Comments from BITTERSWEET’s owner:

The BITTERSWEET Journey

I discovered my third BITTERSWEET in a barn in Rhode Island. I was astonished by ORIOLE’s magnificence, even in a barn covered with dust, her beauty radiated. I was in the market for my 5th monohull, on the East Coast looking at J/44’s but to my surprise, I was shown an Able Apogee that was destined to be mine. A J/24, Bristol 39, Shannon 38 and a J/35 preceded her, so I could appreciate all that she had to offer when I first laid eyes on her.

I had the same concerns that some of you might be having about 3 meters of draft, but the J/35 had 7’ draft and I had sailed on racing boats with 8’ draft, this performance version of the Apogee was only a little deeper than that. By the time I began dreaming about this Apogee, I had already cruised extensively in New England and had done a long trip from Maine to Seattle through the Panama Canal, so I had a pretty realistic idea about what 3 meters of draft might mean for anchoring. So, I dug out the charts of the many harbors I had anchored in and to my surprise, didn’t really find anyplace I couldn’t go back to in the new BITTERSWEET. Perhaps anchoring a little farther out, but the 8 hp outboard on the dingy doesn’t mind that, while most places I could anchor in the same place because usually we anchored in 15’ to 20’. And the many places where we anchored in 35’ to 50’ were all the same. Will you need to plan carefully? Of course, but after careful consideration, I decided that most of the real worry was simply from dock talk, so I made my offer. If my cruising destination was the Bahamas, then BITTERSWEET wouldn’t have been the boat for me, but that just wasn’t the case and my years of sailing her have proven that. With modern chart plotting, it’s even easier than before.

That was 2003. Over the years as I got to know her, I learned that her strengths far outnumbered her weaknesses (if she has any at all). The man who commissioned her had two purposes. He wanted to do double-handed ocean races, and he wanted to spend some time cruising in between. He did a brilliant job setting her up for doublehanded racing. Her mid deck has an electric halyard winch and two hand winches making reefing a breeze for one person. Next he added 450 gallons of potable water divided into two tanks against the hull, both amidship, one to starboard and one to port. They are connected by a 1 1/2” hose with valves that allow you to move water between tanks so you can quickly move 600 lbs from one side to the other. This movable ballast really helps the boat stand up which adds a lot of comfort at sea (and you never run out of water at anchor). Add to that a beautifully designed deep keel, a carbon fiber rig and rudder and you have a vessel that is really a joy to sail both when the weather gets rough and when there is just a whisper of a breeze. Hydraulic vang, outhaul, and backstay assist with sail trim and a fractional rig make tacking quick and simple. Her carbon fiber bow sprit supports two anchors and creates a 42” gap for gybing the spinnaker. . If you are shorthanded, you can douse the spinnaker with the sock and keep gybing simple. The ground tackle is well organized in a below deck locker and the reversing direction Ideal windless makes raising and lowering either anchor a breeze.

I could keep going on this for quite a while longer and I hope that someone who has managed to get this far gives me an opportunity to walk them through all her many systems. So let me simply say that “owning” BITTERSWEET for 23 years has been my honor. She has served as a wonderful ocean going platform for my family and me. Everyone who gets to know her loves her. She is a capable true spirit and she represents real value. She has been constantly upgraded and is now in better than new condition. I can say  with  confidence that if you come to see her, you will walk away knowing that what I am telling you is true.

Owning BITTERSWEET has been a really special journey for me. They say that when you row away from your boat, your heart should ache a little. Whether rowing away in a harbor, or walking away in the boatyard, her beauty is captivating and your heart will ache a little.

Interior Accommodations

The interior of BITTERSWEET reflects the high standards of Maine craftsmanship. Her beautiful cherry joinery is finished in satin varnish and was recently refinished. Numerous opening hatches and ports ensure excellent ventilation and natural light throughout. Her interior features two staterooms and two heads and sleeps six including her two salon berths. Watertight doors separate the forward cabin and the engine room/garage space aft, adding a extra measure of safety.

• Forward Cabin: Spacious V-berth with drawers, lockers, and private access to the forward head and shower.
• Main Saloon: Port and starboard settees (L shaped settee to port and two straight settee’s to starboard) flank a centerline drop-leaf dining table, creating a comfortable gathering space. There is ample storage and good ventilation. Lee cloths are fitted on the salon berths.
• Navigation Station: To starboard aft, with full-size chart table, electrical panel, and space for navigation electronics plus bookshelves and storage lockers.
• Galley: C-shaped to port, ideal for use underway. Features include deep stainless sink, gimbaled stove/oven, large separate refrigeration and freezer, and abundant counter and locker storage. Large hatch overhead for good ventilation.
  • Force 10 propane three burner stove/oven
  • Xintex S-2A propane solenoid control panel
  • (2) aluminum propane tanks
  • Haden microwave and toaster
  • Top loading refrigerator and freezer, each with independent Frigoboat Capri 35 12v compressors and digital thermostats
  • Trash can with countertop access
  • Assorted pots, pans, dishes and galleyware
• Owner’s Cabin: Aft master stateroom with large berth, hanging lockers, drawers.
• Aft Head: Accessed aft of the galley. Large separate shower stall.
• Garage/engine room: Watertight door with work bench and storage space, excellent access to engine and steering gear.

Deck and Hull

The Apogee 50’s hull is constructed with Airex foam-cored fiberglass with Kevlar weave, providing strength, stiffness, and insulation. Her deep fin keel and carbon fiber spade rudder provide stability and control. Her hull and deck were painted in Awlgrip in 2022.

