RETRO CRUISES
ON A SHIP IN KARELIA

In the fall at the SPIBS 2022 exhibition, I met Sergei and Yulia Bocharov, they restored a steamship from the 1950s. "Politruk Bocharov" charmed me from the first minutes, and now the fleeting love only strengthened, because he came from where, it seems, happiness reigned undivided. After the war, the Sevastopol Maritime Plant named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, a series of 14 coastal passenger boats was produced under the project of the Central Design Bureau 51. Initially, they served in the city as sea trams, transporting people to neighboring bays. Since about 1962, boats began to be written off, and the 11th Corps with registration number 2850 was lucky: the ship was modernized for a pleasure ship of the Zaporozhye Coke Plant.

In 2013, the plant decided to sell this ship and began a ten-year project to restore and modernize it into a comfortable motor ship, filled with the most modern systems, but hidden in the entourage of the interior and exterior of the motor ship of the 50-60s. - We turned to the Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Physics and MF, - recall the Bocharovs - to calculate changes in the design, allowing them to walk at a wave height of up to 2 m (it was up to 1.2 m) and at a distance of up to 12 miles from the shore. The hull was digested, replacing the entire underwater part, raised the bulwark and podvolok, raised the nose, expanded the yut, made an open deck on the roof of the superstructure, cut and replaced the old cabin. The proportions and appearance of the boat have hardly changed, but the stability has increased. The original propulsion system was dismantled, the Iveco diesel (220 hp) and the Lombardini generator were installed, all systems were replaced. It was not easy to get the best weight, and I had to count everything several times. For the first two years, the reconstruction took place in Ukraine, and in 2015 we transported the ship by road to St. Petersburg. According to Sergei, the most difficult thing during the restoration was to find the materials and parts that were used on the steamships of that time. As a result, each decor item has its own story. What struck me most of all was the fact that inside "Politruk Bocharov" is not a lifeless museum, but a cozy house, in which everything is put in its place not by a designer, but by a caring grandmother's hand.

"We wanted to recreate the ship in the spirit of the 1950s and 1960s - the time when rounded shapes prevailed, there was no simplification characteristic of modernity and thought about trifles," explains Yulia Bocharova. - It turned out a kind of collective image of a vessel that could get to VDNH and maybe even go into mass production. We went to museums and other steamships, observed and fantasized about how it all could look like. We had enough time, so we came up with the design ourselves and, taking our time, carefully restored each thing." For a 70-year-old Soviet boat, "Bocharov" has excellent habitability. The ship has two salons (the bow cabin is also transformed into a double cabin), two passenger cabins on the sides, there is a full-fledged galley with everything you need (dishwasher, electric stove, oven, microwave oven, refrigerator and freezer), a galley and a shower, a wind-protected dining area in the heated aft cockpit, a cozy raised cabin with a sofa area, which pulls you to the third salon, and a spacious sunny deck, where sun loungers and an inflatable pool for a child are placed on sunny days. In the bow salon of the second galley with a shower, there is a skipper's pantry with a washing machine and a dryer. All rooms are heated, the living area is equipped with ventilation, air conditioning and underfloor heating. The lower deck is reserved for the placement of systems and ship equipment. I don't want to leave the warm cabin of the last century into the realities of the current century at all, and in order to extend the conversation a little longer, I carefully ask the hospitable owners if they plan to charter their unique ship. The answer is simple and honest: since the boat has already become their second favorite home, a charter in the format of "wedding-anniversary-bachelor party" is not supposed. However, infrequent individual retro walks with a small composition are still possible, but only with those for whom the word "nostalgia" is not an empty word. After all, sailing on this boat is akin, for example, to a Sunday trip out of town on the "Icarus 55 Lux" or a longer trip on the "Eastern Express", and therefore not suitable for everyone.