Meraviglia is a Stevens 47 built at Queens Long Shipyard in Taiwan in 1985. She is hull #48, meaning she’s the 48th hull to come out of the mold. She was designed by the famed yacht design firm of Sparkman and Stephens. The “Stevens” name comes from Bill Stevens, who commissioned the first hulls to be built to fill out his charter fleet in the Caribbean. He later sold the hull molds to Queens Long, which continued to build the boats as the Hylas 47 and later the Hylas 49.
Meraviglia is a cutter-rigged sloop, meaning she carries an inner forestay on which she can fly a staysail in addition to the genoa on her forestay.
We purchased her in June of 2022 in Florida, moving her to Brunswick, Georgia for her fitting out. She required an extensive refit prior to setting sail on our circumnavigation. The hull had failing gel coat, necessitating complete removal of the old gel coat and application of a new barrier coat and CopperCoat antifouling. We also had to remove the rudder to replace the rotten core and the corroded rudder flange. Over the course of 8 months, we replaced every system except for the rig: plumbing, faucets, toilets, fuel tanks, holding tank, electrical components, powerplant, batteries, windlass and ground tackle, electronics, navigational gear, and emergency gear. We also had to replace a rotted structural bulkhead and remove and reseal the portlights and hatches. We added a dodger and replaced the bimini, as well as adding a solar array. It was a grueling time, as we were living on the boat while we were refitting, but we have been rewarded with a sound, fast, weatherly boat. She has safely taken us over 10,000 nautical miles so far!
