34' boat with aft cabin

[Tmacmi]

Some nice boats mentioned here. That Nantucket Island 33 is a neat boat! Never heard of it before. They seem to be rare and are keeping price ranges above $40K.

That 343 Benetaeu is super nice but its in the "if I win the lotto range"

The Moody is interesting too, but they all seem to be in Europe.

Keep adding to the list everyone. I have plenty of time to shop.

[roland stockham]

yes it is a great arrangement, I have one. Things I suggest you watch for. Some designers, in order to create more space in the aft cabin go for a wide transom and very narrow or no side decks. Another option is to go for high free-board. All of these create space but at the expense of performance and sea-worthiness so check they are not taken two far. Aft cockpit and cabin under does get you the private aft cabin but guests not used to sailboats will struggle with the limited headroom. A center cockpit boat should have the most head room in the middle of the aft cabin and feel OK but on a 34ft boat don't expect 6ft plus. There are also some great pluses to this layout for yourselves. V berths forward are notoriously bad to sleep in underway because of motion and noise. The aft cabin will be the quietest and calmest place on the boat so make sure it has sea-berths so the off watch can get a good kip underway.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Tmacmi

We've been searching for "the next boat" for a bit. One of the fundamentals of consideration is that it has to comfortably occupy another couple in relative privacy for a long weekend of cruising.

I want a boat that is right at 34' in order to limit costs.

The cost needs to be under $40K

For a while I had focused on boats that had a V-berth with a door and a drop down table that converts into a large full size bed.

There's a long list of contenders like that; notably Sabre 34's.

Recently I stumbled on the Catalina 34 which has a truly private rear cabin. I will confess that I had previously turned up my nose at production boats, but the one we toured was very nice and the true rear cabin with a closing door really got me interested

Am I missing any other boats that have true private rear cabins that should be on my list to consider?

The Sabre 34 Targa is a lovely boat, but they are going for the mid 60's

Is there any feedback regarding the Catalina as a Lake Michigan cruiser? Other than the infamous smile are there any particular recurring defects to be aware of?

Thank you

A quick search on Yacht World showed a load of sloops under 40' in your budget. Limiting yourself to 34' severely cramps this search - please note that center cockpits on smaller boats tend to be very cramped . With that said here's one that's reasonably close to you in your budget https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1990/c-c-34r-3109844/ Just not sure how you'll get there right now

[Cheechako]

The S2 center cockpit, but I see that's mentioned. Why so adamant about 34 ft exactly? Out Island 33 comes to mind.

[Exctyengr]

I owned and cared for a Catalina 36 for several years. A very good sailor and comfortable. Reasonable build quality and a known commodity. A boat I bought for $50k and later sold for $50k and minimal maintenance. If you found a Cat 34 that you like, go for it!

[Jono as 2234]

Originally Posted by gonesail

there's a nice one made in Australia but I can't remember the name. Moody 346. Hallberg Rassy 35. O'Day 32.

South Coast 36. Lovely sea boat, long keel, won't point very high and not the quickest, but mine had circumnavigated the S Pacific twice. Sound but needing cosmetics, less than $AUD 50k.

[mahone bay]

Go to Classified - Boats for sale on the CF website. Do a search on Coast 34 Bluewater Cruiser...boat is currently priced at 27,000 US$...fully equipped...sleeps 6 (2 in private aft cabin)...every piece of kit I have is included...sailing time for me is at an end.

[AiniA]

The Moddys are nice. We had two in our club on Lake Ontario so they exist on this side of the pond.

[Davo666]

Mottle 33 is The Australian boat, later models, like this one, had a bit more freeboard, therefore headroom. Popular, but getting on now, a few good value ones about - https://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for...ttle-33/242119

[Fbfisher]

Originally Posted by Davo666

Mottle 33 is The Australian boat, later models, like this one, had a bit more freeboard, therefore headroom. Popular, but getting on now, a few good value ones about - https://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for...ttle-33/242119

I don’t see the requested aft cabin...

[Fbfisher]

Here’s a list from Wikipedia I found while looking at resources related to the Bruce Roberts designed Coast 34 Bluewater...happy hunting...

Beneteau 331
C&C 34
C&C 34/36
Catalina 34
Columbia 34
Columbia 34 Mark II
Creekmore 34
Crown 34
CS 34
Express 34
Hunter 34
San Juan 34
Sea Sprite 34
Sun Odyssey 349
Tartan 34 C
Tartan 34-2
Viking 34

[Fbfisher]

Originally Posted by mahone bay

Go to Classified - Boats for sale on the CF website. Do a search on Coast 34 Bluewater Cruiser...boat is currently priced at 27,000 US$...fully equipped...sleeps 6 (2 in private aft cabin)...every piece of kit I have is included...sailing time for me is at an end.

Do a search in the classifieds as described above returns 344 results. It may be easier/more effective to provide the link to your ad.

[johnrseager]

It may be a bit bigger than you want but the Lavranos Tosca 36 (built in Cape Town) has a very comfortable aft cabin containing a double and a single berth plus the usual V berth behind a door up forward. Not sure if many of these are available in the US or Canada but there are some in the UK and Australia.

[sgrimm]

We have a Canadian Sailcraft 34 (CS34) that we really enjoy. Has a lot of features found in larger boats, eg, two separate cabins, separate shower. Many are on Lake Ontario and in great shape since they haven't seen salt water yet. Prices should match what you are looking for in USD.

Lots of pics and info on my blog.

CS34 Sailboat

Edit: Above is a link to foghornlullaby.com, wasn't all that clear it is a link.

[Seriously Slow]

I think you would be very happy with the Catalina 34. We owned one for 5 years. It was about 9 years old when we bought it and sold it for more than we paid. We did make some upgrades over the years. Remember, you will want to sell it in the future and they are an easy sell.
We had guests for more than a week at a time and stayed friends. The boat also sailed well with a 144 handicap as I recall. We sailed it all over the Sea of Cortez in all weather conditions when we had to.