Which is best boat for ocean passages?

[bongo]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

Wait a minute? You don't have the boat yet, but plan to leave in June? While all the boats listed can make great cruising boats, if you close on a boat in the next week or so you will have about a month to prepare. Not possible. Also, June is too late to leave unless you are planning a fly by of the South Pacific.

I totally agree. Sailing is about the process, being prepared and patient. Knowing your boat and its equipment. Being familiar with all of its systems... It is not about the destination, either literally or figuratively. Your dream seems to be rather impulsive and unrealistic. Regardless, Best of luck. Don't endanger others.

My vote is for the Perry designs. We have a Valiant 40', modified to have a rig similar to a Valiant 42'. Sturdy, sea-kindly, excellent sailing characteristics.

[Siberian Sea]

No matter the boat you choose, I think your schedule is a bit to rushed.

[Marc1]

Originally Posted by MultiCountryDon

Good Morning all,
We will leave in June doing a LA > south>tahiti> and beyond cruise.
Opinions please on which of the following is NOT suitable from sailors who have actually completed such passages in the last 15 years.
No need for sofa sailor opinions.
Moody 42CC, Fredom42CC, Hunter Passage 42/45, Morgan 45, Beneteau 44CC, Brewer 44CC, Tayana 42CC.

I know it's a long list but we are looking at these over the next 2 weeks, hoping to select, survey, and buy immediately. What do we remove from our list ?
Thanks,
Don

Only a sofa sailor would think in "select, survey and buy" with a 2 weeks window.
Then again that is only my opinion ... and I am sitting on a sofa right now.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

And finally and very important I want a boat that can sail, everyone spends time and money on storm sails etc and most of the time they are never used, you do need to be able to deal with rough weather but odds are that much of your sailing will be in light winds and many of the cruising boats people choose are terrible in light winds��
Basically motor boats with sails so be sure to buy something that will sail in winds below 15 knots. Cheers, R

Yes, many cruising sailors like to focus on a small easily handled rig, and that makes general sense of course, until you find that the boat can't sail out of wet paper bag, and that this only gets worse as the boat gets heavier over time with all the live aboard and cruising equipment.

As a minimum I think that any cruising rig and/or boat should be setup to be augmented with large easily handled light air sails, and not just for sailing downwind either. A 'code' type large overlapping 'headsail' can work magic to go upwind in light air, even on a fatter cruising boat.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Marc1

Only a sofa sailor would think in "select, survey and buy" with a 2 weeks window.
Then again that is only my opinion ... and I am sitting on a sofa right now.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by MultiCountryDon

No need for sofa sailor opinions.

Unfair!

[gulfcoastsailor]

In direct answer to your direct question?
The Queen Elizabeth II

[tarian]

Your time frame is fine , we are all diffrent ,and work to diffrent levels
Yout crew seem Experinced so no issues there
Most boats will carry 90% of what you need already . people on hear think your building the boat first
All boats will get you were you need to go , god knows how the Polynesians did it with just 0183 NMEA
Some good advice on comfort , this si the most important for all of you , as for numbers and stats its like stats about catching Ebola living in Surburbai in a Western Country ,were dealing in Fractions the risk is pretty mininal from one to the other , people like stats, and checklists and planning for 5 years , Some people like to buy the boat and just go with a good mindset and some planning , no issues
I have a Moody 42 Ketch , built like a tank great accommodation great sail plan big underbelly, sails up wind like an Elephant trying Ballet , but hey I dont do much up wind Sailing and its all about the journey not the Speed I go
We are all different and all have opinions only you guys know what you really really need want , but as for equipment and THE NEED FOR 10,000 LITERS of fuel bahhh
Watched 2 German young ones set out for the Canaries in a 26ft boat , they slept in the main Cabin and cooked of a little stove, sailed it from Germany and Made it across the Atlantic , all the salty seadogs shaking their heads and muttering about no Microwave and washing machine
Good Luck

[wolfgal]

for what it is worth...

