Follow Me

Catamaran Follow Me

Fastback 43 catamarans were designed for both speed and comfort by John Gross in the 1990s in Australia. "Follow Me" has been our home and travel companion for 8 years as we sailed extensively throughout the Eastern and Western Caribbean, the eastern shores of the US coast from Maine to the Dry Tortugas, the ICW and the Bahamas! and she is more than ready for her next adventure!

She is the ideal catamaran for anyone interested in the unusual combination of performance with simple, easily accessible systems. If you are hoping to do more sailing than maintaining systems, or if you are new to the cruising lifestyle and want to learn as you go, Follow Me is your dream sailboat! She even has ruddders that fold up so you can beach her! 

With typical use, all electrical demands are easily met with solar panels, two Victron charge controllers and the four lead-acid golf cart house bank batteries.

As for comfort, she offers two queen and one full size cabins, two heads, plenty of countertop space for cooking with the galley down and a large foredeck for entertaining everyone in the anchorage!

Follow Me underwent a refit in 2016-2017 and continued to be maintained, upgraded and improved while underway these last eight years. 

Follow Me is in the process of having a soda blast and new bottom paint while on the hard at Port Annapolis. Should be completed and back in the water at out complimentary dockage before the end of October 2024.

Seller's Pre purchase thoughts and Use:

Why Follow Me? We had no idea how long we would want to be live aboard sailors, but buying Follow Me allowed us to begin our sailing adventure immediately and we never looked back! We explored the beauty of the East Coast from Key West to Castine, Maine and spent several seasons in the Caribbean. We met so many amazing people, saw the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets and explored gorgeous countries for months at a time. All from the comfort of our sailboat! 

Prior to our sailing adventures on Follow Me, we had chartered both monohulls and catamarans, but otherwise had limited sailing experience. We knew we wanted the comfort and stability of a catamaran and we had a modest budget. We did a lot of research, dreaming and internet searching before looking in earnest. We liked different things about many boats but fell for Follow Me. Nine years and multiple blue water sails and lots of ICW and Chesapeake cruising, we can honestly say we made the right pick. In fact, while we have sailed with friends on much larger and newer catamarans, we always looked forward to coming home to Follow Me!

When we were looking, Follow Me stood out for multiple reasons. She was clean, thoughtfully designed and well taken care of. With minimal systems to maintain, easy access to all the electronics and engines, no boat yoga to do complete engine checks, and three large cabins, she checked all our boxes! The sense of security the enclosed cockpit and forward cockpit provide when on passage was a bonus feature that we didn't know to look for as new cruising sailors. The very shallow draft was another fabulous feature that we took advantage of when sailing, especially in the Bahamas and around the north side of the Florida Keys. Finally, Follow Me is a true performance catamaran. Narrow hulls, a dagger board and a powerful headsail allowed us to sail much faster than we motor. When we're lucky enough to sail with the spinnaker, we leave most well behind! 

Seller Improvement:

Follow Me has been our home and our travel companion for over 8 years. All the while, we have lovingly maintained and improved her as we explored and sailed. Here is the timeline for the work we have completed:

