The Vessel

Overview | Tour Inside | The Name | Refit

Designed by Ted Brewer and Robert Walstrom, the ALOHA 34 was built in Whitby, Ontario, Canada by Ouyang Boatworks.

Specs:

• LOA 34′
• LWL 28’8″
• Beam 11’2″
• Draft 5’6″
• Displacement 13,600 lbs
• Ballast 4,700 lbs
• Sail Area, Main 226 sq. ft. Jib 219 sq. ft.
• Water Tankage 90 gal
• Fuel Tankage 25 gal

The ALOHA 34 is a comfortable, reasonably fast cruising sailing yacht, very beamy with a long waterline and very generous accommodations. The sail plan provides good drive and the deck is uncluttered. The slotted toe rails are aluminum, grab rails are teak and the companionway above the bridge deck is slightly offset with teak drop boards as well as new custom teak companionway doors. A spacious T-shaped cockpit contains a shallow locker to starboard and a deep locker to port providing access to the back of the diesel engine, the transmission and the fuel system. A rope/anchor locker is located on the foredeck just aft of a bow roller, which allows permanent ready-to-drop storage of the anchor. An electrical windlass makes anchor management that much easier.

The interior is traditional with liberal use of teak. There are ten opening ports and three overhead hatches allowing liberal ventilation. A bulkhead mounted fold down dinette table leaves the main cabin with ample seating for meals when down and open space when up.  At least 6′ 3″ headroom extends all the way forward into the V-berth. The head, with hot and cold pressure water, shower and a teak grating on the sole, has access doors from both the main cabin and the forward cabin. Opposite the head is a hanging locker and recesses for storage of clothing. The U-shaped galley to port, near the companionway, includes a stove with oven, deep double stainless steel sink and commodious refrigerator. Opposite, on the starboard side, is a forward facing nav station with large working surface and the quarter berth. The companionway stairs can be removed for easy access to the front of the engine.

The Aloha 34 also has an active owners network.

Here are a few photos of Kaleo, hull #207 of approximately 250 built.

Tour Inside

Click here for a full tour inside.

The Name

In short, the word Kaleo (ka-lay-o) is Greek for “to call” or “to be called.”

This word is found 146 times in the New Testament of the Bible and the references most pertinent to our vessel name are found in Romans 8:30, 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Peter 2:21. To call to a Participation in the Privileges of the Gospel. For us it’s about the Lord’s calling upon our life and we believe that sailing about the world for awhile is part of that calling. Especially because we know it won’t happen on our own accord but only with the Lord’s blessing, guidance, and wisdom. Within the passages where the word is used there is a sense of mission. For us, it’s about a responsibility of carrying out a life of service that is contrasted to contemporary ways of the world. It is also a sense of permanency. Once a believer is called, there is a sense of completion by the hand of God.

On the four and a half hour drives (each way) from Dallas to Kemah to refit our new vessel, we listened to a lot of podcasts. One being Craig Groschel’s weekend sermon series at Lifechurch.tv. It was his series entitled Kaleo, where we learned about the word, the meaning, and its relevance to our plans. We talked about the meaning and potential for our new vessel’s name, and just like the boat selection process, the Admiral said, “that’s the one.”

Refit

As with any vessel 20+ years old, an update of electronics, wiring, equipment, and more was needed for Kaleo to be set up for extended cruising and blue water sailing. Over the course of two years, we tackled each project one by one completing the list below.