especially large used sailboats.
This page updated: July 2006
| How to choose models of boats, especially large used sailboats. |
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Please send any comments to me.
This page updated: July 2006 |
Rick's Rules for boat buying and ownership:
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You know there are so many shit production vessels out there that it is truly depressing to see some of the crap put out by boatyards claiming to do the right thing. Garbage, and you're going to get stuck with one ... pick your battle. On the other hand, they can carry you around the world, and sailing anything is better than contemplating the perfect boat. I have to have abused you with my Buccaneer story: I am in the Bahamas with four students, and there, anchored some 200 yards away, is a 25-foot Buccaneer. This has to be the worst piece of crap boat ever built. Looks like a football with a mast. Like someone took a normal boat and installed an enema air-line and pumped it up, extending in all directions. This twenty-five-foot boat was marketed for internal volume and the number of berths that it had. Good thing too, because it has no other good qualities, none. So a pair of the students started to remark about what a piece of horse dung this vessel was, how ugly, what a poor sailing boat, built like a toy, and how we should go urinate on it this moment and maybe do the owner in, so that he would not have to suffer any more, this embarrassment in his life. I joined in with the ribald banter, waiting for my moment. Hey, I'm the salt, can't let a moment pass, can I? So after twenty or so minutes and when quiet befell the cockpit, having got to the goal, no one having anything else to add. I recognized my moment and remarked: "You know there is one point we shouldn't forget." They looked at me with tilted heads, waiting for the next utterance. "Come this Friday, you guys are all going to be headed home, to wives, jobs, all the pointed minutia of life, and this guy, and his shit boat, is still going to be in the cool, clear, aquamarine waters of the Bahamas ... something to think about." The silence was thick and still. The thought being pondered, which one of these students, young yuppie professionals that they are, would be willing to trade their life for that one. Never lose focus: the goal is going sailing. And no matter what vessel you decide on, the goal is the same. I know of so many would-be cruisers who seem to hang out for years at the dock trying to get the boat just right. |
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If you ask two sailors about almost anything, you will get at least three opinions.
There is no more controversial a question than what is a perfect first boat.
To begin with, all boats are compromises. They are compromises between optimum
sailing ability and the need for accommodations or shoal draft.
If a boat gets wider it gets more stable up to a point but then it has
less reserve stability to right itself if it goes over.
If a boat is too wide and blunt, it has a lot of drag but lots of room down below.
If a boat is too narrow it has less drag, but won't have much
stability or room down below. Too much weight and the boat is slow and hard to
handle, too little weight the boat is fast, fun, and easy to handle but at some
point takes greater skills and athletic ability.
... The key is to figure out where you are going to sail, what your abilities are and what your real needs are. Different sailing venues favor different types of boats. ... |
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I see many posts "what boat should I buy?".
A better question would be: What characteristics do I want in a cruising boat? There are far too many designs out there that are viable cruising boats to limit them by model, especially if you are looking at used ones. First make a list of what you want from your boat. Do you want fast, light and less comfortable ride or heavier more stable slower boat? To get fast and comfortable, size has to go up. Lighter fin-keel boats point higher and go faster, but are harder to steer and bounce around more than heavier full-keel boats. Multihulls are still lighter and faster (if you don't load them down), but have a totally different motion. Do you want creature comforts like refrigeration, separate shower, a lot of electronics, etc? These fit better on larger boats and also create higher energy demands. Are you comfortable doing your own work? Half the cost of adding equipment to a boat is labor. Do it yourself and you have an instant 50% discount. Decide what you want in a boat, and then look to the marketplace to see what fulfills your requirements. You may just find that a lesser-known or one-off boat meets your needs for a lower price just because it is lesser-known. Just over ten years ago I bought a lesser-known design for a very good price, much less than the smaller well-known boat I was initially interested in. Same well-known naval architect, same build quality, much more boat for much lower price. Never regretted it for a minute. |
| After 24 years of owning a boat, the thing that surprises me the most is the very high number of boats that are essentially never used. For whatever reason, lots of boats are never seen by their owners. It is not often talked about, but it is real. Go to any marina on a nice day and see all the boats in their slips. Go next weekend and it is the same. My kid asked me why. She said, "Dad, why are there no signs of life here?" |
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Re: Choosing a cruiser
