Water Mellon is a DROMOR Discovery 3000, built in Greece in 1992. She has had two lives so far: a long one as a charter yacht, and the one she has now, with us.
Two lives
She was built by the DROMOR shipyard in Markopoulo, Attica, and spent her first life in charter with KAVAS YACHTING, taking guests around Greek waters. Then came the quiet years: almost a decade on the hard in a boatyard, tired and silent.
We first saw her on 20 July 2020, and it was love at first sight: she had character, a history, and lines that made us want to try. In 2021 we bought her from Vangelis Kavas, the founder of KAVAS YACHTING. What followed was three years of work, tired evenings and a budget that kept growing, until September 2024, when she sailed again.
The name
In Tolkien’s Elvish, mellon means “friend”. Water Mellon is a friend of the water. And yes, the watermelon is on purpose.
How she sails
She is a true cruising boat. She settles at around 6.8 knots and feels predictable and reassuring at the helm. The sail plan suits her weight, so there is usable power without heavy loads: responsive, yet easy to handle.
A ballast ratio of about 36% keeps her composed in typical Greek coastal conditions, even when the wind builds, and her motion is gentle enough to make long days relaxing. Under engine, the Yanmar is quiet and burns about 2 litres an hour.
What we changed
- Deck and rig: full standing rigging replacement, new genoa furler, better anchor handling, new sprayhood, bimini and cushions.
- Energy and electronics: complete rewiring, 240 W of solar, four service batteries, a Raymarine autopilot and an efficient fridge.
- Hull and plumbing: osmosis treatment, five new seacocks, a holding tank and six new saloon windows.
- Engine: the Yanmar sandblasted, repainted and fully serviced, plus an outboard for the dinghy.
The before-and-after photos are on Restoration. New work goes into the Logbook, and the stories about the boat appear below.
Specifications
| Model | DROMOR Discovery 3000 |
| Built | 1992, Markopoulo, Greece |
| Rig | Sloop |
| Length overall | 10.15 m |
| Waterline length | 7.98 m |
| Beam | 3.24 m |
| Draft | 1.67 m, fin keel |
| Displacement | 4,500 kg |
| Ballast | 1,600 kg |
| Engine | Yanmar 3GM30F, 27 hp |
| Fuel / water | 85 L / 240 L |
| Mainsail / genoa | 28.4 m² / 19.1 m² |
Numbers for the curious
Ballast/displacement 35.6% · Displacement/length 309 · Comfort ratio 22.8 · Capsize screening 2.08 · Hull speed 6.84 knots
Thank you
To Vangelis Kavas of KAVAS YACHTING; to Makis Moraitis and his son Panagiotis of the DROMOR boatyard; and to Nick Achtypis of Nafpaktos Marine, for their generous help.
