My Boat | Abby Normal
May 9 2011 in Boats, My Boat by Deborah Bach
Brad and Gay Gibson's 41-foot Island Packet SP Cruiser, Abby Normal.
Brad and Gay Gibson had an Island Packet 35 and liked it, but on one particular cold and rainy trip they started thinking how nice it would be to have a warmer, drier boat. When they saw the Island Packet SP cruiser, a motorsailer with an enclosed pilothouse, they were sold. The couple is currently cruising in Alaska on their 2007 41-foot SP Cruiser, Abby Normal, which they’ve had since October 2008.
Tell us about your boat’s name.
The name is from the movie Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks. Not only does “Abby Normal” fit us as owners, our boat is a motorsailer, not a pure sailboat or powerboat, but a compromise between the two, so it looks a little odd.
The boat's pilothouse, with steps leading down to the galley.
Tell us the story of how you found your boat and what makes it special to you.
We had owned our previous boat, an Island Packet 35, for about a year and a half. One cold and rainy trip back from Port Townsend to Seattle we were wishing we were warm and dry. I was driving and Gay had to keep going outside the enclosure to wipe off the dodger windows so I could see. We were wishing we had a warmer, drier boat. We had seen the SP Cruiser at the boat show and liked it on first sight, so when Signature Yachts brought the boat to the next IP rendezvous, we just couldn’t resist. Within a couple of weeks, we had signed a contract on the boat, trading in our 1990 IP-35 for the 2007 IP SP Cruiser. We took delivery October 2008.
What do you like best about your boat?
Inside steering and electric winches. You can steer the boat while warm and dry and trim the sails from inside. We now have windshield wipers as well.
What do you know now about your boat that you wish you’d known when you bought it? Would that have changed your mind?
That it was going to try and kill us at Blake Island (more on that later). It wouldn’t have changed our purchase decision, but we definitely would have corrected the problem prior to the next trip!
How does your significant other feel about the boat (be honest)?
We both totally and completely love our boat. While it is Brad’s baby, Gay loves her too.
Abby Normal's main stateroom
Describe the most challenging situation you’ve experienced on your boat and how it performed.
We decided to show off our new boat to Gay’s sister, Lyn, so we took her sailing over to Blake Island for the weekend. Unbeknownst to us, when we entered Blake Island Marina and I reversed the engine to stop and talk to the host, the cable that closes the throttle came off. Thereafter, every time I increased the throttle either in forward or reverse, the engine revved up higher, but would not slow down.
Of course, the marina was crowded, and in maneuvering around the fairway, I ended up inadvertently ratcheting up the engine to full throttle. My wife and her sister couldn’t understand what was going on but knew something was definitely going pear-shaped. I didn’t know what was wrong either, but I managed to shift between forward and reverse by pushing the stop button, waiting for engine rpm to decrease to about 1,000 rpm, then shifting.
Between this, turning the wheel to the stops and also using the bow thruster to turn, I really had my hands full! We avoided running into the rocks and the beach at the end of the marina, slalomed between the pylons, missed all boats (even those in the middle of the fairway), hit the poop dock with a glancing lifeline blow, and exited the marina at 9+ knots. As we passed the park host (who was staring open-mouthed at this point), my wife yelled, “New boat! We’ll come back when we figure it out!” He seemed to understand.
We got into safe water, stopped the engine and figured out how to manually idle the engine. Thereafter, with Gay’s sister stationed with her head in the engine compartment, I blew the air horn so she could hear over the engine noise when I wanted to idle the engine. We coasted in to the long dock at Elliott Bay without further incident. Thank God for long docks!
The "back porch" is one of the couple's favorite features of the boat.
Where do you plan to take your boat? Do you have a dream destination?
We’re taking four months or so to travel the Inside Passage up to Glacier Bay this spring and summer. After that, someplace warm 
If someone gave you $10,000 that you could only spend on your boat, what would you do with it and why?
I’d probably install a hydrovane. We will most likely be doing this anyway after Alaska.
How long do you plan to own the boat?
Indefinitely. While bigger is usually better from an interior space perspective, the boat is a nice size to handle for a crew of two.
If you could have any other boat, what would it be and why?
Either a Shannon or Nordhavn, which are both bigger and nicer motorsailers.
What didn’t we ask you about your boat that you wish we had?
A great feature is the “back porch.” You can furl the sails from under cover, and it provides a sheltered entry. One of the best features is that we can sit at the salon table and have a 360-degree view out big windows. My wife’s favorite feature is what we call “the hot tub.” It isn’t one literally, but it is an outside seating area between the mast and the cockpit which is hot-tub like, hence the name.
Another feature she likes, since she is the deckhand, is that the life lines are all 1 ¼” stainless so there are plenty of solid handholds all around. We’ve added a lot of equipment, including solar panels, inverter, second alternator, watermaker, and lots of other cool gear. We love our boat and look forward to using her on many sailing adventures.
We’re always looking for boats to feature – powerboats, sailboats, racing boats, wooden boats, work boats and others. If you’re like us to feature yours, drop us a line at tips@threesheetsnw.com and tell us a little about it.
Graeme Esarey said on April 9, 2012
Ha! One of the funniest stories I have read in a long time! (I too have slalomed those pilons) Thanks for sharing it with us!