Buffalo Nickel

A voyage that crossed from New Zealand across the Pacific to Australia, Indonesia, Japan and Alaska says plainly what this hull was built for. Circa Marine launched Buffalo Nickel in 2018 as one of its FPB explorer series, a long-range design built for her own owner to run rather than a crew of specialists. Steve Dashew, a renowned sailor and multi-circumnavigator, drew her lines, and Sylvia Bolton fitted the interior, a pairing aimed at safe, efficient distance rather than dockside display.

Build and provenance

She is built in aluminium, to Lloyd's SSC structural code and the MCA's Class II pleasure vessel standard, the kind of specification an explorer yacht carries rather than a coastal cruiser. No refit has been recorded since her 2018 delivery, so a survey today reads close to the yard's original inspection.

Layout and accommodation

Six guests sleep across three staterooms aboard Buffalo Nickel, with the owner's cabin forward, its own ensuite and an adjoining office, and two further cabins aft each with their own bathroom. Keeping the owner's quarters separate from the guest cabins suits a boat meant to be run by the people who own her.

Performance and engineering

Two 165 hp John Deere engines give her a 10.1-knot cruise and an 11.2-knot top speed, modest figures that suit a boat built for range rather than pace. A single 13kW Cummins generator and a draught of 1.55 metres keep the systems simple and let her tuck into shallow anchorages, while stabilisers under way hold her steady on a long passage.

Where she lies and how to see her

Buffalo Nickel lies in Vancouver, Canada. Boatcrowd sets up each viewing and is there for it, and once an offer is accepted the survey and sea trial follow before handover.