Before we can give you answers you'll have to answer some questions: Where are you and where are you planning to sail (probably the same place, but it could be two different places)? - salt water, fresh, lake, river, ocean, northerly with cold weather, east coast, west coast, etc. How much sailing experience do you have? - never been on a boat, a few years, many years, only day-sailed, only sailed on the local river, chartered in the BVI's, etc. What are your long-term sailing goals? How much do you want to spend? - make that: how much can you afford to spend, and look for a boat 1/2 that price. How many are there of you? - one, couple, family, pets, friends, etc. Are you handy? - if no, then you should have lots of disposable money, buy a new boat, or you should consider chartering instead of buying. Do you want to buy your final boat (never recommended) or will you consider trading up as you learn more about what kind of sailboat you will eventually want? Answer all these questions and your perfect boat will drop in your lap (you hope). |
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As people are always asking what boat they should buy, I have put together a little list
of questions to help narrow the search:
1) How much sailing time do you have? 2) Where will you be sailing? BE REALISTIC. 3) How far away do you live from where you will be sailing? 4) Do you have a place to keep a boat, either wet, dry, or both? 5) If you are lake sailing, does the boat you are looking at have a trailer? 6) How much boat can your current tow vehicle handle? 7) Do you really know the area you intend to sail? Answer those things, and I will now give you things to think about to help with those answers: 1) If you are a non-sailor, I would suggest a smaller boat up to about 22 ft; I470s or I520s are great dinghies that teach you more than you can imagine - they have just about every sail-control line, and with a boat that light you will see what effect each control has on the boat instantly. Other race-oriented boats are great for learning too, such as beach-cats. Racing in general is a great way to learn to sail, and of these groups the Beach-cat crowd is more accepting of newcomers. Racing is a fast-track approach to learning: you will learn more about boat-handling and sail controls in a single race weekend than you can learn in months of teaching yourself. 2) Are you planning that World Cruise already? SLOW DOWN!! There are tons of great sailing areas right around the corner. If you live in a coastal area it is easy to look out over the ocean and think 'One Day', but should your first boat be a world-cruiser? Probably not. Your first car was probably not a new 8-series BMW either. What water is close to you? A good-sized lake? Maybe the Mississippi Sound? A large bay? What boats do you see sailing in these areas? Have you tried to get a ride on any of those, or to at least look at one with an owner? 3) How far away from your sailing grounds do you live? 10 minutes, an hour, or do you need to plan a trip to the boat? How much more would you sail if you were closer to the boat? A small trailerable boat can increase your sailing time a ton without killing your bank account. If you live close to a large lake but really like to sail on the coast, a trailerable is your ticket. Something that you can take out on the lake and then haul to the cruising grounds of your choice on longer weekends or vacations. 4) Do you have a place to keep your boat once you buy it? Having a parking spot for the boat in the yard is one thing for a trailerable, but what about during the season - a slip makes it even easier to run to the boat for an afternoon sail, and if you are jumping head-first into a cruising boat then a slip or mooring is a must. If you find a slip, you will need to know how deep the water is, and not just at the slip but in the approaches - having a slip with 6 ft of water is no good if the only approach has a 3 ft depth, especially if that is at high tide. 5) People who live on lakes that are developed tend to buy a boat and not give any thought to a trailer - this is a HUGE mistake. For one it limits your sailing to that body of water only, and while that may not be an issue for you, it also limits your potential buyers when you get ready for the next boat. 6) If you do buy a trailer-sailor, can your current tow vehicle really tow it - if not a used truck may also be in your future, or at least finding a good friend who has a truck. 7) Knowing the water where you plan to sail is a huge plus - there are lots of boats on the MS Gulf Coast that are stuck to the shipping channels until they get past the barrier islands due to the shallow water. If you are looking at boats that have a draft that is deeper than most of your sailing area, you won't have fun once you have it in the water. How deep is the water right off that nice little beach you've always wanted to picnic on - or the one where the party is always going on? Having a four-foot-deep fin-keel boat in a body of water that has only 3 feet of depth 200 yds from the shore makes for some long hikes to the beach, or sailing all day in a limited area. If you are not sure about this then a good topo map of the lake can tell you a lot, or going out in a dinghy and taking soundings will get you the information you need to see what type of keel configuration you need to look at. Local knowledge is the key to getting a boat that will not only suit your needs but the needs of the area you are in. Take your time when getting that ultimate boat - your First boat is just that: your FIRST boat, and while it may be your last boat it probably won't be. Getting a small boat can add to your sailing pleasures - even if you have a cruiser, a beach-cat or dinghy is a great way to explore areas the big boat won't go or is too time-consuming to get to. |
Sailboat is better because:
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Switched from sailboat to trawler:
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Sailboats are great for "blue water" cruising and I wouldn't buy
anything else if my dream was to go around the world. Engines are just
too unreliable for that and fuel too expensive for my limited means.