• Two new Yanmar 3YM30 27hp diesel engines with new shafts and folding propellors were installed (Follow Me does not have sail drives) Worton Creek Marina, MD 2016. 1,000 hour scheduled maintenance was completed recently. Engine checks are completed before leaving each anchorage or marina. Engine oil changes have been religiously completed with the most recent being just this month!
• All standing rigging replaced. The Rigging Company, Annapolis, MD 2016. The standing rigging and its components were inspected aloft for an insurance survey 5/19/2020. The lifelines were replaced with Dynema, Key West, FL 2017.
• Inside and cockpit vinyl carpeting installed, Carriage House Canvas, Worton Creek, MD 2016.
• Windshield and hatch covers were replaced, Carriage House Canvas, Worton Creek, MD 2016. All hatch covers were replaced again in Bequia, Grenadines, 2024.
• New Force 10 2-burner propane stove, 2016.
• All cabin mattresses were replaced, Worton Creek, MD 2016.
• Spectra Capehorn Extreme Watermaker installed, Seatech Marine Products, Marathon, FL 2017. The watermaker is currently pickled.
• Saloon cushions and upholstery were replaced in Key West, Florida in 2017.
• The chartplotter, autopilot, radar, wind and depth sensors were replaced with B&G products. St. Augustine, FL 2018.
• New genoa, storm and main sails were installed along with new in-mast car track system for the mainsail by The Irish Sail Lady while in St. Augustine, Florida in 2018. The spinnaker was inspected and repaired in Deltaville, 2021. The main and genoa were inspected and the sacrificial UV protection cloth was replaced by The Irish Sail Lady, St. Augustine, FL 2021.
• Installed 12v refrigeration unit to the cockpit built-in cooler, 2018.
• New high-water alarms were installed in each hull in 2020.
• AB 10-AL dinghy (2020) with Yamaha 15hp 2 cycle outboard engine purchased in 2021.
• Four new solar panels – 700 watts total, along with two Victron chargers and battery monitor were installed Deltaville, VA 2021
• Updates and upgrades to the electrical systems have occurred while under our ownership – Fuse blocks added to the electrical wiring to create a distributed system, 2018 and 2024, a few new 110v outlets and upgraded 12v outlets, 1000 amp inverter, LED tricolor photosensitive masthead light, just to name a few.
• Replaced both engine exhaust elbows, Rock Hall, MD 2024.

Refit and Improvements:

• Two new Yanmar 3YM30 27hp diesel engines with new shafts and folding propellors, (Follow Me does not have sail drives) Worton Creek Marina, Maryland 2016
• All standing rigging. The Rigging Company, Annapolis, Maryland 2016. The standing rigging and its components were inspected aloft for an insurance survey 5/19/2020
• New Force 10 2-burner propane stove, 2016
• Spectra Capehorn Watermaker was installed in Marathon, FL 2017
• Saloon cushions and upholstery were replaced in Key West, Florida in 2017
• The chartplotter, autopilot, wind and depth sensors were replaced with B&G products. St. Augustine, FL 2018
• New genoa, storm and main sails were installed along with new in-mast car track system for the mainsail while in St. Augustine, Florida in 2018
• Installed 12v cold-plate refrigeration unit to the cockpit built-in cooler, 2018
• New high-water alarms were installed in each hull in 2020
• AB 10-AL dinghy (2020) with Yamaha 15hp 2 cycle outboard engine purchased in 2021
• Four new solar panels – 700 watts installed Deltaville, VA 2021
• Updates and upgrades to the electrical systems have occurred while under our ownership – a few new 110v outlets and upgraded 12v outlets, 1000 amp inverter, LED tricolor photosensitive masthead light, just to name a few.

Catamaran Inventory: Construction

• Solid glass hulls and balsa-cored fiberglass decks
• Acrylic windows, hatches and portlights
• Kick-up rudders for shallow water exploration
• 3 1/2 ft mini keels or "skegs"
• Daggerboard mid-ship on the starboard side for better sailing upwind

Accommodations

• 2 queen cabins located forward and over the bridge between the hulls
• 1 full size port cabin located aft
• C-head composting toilet, with separate shower located aft starboard
• Nature's Head composting toilet located forward port forepeak

Salon

• Chart table
• Dropleaf dinner table easily seats 6+
• Settee cushions
• Window canvas and hatch canvas in Sunbrella ivory

Galley

• ICEER 130 12V refrigerator/freezer draws 5.5 amps
• Force 10 Oven stove top unit
• Freshwater foot pump for galley sink
• Copper sink and faucet
• Mid-ship hatch with Sunbrella ivory canvas

