asymmetrical is off, and a Parasailor has replaced it.

There are 3 berths down below.  The port side is the owners side with a queen size pedestal style bed and full bath with dedicated shower aft.  The starboard side has another queen size pedestal bed midship, and a v-berth in the aft, and head and wet bath forward.  For overflow, the salon seating can be adapted into a 4th bed.

I've sailed both monohulls and catamarans since I was young.  I'm partial to catamarans because I love the extra exterior space you get and the openness that brings.  The 1260 takes that a step further and creates a very nice blend of protected indoor "salon" space, with the exterior "cockpit" space melting together through the large 3 section door that can be completely moved out of the way to create one big space.  But the real reason I selected the 1260 is because of it's record for being seaworthy.  With twin helms in protected locations and all lines leading into the cockpit, it's a boat that one person can handle in most weather conditions without ever having to leave the safety of the cockpit.  Seawind has a great reputation on build quality as well with fully glassed connections throughout the boat, and no wood used for structural purposes.  It's also more on the performance side of a live-aboard catamaran than many.  That means  it still feels (and is) responsive and fun under sail, not a slug through the water like many catamarans made for the charter industry.

I grew up in the midwest, spending my summers on an inland lake in Indiana. There I learned to sail on Sunfish and HobieCat's around age 8.  As I got a little older I was able to sail on larger monohulls on Lake Michigan through the Boy Scouts, and made two trips to the Boy Scout Sea Base in the Florida keys to sail for a week each time.  This got me hooked even further on sailing, so I made friends with various people who had larger boats on Lake Michigan and crewed as often as I could during the short summer seasons, while still racing Hobie 16's locally.  Eventually I entered a lease-share program on Lake Michigan and  gained more experience on 37' and 40' Beneteau's.  In 2014 I moved to Florida and purchased a MaineCat 30 catamaran and sailed between the Bahamas and Florida coasts until 2021.  I've also bare-boat chartered monohulls and catamarans in the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands.  As I gained more time on the water, I learned more about what I wanted in my next boat, and the Seawind 1260 checks nearly all of those boxes for me.

Check the Where's Always page for near real-time updates on our location.

We try to run as much as possible off of 12v systems.  The boat has 990 AmpHr of LiFePo4 battery capacity that is recharged by 1000W of solar and alternators on each of the boats engines if necessary.  Everything from the lights, navigation equipment and refrigeration/freezers to the water maker can run off of 12v.  There is an inverter for 110v AC power when needed for things like charging a laptop, but generally we try to minimize the need to use the inverter.  

Always is equipped with dual 29HP Yanmar diesel engines, saildrives, and 3 blade Gori props.  This is connected to 480 liters (126 US GAL) of fuel to provide an effective range under motor only of roughly 600 miles, but it's a sailboat  right?  Motors are used to move in and out of harbors and areas of restricted maneuverability, making the range much further...

Maybe...  Priority will be given to friends and family so if that's you, let me know your interested.  If I don't know you there may be times when I am looking for an extra crew member, particularly on longer passages.  Use the Contact Me page to reach out and tell me a bit about yourself, what you are looking to do, and how best to reach you.  Keep in mind I may not respond right away.  If I'm not near shore where there is decent cell service, the email will sit and wait for me.  I also am using this time to disconnect more from the addiction of email, so even when I am near shore, I may still take a few days to check-in.  

For the first trip along Mexico, Panama, and back to the East Coast, I used a combination of my cell phone data plan a Solis Lite simless cellular hotspot.  When near shore, these worked OK, but I did find that I ran out of high-speed data more often than not.  I have since added a Starlink system to Always that will be activated for this coming winters' cruising season.  It's not designed or intended to be used while the boat is in motion, but should work well once the boat is at anchor or dock.  Coverage for the south Caribbean is still light, with improvements expected in Q1.  Results TBD.