However, if my cruising plans involved the Coastal US and Bahamas and nothing further afield, the trawler is the way to go. I retired in 1978 and moved aboard a sailboat with my family with the idea that we would cruise around the world and live the great life. Reality soon set in and we realized that while we loved quiet anchorages, neat little coastal towns, visiting many places, enjoying the company of the greatest group of people in the world (IMHO - boaters), and all those great features of cruising and living aboard. What we discovered is that we ran under power on our sailboat 80-90% of the time. There were many times when we couldn't go where we wanted because we were too tall or too deep. We also felt very cramped on our 35' sailboat. Finally, we hated overnight cruising (open water cruising) and vowed never to do that again. So worldwide cruising was out for us. With time we came to the realization that we could buy a trawler (36') with less draft and less mast height that had a lot more room, which would fit in more with our cruising plans. I also knew enough about "hull speed", "full displacement", etc to realize that if I bought a trawler with big engines I would not be able to afford to move the boat on my small fixed retirement income. Thus, we bought a single engine diesel trawler, which burned 1.3 GPH at 6.3 knots and cruising 5,000 miles a year burned about 900 gallons of fuel. This was within our budget. For 8 years we did just that and our fuel consumption was just about as forecast. In 1992 we paid an average of about $0.90/gal for diesel or $810. In 2003 we would have paid an average $1.35/gal for fuel or about $1215 per year. The above figures bring up two points. Do sailboats use less fuel? Are trawlers fuel hogs? The answers are "yes" and "can be". Sailboats generally use less fuel than slow single-engine trawlers of the same length. However, sailboats usually end up paying close to about the same for fuel going the same distance. Sailboats usually have small fuel capacity. Thus, when they fuel up it is rare that a 36' sailboat would take on more than 100 gallons of diesel. Unfortunately, a large number of marinas penalize anyone who buys less than 100 gallons of diesel fuel. In some locations by as much as $0.30/gal. What this means, if you are a sailboat and pull into a pump and take on 35 gallons of fuel you might pay $1.65/gal. If I pull up to the same pump and take on 200 gallons I might pay $1.35 per gal. I didn't say it was fair. That is just the way it is. The next problem is cruising range. On our trawler we could go 1200 miles between fueling up. Few sailboats can do that. If the cruising range under power is less, you will stop more often to fuel up in a sailboat and you won't be able to pick and choose where you take on fuel. We, on the other hand, selected our fuel stops by cost and only stopped where we got a great deal. Thus, even when the average fuel cost on the East Coast was $1.65/gal for diesel (June 2004) there were still places where you could get it for $1.30/1.40 per gal. We would plan our stops and only fuel up where it was cheap. By the way this penalty of not being able to pick and choose the place you stop for fuel also applies to "over powered" diesel trawlers that are fuel hogs. I just took a 34' single engine trawler from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida for the boat owner. I cruised at 20 knots on that boat and believe me it was not a "displacement" boat. I had to fuel up every single day and had no choice (for the most part) what I paid. When you need fuel, you stop where you are and buy it. I paid more for fuel on that trip south than I ever did in my life before. In fact, I paid more just for that short 1200 mile trip than I normally would pay for fuel to cruise for a year and go 5000 miles. This brings up the second point. Are trawlers fuel hogs? The answer is they can be. Many manufacturers of trawlers are responding to the cry of the buying public for "faster" boats that "can get where I want" or "can get in when bad weather hits". This means a lot of trawlers out there on the market will get very poor fuel economy. The good news is that this is not a given and if you look