Cockpit

• Fiberglass hardtop coach roof
• Windshield - Isinglass and white vinyl
• Rear Sunbrella canvas awning in green
• Side enclosure panels - Isinglass and white vinyl
• Side rear enclosure panels Sunbrella canvas in green
• Cockpit cushions

Electronics

• B&G AC 42N Autopilot, 2017
• B&G Zeus 3 - 9in Chart plotter, 2017
• B&G Depth sensor, 2017
• Raymarine (redundant) Depth Sensor, 2009
• B&G Wind sensor, 2017
• B&G 4 G Radar, 2020
• Standard Horizon VHF radio with remote station, 2017
• SSB Icom M710 radio and Pactor modem (not used recently)

Electrical

• 4 - 6V golf cart house-bank batteries, 2023
• 2 - 12V lead-acid starter batteries, 2018
• 4 - 175W Solar Panels - 2021
• 2 - Victron controllers
• Xantrex 1000 W inverter, 2023
• Several 12 V and USB outlets
• 3 - 110 V outlets
• 120V shore power and cable

Deck & Hull

• Muir HR 1600 12V Cheetah Electric Windlass
• Manson Supreme anchor with 210 feet of 3/8 BB chain
• Secondary plough anchor with chain and road
• All windows and portlights are acrylic
• Starboard Daggerboard with Barrient lifting winch
• Spectra Capehorn Supreme Watermaker
• 2 60 gallon fresh water tanks with water level sensors

Sails & Rigging

• Aluminum mast and boom, 2007
• Stainless steel stays, shrouds and chain-plates with Sta-lock fittings, 2016
• 2 Harken 2-speed primary winches
• 2 Harken halyard winches
• Schaefer Jib furling, 2016
• Mainsail with 2 reef points and battens, 2017
• Storm staysail, 2017
• Genoa, full mast rigged, with sacrificial cover, 2017
• Asymmetrical spinnaker with rigging 2012

Engines & Mechanical

• 2 - 3 YM 30AE Yanmar engines @ 27 hp each. 
• Total power - 54 HP
• 2 Gori folding propellors
• Drive Type: Straight shaft direct drives
• Spectra CapeHorn Extreme Watermaker, May, 2017

Tender

• AB 10 AL RIB, January, 2021
• Yamaha 15hp 2-stroke outboard engine, March, 2021
• Dinghy chaps, tan Sunbrella fabric, custom made 2022

Navigation Equipment

• B&G Autopilot - AC 42N, 2017
• B&G Zeus 3 - 9in Chart plotter, 2017
• B&G Depth sensor, 2017
• Raymarine (redundant) Depth Sensor, 2009
• B&G Wind sensor, 2017
• B&G 4 G Radar, 2017
• Standard Horizon VHF radio with remote station, 2017
• Compass at the helm

Safety

• 2 Drogues with lines
• Dock lines and fenders
• Extra lines
• Flares
• Life jackets, harnesses and throwable life ring
• EPIRB (working but battery is due for replacement)
• Five 5lb fire extinguishers and fire blankets
• Smoke detectors
• A high water alarm in each hull
• Trident Propane system with sniffer

Anchor & Docking

• Manson Supreme primary anchor with 210 ft of 3/8 inch BB chain
• Muir HE 1600 12 V Cheetah windlass
• Anchor Bridle - 30 ft of 3/4 inch 3- strand nylon rope with Mantus hook
• Dock lines and fenders

Company Background:

John Gross designed the "Fastback 43" and built eight of them at his Fastback factory in Thornlands, Queensland, just south of Brisbane. There have been more than fifty of John's "Fastback 30" and (later) "Fastback 32" and Fastback 43' catamarans were also built at this factory.

All Fastback boats were sold unfinished. That is, the factory completed the basic boat (including engines, mast and rigging) and then the interior was finished by the buyer. This is a low-cost way to obtain a boat, but the buyer had to invest considerable time and money to install all the furniture, electrical systems, winches, plumbing, etc.