Got no time for spreadin’ roots
The time has come to be gone
And tho our health we drank a thousand times
It’s time to ramble on

~ Led Zeppelin

Meet Sailing Vessel Ramble On

Tayana 37

  • Born: November 1977
  • Designer: Bob Perry (he’s a famous boat designer)
  • Builder: Ta Yang (that’s in Taiwan)
  • Length: 37′ (though really about 41′ with the bow sprit)
  • Beam: 11’6″
  • Draft: 5’8″
  • Headroom: 6’5″
  • Hull #: 91
  • Weight: 24,000 pounds (she’s a heavy sumbitch!)
  • Water – ~78 gallons (originally about 100 gallons)
  • Fuel – ~90 gallons

We bought SV Ramble On in November 2012, drove her from Richmond, CA to Owl Harbor Marina in Isleton in December 2012.  She was a fixer-upper and we spent about 10 years completing an extensive refit.  We’d like to go around the world on this boat, but if we find a place we want to stay for a while, we might just stop and hang out for a bit.

When I look at the old photos, it’s a wonder why we bought this Tayana 37. She had teak decks, old electronics, almost no exterior canvas, and the original sails. In spite of all of that, she had a great reputation, the price was right, and we were craving a change in our lives.

Why the name Ramble On?

The answer is three-fold.  First, we intend to ramble around the world (sorta obvious).  Second, Led Zeppelin is the greatest band ever (duh).  Third, this boat is no speedster so rambling will be the pace of our trip.  The SV is for Sailing Vessel.

The boat was called Mary Morris when we bought her (you might notice that name in some of the photos).  We heard it was a previous owner’s grandmother’s name, and while we can appreciate the sentiment, we hated that name for our boat.  We really had no idea what we wanted to name a boat, but we wanted something short and simple.  After searching our favorite movies looking for inspiration and came very close to Dude Abides (which I still love), and were hell-bent on Hooroo (Australian term for goodbye) for about 15 minutes. Ultimately we settled on SV Ramble On as it captures our intentions.

We think SV Ramble On has a lot of potential and will take care of us so our parents won’t go crazy with worry (or feel they have to save all their pennies for the pirate’s ransom they will surely have to pay).  Plus, she’s just about our age (Gen X’ers!) so we should have a lot in common (like creaky knees and sore backs.)

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