around you can find a trawler with small horsepower, which equates to good fuel economy. If the 36' trawler cruises at 6-7 knots and "can do 8" it is probably fuel efficient. If a 36' trawler cruises at 8-10 knots and "can do 15" it is not fuel efficient and will cost a lot more to operate than either a sailboat or slow trawler. In fact it may cost as much or more to operate than a gasoline boat. The final point is cost. You are correct, in general used sailboats in the 36' range cost less than used trawlers in the 36' range. On the other hand when you sell the boat, as some day you will, you will generally get more for your used trawler than you would for a used sailboat. For that extra initial investment you get more room and the ability to visit more harbors and go on canals that is difficult if not impossible for a sailboat of the same length. Your operating costs will not be significantly more with a slow trawler and you need not stay in a marina any move with a trawler than you would with a sailboat. That is simply a choice you make based on your lifestyle and budget. |
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Sailboats and powerboats (trawlers) are so different that a direct
comparison is difficult. However, here are some points to consider:
Trawlers are great if you are staying near shore. They have more room inside, and they have an inside steering station that can keep you out of sun and weather. You don't have the problems associated with sail handling, and there's no tall rig that has to come down at certain points along the loop because of height restrictions. Sailboats also typically draw more water depth because of their deep keels. If you'll be doing the loop and motoring 90% of the time anyway, then why not have the comfort and convenience of a trawler? You can anchor out just as much in a trawler as you can in a sailboat. If your trawler relies on shore power, then you'll want to stay at marinas or else you'll need to run a noisy generator with the risk of annoying other boaters who are seeking some peace and quiet at their anchorage. For going offshore, I would only consider a medium to heavy displacement sailboat. The recent Atlantic rally crossing of a group of the larger expensive trawlers highlighted (what is to me) an unacceptable reliance on mechanical devices such as active fin stabilizers to keep a boat safe and the crew comfortable. I've also heard stories of attempted trawler crossings from Florida where 10-15K of wind has sent a fleet of trawlers heading back for the coast in what would be great sailing conditions. On a sailboat, the sails help stabilize the motion of the boat, and the heavy ballast keel will ensure the boat lands upright in the event of a capsize. IMHO a used $25,000 sailboat can be safer offshore than a trawler costing over 10 times that much. But that $25K sailboat will give you a wet ride, will be far more cramped inside and won't have the luxuries of home. That's why the comparison is difficult. Finally, there is the question of the kind of boat you like. For some people boating = sailing and they quickly become bored in a powerboat. One person I talked recently described power boating as "cheating." Others would gratefully tell you that the days of sailing ended last century when the internal combustion engine made those obnoxious sails obsolete. You could finally just point your boat where you want to go and go there. No more of that zig-zagging back and forth to get to your destination. What's your philosophy? How fast do you need to go? Do you need to keep to a schedule? If you have a limited budget, there are some excellent deals to be had in the used sailboat market. If you have limited funds and you're going offshore, the decision is pretty obvious. If you have lots of money, you'll be staying close to shore, and you value a comfortable steering station, a trawler is for you! |
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I have owned 30' and 38' foot auxiliary sloops (one
mast, auxiliary engine) and a 40' full displacement, single-engine
trawler-type power boat, having come to the auxiliary sailboats from smaller
(racing) one-designs. I do love both sail and coastal power cruising.