On deck, the Apogee is designed for safe offshore sailing. Wide side decks, robust stainless stanchions and pulpits, and high coamings in the cockpit give excellent security. The cockpit is deep and protected by a hard dodger, with comfortable seating for both passagemaking and harbor lounging. There is an opening window at the front of the dodger and lights beneath. The mainsail is sheeted to the traveller on the dodger top, providing the benefits of end boom sheeting without the traveller interfering with the cockpit. A drop curtain can be installed at the aft end of the dodger, turning the forward end of the cockpit into a enclosed pilothouse. Halyards are controlled on deck amidships, with a electric winch making BITTERSWEET manageable for a couple or small crew.

• Ideal vertical capstan forward and reverse anchor windlass
• Dual anchor rollers on custom composite bowsprit by GC Composites
• Rocna Vulcan 33 anchor (73lbs)
• Rocna Vulcan 20 (44lbs)
• (4) Dorade vents
• Canvas trimmed clear marine vinyl “drop curtain” encloses forward end of cockpit beneath dodger
• Gray canvas covers for liferaft, binnacle, winches, windlass, sail cover, and complete boat cover (to lifelines)
• Marelon thru hull fittings and valves
• Bottom paint June 2024

Sails and Rigging

Bittersweet carries a powerful sailplan with high aspect carbon fiber mast. Headsails are non overlapping and there is a removable inner forestay for a hank on staysail. Off the wind sails are flown from her fixed composite bowsprit. This configuration balances performance with flexibility for heavy weather.

• Carbon fiber five spreader mast (painted whisper gray 2016)
• Carbon fiber boom with wings (painted whisper gray 2016)
• Rod standing rigging with composite backstay (2015/2016)
• Composite running backstay and running backstays (2015/2016)
• Composite removable inner forestay with hydraulic tensioner (2015/2016)
• 2:1 mainsail halyard, two spinnaker halyards, two jib halyards, staysail halyard (2024)
• Antal low friction mainsail track on mast
• Gray canvas “stack pack” style mainsail cover with weather cover
• German mainsheet system led to port and starboard winches at cockpit
• Harken MKIV headsail furler (2016)
• Two sets of jib tracks, plus outboard tracks at rail
• Upgraded Harken blocks and deck hardware
• Navtex hydralic boom vang, backstay, and main outhaul (rams serviced 2016)
• (2) Lewmar 62ST mainsheet winches
• (2) Lewmar 58ST jib sheet winches
• (2) Lewmar 44 secondary winches
• Lewmar 50ST electric halyard winch
• (2) Lewmar 44ST auxiliary halyard winches
• Sails:
  • UK X Drive mainsail (2024)
  • UK X Drive jib (2024)
  • UK Spinnaker (2023)
  • 2^nd mainsail and jib (2016)

Electronics and Navigation

• B&G hydraulic autopilot with Precision 9 compass and AP48 controller at helm, WR10 wireless remote
• B&G radar on separate mast
• NAIS 400 AIS receiver/transponder
• Starlink high performance version mounted on radar pole with Farallon Electronics DC converter
• Pepwave 5G antenna mounted on radar pole
• At nav station:
  • B&G Zeus 2 12” MFD display
  • B&G H5000 display
  • Icom IC-M506 VHF radio
  • Icom IC-M710 SSB radio
  • Chart spotlight
  • Boston barometer
  • Icom ICM1V handheld VHF radio
• At cockpit
  • B&G Zeus 2 12” MFD display
  • (4) B&G Triton displays in articulating mounts beneath dodger
  • Icom HM195D VHF RAM mic

Electrical Systems

• 12v DC and 120v AC electrical systems
• 30 amp 120v shore power inlet with 2 50’ cords
• Bass AC/DC electrical distribution panel with AC and DC voltmeters and ammeters
• Victron GX Touch touch screen system display (2023)
• (3) Solbian SP130 low profile solar panels on dodger top (390 watts total)
• (3) Victron 75/15 MPPT solor controllers (one for each panel, 2023)
• Victron Multiplus 12/3000/120 inverter/battery charger (2023)
• House – (4) 200 AH Lithium Ion batteries (total 800 AH)
• Engine – (2) Optima 12V batteries
• Dual alternators on engine (stock Yanmar and high output Balmar alternator with Balmar ARS5 external regulator and mounted spare regulator)

Mechanical Systems

• Engine: Yanmar 4JH2-DTE 88 hp diesel engine (2713 hours)
• Yanmar engine control panel with oil pressure, tachometer and temperature gauges
• Transmission: ZF68IV V drive transmission (new 6/2024)
• Shaft seal: PYI dripless
• Propeller: Max Prop 3 blade feathering
• Dual Racor fuel filters with electric priming pump
• Fuel capacity: (3) tanks, 170 gallons total (two 60 gallon tanks in salon and one 50 gallon below V berth)
• Water capacity: 240 gallons in two tanks (480 gallons total)
• Holding tank capacity: two 20 gallon tanks, one below V berth and one in aft starboard lazarette)
• Pressure hot and cold water
• Allcraft 12 gallon stainless steel water heater
• Engine driven emergency “fire pump”
• (2) hand bilge pumps
• (3) electric bilge pumps
• Tank Tender tank level gauge
• Wilcox Crittenden Skipper heads
• Jabsco Shower pumps

Safety and Miscellaneous

• Globalfix V4 EPIRB (battery expires 8/2032)
• 4 man Viking UKSL RescYou Pro liferaft in hard canister mounted at the stern in easy deploy rack (new 2023)
• SOS Danbuoy inflatable MOB pole
• SOS Reelsling MOB recovery device
• Throw rope
• Aqua Meter CO Sentry
• Bosuns chair
• Vacuum
• Avon folding transom dinghy
• 8 hp Yamaha 2 stroke outboard engine
• Outboard motor lift
• (5) Aere Inflatable fenders
• (2) Plastimo tubular radar reflectors