First, the issue of sailors switching to power boats and seldom vice versa. (I have known of a couple cases of couples who moved back to sail). The simple reason is that as sailors get older they feel a little less nimble, their desire for comfort tends to increase, and rigging and unrigging a sailboat gets to be a less fun activity. In addition, people tend to have time to do longer range cruising after retirement, and it is a "dirty" little secret that auxiliary sailboats run their engines a surprising percent of the time when cruising, even when sails are up ("motorsailing"). It may be a most pleasant thing to sail across the local bay at 3 knots with a light breeze going nowhere in particular, but if you are trying to get to a marina or anchorage before dark, it may be less idyllic. As to comparing costs, a typical 40' trawler is a much larger boat than a typical 40' sailboat. By that I mean the volume and surface area of the hull is larger, and there is more room for accommodations. Displacement may be close, but only because the sailboat will have a ballasted keel; the powerboat will have less ballast, often none. If you look at boats with similar accommodations and of comparable quality, and with comparable systems, they will be in the same ballpark in (new) price. The cost of the larger engine in the trawler will be offset by the cost of the rigging and sails on the auxiliary. Also affecting the apparent price differential you are seeing is that trawlers tend to be more heavily equipped and have more complex systems than sailboats; also if you are looking at the used market, demand for sailboats may be softer. As to maintenance costs and fuel costs, I would say that fuel cost should almost certainly not be the deciding factor. Assuming you are talking about a diesel-engine auxiliary cf. a single diesel-engine displacement trawler, or even a semi-displacement hull operating at displacement speeds with an appropriately-sized engine (i.e. not too large), the difference in fuel and maintenance cost will not be huge, and may be offset by other expenses. I.e., in doing a given cruise, you will burn more fuel in the trawler, but you will probably comfortably make longer runs in a day if you choose and if you are stopping at many marinas, a few fewer nights would offset a lot of fuel savings. Also slips tend to rent by the length, and your longer sailboat for the same accommodations will take a pricier slip. Over a long period of ownership, replacing sails will be a very significant expense. As to anchoring out, that is a personal choice, and may be a matter of age and pocketbook as much as sail vs. power per se. As to service, most single-engine trawlers have fairly accessible engines. Many sailboat engines, though small, are a bear to get to and service. I would say you can't make the sail vs. power decision in the abstract. It comes down to what you like and what you plan to do with the boat. You mention both the great loop and southern latitudes. On strictly "mission-based" criteria, a power boat is a more logical choice for the loop, while the Bahamas, Virgins and the Caribbean constitute one of the premiere sail-cruising areas in the world. BUT as you know, people cruise each area in the "wrong" type of boat and have great fun doing it. |
| ... Fortunately, the boat we rented had a motor in it. You will definitely want this feature on your sailboat, too, because if you put up the sails, the boat tips way over, and you could spill your beer. This was a constant problem for Magellan. ... ... |
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Want > 30 feet for safety and comfort, and to cross ocean. Want < 50 feet for cost and single-handling. If > 40 feet, need anchor windlass.
Smallest practical size for a cruising boat is "a boat large enough to carry a dinghy on deck" - John Alden Article in 8/2000 issue of Sail magazine: "Moving On Up: Should You get A Bigger Boat ?" by Beth Leonard. Makes some excellent points, including:
"For boats 30 feet and over, each additional five feet in length increases the interior space by 50%. Thus a 35 has 50% more space than a 30." From John Dunsmoor:
From a friend (paraphrased): "At first, as a student, a 45-foot boat seems impossibly huge and intimidating. But if you work up to it, it is little harder to handle than a smaller boat." "I've never known anyone to make a mistake by starting too small, but I've sure seen folks bite off more than they could chew in a first boat." From SWamp on Cruising World message board, in reply to a "how big should I buy" question:
From SailNet - Sue and Larry's "A Used Boat to Stay the Course of the Cruising Life":
From Colin Foster on Cruising World message board:
From Tim on Cruising World message board:
From Steve Dashew:
From Donald Logan on Cruising World message board:
From Gary Elder:
From William Sellar on Yacht-L mailing list:
From "Voyaging on a Small Income" by Annie Hill:
My experience:
From Kirk on the SailNet Caribbeanislands-list:
Beth Leonard's "Pros and Cons of Bigger Boats" SailNet - John Kretschmer's "You've Bought the Wrong Boat" SailNet - John Kretschmer's "What Boats Are Really Out There?" Headroom:
From John Dunsmoor:
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Need:
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From Colin Foster on Cruising World message board,
about how much draft affects cruising in the Bahamas:
From Heather / Paradox:
From Gary Elder:
More from Gary Elder:
Also from Gary Elder: See the notes about approach and anchorage depths under Anchorage maps, photos and information - Florida Sea Grant More from Gary Elder:
Need shallow draft for going up rivers and mangrove swamps to tie up during hurricanes. Want shallow draft for ICW. Tom Neale says much of the Chesapeake is shallow-draft territory. From Antolin Rivera on Cruising World message board:
From JeanneP on Cruising World message board:
From Jim Taylor:
From Doug King on rec.boats.cruising newsgroup:
Less draft == worse leeway, and less storage. My experience: I bought a boat with 3.5-foot draft (1973 Gulfstar 44 motor-sailer ketch), and have cruised Bahamas (Exumas), east coast ICW, and Tenn-Tom and lower Mississippi so far. While the shallow draft makes everything easier and gives more options, it is really critical only on the Gulf side of the Florida Keys. There you will find 5 feet in the channel at low tide, and 3.5 feet going into some of the marinas. Also, many canals in Florida are silting in and dredging is forbidden, so draft is a major factor if you plan to slip your boat behind your house. |
From Captain Hugenot on S.F. Bay Ask The Surveyor:
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Typical mast height from waterline == 1.5 × LOA ? Want short mast for ICW. Ketch/yawl usually has shorter mast than sloop/cutter does. From Gary Elder:
From Jim Taylor:
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From "Living Aboard" by Janet Groene and Gordon Groene: "The boat you like for boating, and the boat that will make the best home are often different." From Jim and Diane:
Summarized from Tom and Mel Neale:
From John Dunsmoor:
Paraphrased from "Modern Cruising Under Sail" by Don Dodds:
From Russell on Cruising World message board:
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Collected from various cruisers:
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Depreciation curves on new boats are as bad as those
on cars; you lose a lot of market value in the first year or two.
Then there is another dip as you near the time
to overhaul/replace certain equipment (engine, sails). From elp2000 (Eddie) on alt.sailing newsgroup, about buying new versus used:
"... gel coat formulation and polyester resin has made giant leaps in about the last 10 years ..." From Keith on The Live-Aboard List:
From Mark Richter on Great-loop mailing list:
My experience:
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Good Cat? Bad Cat? mono-cat SailNet - Kevin Jeffrey's "A Case for Multihulls" SailNet - Kevin Jeffrey's "Catamaran or Trimaran?" SailNet - Kevin Jeffrey's "Affordable Multihulls" BoatSafe's "Sailing - Monohull Vs Multihull" SailNet - John Kretschmer's "Reality Check on Cruising Catamarans" Phillip Berman's "Buying a Multihull ? Here's the Ten Commandments" "One Hull or Two ?" article by John Kettlewell in 11/2000 issue of Sail magazine. Good multihulls survey article by Charles Kanter in Sept/Oct 2000 issue of Good Old Boat magazine Catamaran article by Alayne Main in 1/2001 issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine. Catamarans special section in Mar 2002 issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine A couple of trimaran articles in 10/2003 issue of Sail magazine Several catamaran articles in 1/2006 issue of Sail magazine Catamarans and trimarans differ in significant ways: catamaran has more room, trimaran will heel a bit, trimaran usually has one engine, drive train and rudder. Catamaran better:
From "Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia" (1989) by Steve and Linda Dashew:
From Dwight Yachuk on World-Cruising mailing list:
Multihulls Magazine |
First, pick these parameters:
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I pick:
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| ... What a [maintenance] price we pay for the vanity of gleaming varnished teak ! ... Our next boat, I promise you, will not have a single speck of exterior wood of any type. ... |
General use will be:
Must-have:
Prefer:
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A 1973 Gulfstar 44 pilothouse ketch motor-sailer, which fits most of the criteria above except:
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I think "deciding" on a particular boat model is a bad idea.
That may make you overlook some good deal or an equally good boat of some other model.
There may have been only 50 produced of the model you want, so the number
for sale may be small and competition may be fierce.
You may pay more for a boat in bad shape just because it is the model you want.
You may wait years (not sailing) for the perfect boat.
Instead, I've "decided" on characteristics that are important to me (livability, fiberglass monohull, 40-50 LOA, $90k or so, less than 6' draft, 6'2" or more headroom, no teak deck, etc). This list has already been refined several times as I've looked at various boats. When I get to Florida, I'll give this list to brokers and look at any boat that fits. |
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The next boat we get (if ever we do get another one) will have Pilothouse
in the title. ...
[I think they have a Valiant 37, and they went offshore.] A Valiant can truly sail through just about anything. The crew? That's another matter ... |
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... spend a considerable amount of time researching the boat yourself,
as most vessels have flaws that show up over time.
Get on the internet and see what other people's experiences are
with each particular type of vessel.
There are many "owner's groups" which are full of information.
From personal experience, don't ignore the experience of those who have gone before you - we bought a Taiwanese-built boat and were told to watch for deck rot, poor-quality stainless and problems with the chainplates. In spite of what seemed to be a good survey by a reputable surveyor, we have ... deck rot, poor-quality stainless and have just finished replacing the chainplates as well as the supports they were bolted to. ... |
Names may include any/multiple of:
Sometimes they are all different (Moorings are fleet boats, designed by various designers, built by Beneteau ?). Some may be owner-finished. From John Dunsmoor:
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| I've been doing a little unscientific survey here, and so far, everyone in the "boat business" that I have talked to agrees - if you want to know specs, the easiest and least expensive way to get them is to phone the brokers. Most have reference books to look up what you need, and don't mind doing it. After all, tire kickers become buyers. |
| ... After you do all the research, like I did, you will probably make an emotional decision and purchase the boat that pulls at your heartstrings. That is, after all what most of us do. |
| ... I looked at your list of potential boats and quickly came to the conclusion that all of them have been successfully cruised by a variety of owners with widely varied tastes, even the ones that you have rejected. I have seen highly rated boats fail, and poorly built boats succeed; it's all up to the owner/skipper. ... |
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There is no such thing as a "best" boat. There are boats that fit your
needs and intentions to varying degrees. There are boats with various
designs and features and materials and fittings that are better/worse for
various conditions and locations. And there are well-designed and well-built
boats that are equipped or maintained or sailed in unsafe ways.
"Bluewater" is a vague term. And being near a coast, with rocks and reefs and shoals and currents and traffic and pilings and crab-trap floats, may be more dangerous than being out in "blue water". There are some general features that work better in offshore versus coastal sailing. Offshore sailing prefers small (stronger) hatches and ports, deep draft (stable; good close-hauled performance), small cockpit and fine closed stern (to minimize pooping). Coastal sailing prefers bigger ports (more air and light), shoal draft (avoid running aground; anchor in more places), big cockpit (for lounging), and swim platform on stern. There are some building techniques and equipment that are stronger than others. Lots of well-attached bulkheads are good. Thick laminates, strong wires and ropes, powerful winches, large cleats, big backing plates, large anchors are all good. The question is: how good is good enough ? You probably can't afford the absolute best, and it might be so heavy that the boat wouldn't float anyway. The experience and competence of the skipper and crew probably outweigh most differences between boat designs. I think most non-racing boats are lost due to human error or maintenance neglect, rather than to a design flaw or basic materials failure. Many people have sailed/cruised "low-end" boats successfully in places they "weren't supposed to be able to". Of course, people have sailed/rowed kayaks across oceans, too. Don't put all of your money into purchasing the "best possible" boat and then have no money left to sail and maintain it. Don't get fixated on one specific model of boat and then have to wait 5 years for one to come onto the market. And find twenty bidders competing with you for it. |
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