Elsewhere, i saw that Robert Perry recently wrote that he'd choose the Valiant 42 for ocean passages.

hope you find a great boat!



wolfgal

[akprb]

Originally Posted by odonnellryan

Don, I'm sure you can find opinions on each of these boats. The more pressing concerns are even if your boat is seemingly outfitted for such a trip at the time of purchase (unlikely?) it may not actually be and you'll need plenty of time to go over boat systems to ensure the gear is in decent shape and to ensure you have adequate spares.

I just spent the entire winter and quite a bit of money outfitting my boat and we're just doing coastal cruising. I'd imagine I want another year of sailing under my belt before I cross an ocean.

You mean this June, right?

If he means this June and "practice" was one of the goals I would have to agree with the above.

Take a season to cruise locally or say down to Mexico, do nothing to the boat prior to this season. Compile the list of "needs" and "wants" then return to San Diego or wherever there is good marine trades and take care of them.

After that off you go to NZ :-)

Any of the boats listed would do fine, even the Hunter and the Beneteau.

[Zzmeyer]

Fun to disagree. I don't believe the time frame is fine. I don't see, but maybe missed, where his crew is experienced. He himself has owned a couple wonderful coastal cruisers so I'm guessing his offshore experience as a skipper is limited. June, assuming he gets the boat in the next couple weeks, is too late for a casual cruise through French Polynesia, but perhaps he wants to truck it. Almost all the boats he is looking at, while great boats, have all been out of production for quite some time. Even if equipped 90% for offshore cruising, each of the systems need to be tested and maintained. While starting to cruise after a month of old boat ownership is certainly doable, the nearest landfall after leaving Los Angeles for Tahiti or the Marquesas is 3,000 nm.

[Zzmeyer]

Let's see if I can be more helpful (albeit not necessarily correct). You need the boat quickly and are in California so I checked Yachtworld listings for the boats on your list in California. There were no Moody 42cc, Freedoms, Beneteau 44c or Brewer 44cc. There were six of the Hunters, 2 of the Tayanas (1988, 1982), and a Morgan 45. I've owned none of the above, but have sailed the South Pacific. You will be spending more time on the hook than underway so be comfortable with the cockpit size and ventilation. Remember, if you leave in June that the North East Pacific hurricane season starts May 15 and although hurricanes are rare in June, they do exist. As a result, gunkholing down the Baja peninsula to gain experience isn't really an option at that time. You will need to get below Turtle Bay to run into any possible hurricane. Although many boats leave from Southern California in March and April to the Marquesas, Puerto Vallarta and Panama are even more common. I assume Panama is Atlantic cruisers as Panama is actually further from the islands than the others mentioned. Assuming it takes a few months to get you and the boat ready there is no option for leaving later than June. Too far into the North Pacific hurricane season and too close to the South Pacific cyclone season. At that point I'd enjoy Southern California and start south November 1. Enjoy cruising along the Mexican coast. A big advantage is that if something goes wrong you are not very far from some really fine marine facilities. Leave from Puerto Vallarta in early March. There is a very large group that will be preparing to do the same. A couple good resources are the Pacific Puddle Jump and the Baja Haha. I've done three Baja Hahas, which will start first week of November which will get you pretty far down in to Mexico. Love your dream! Enjoy it.

[MultiCountryDon]

When we read posts on the forum there are so many opinions from folks who haven't done it. Remember that this thread is about what boat NOT to buy, but it has drifted to planning.
So yes, we are open-minded. One of the guys delivered a Hunter Passage 42 to Vanuatu. And he says-"why not?. It was a delightful sail." I see Catalina 42s arrive in Thailand from Long Beach and the crew says it was great. Earlier this year I saw a Catalina 36 come into Gold Coast Marina-Hong Kong from Seattle. None of the crews say "never again". 1 of our guys brought his boat from Bulgaria to SW Florida. Another one has delivered Cats from South Africa to LA---twice> So we think that maybe the conventional wisdom of the non-doers is off base, because some are doing it. Thats why the question what NOT to buy. We certainly would like to do our mission with a Swan or an Oyster but that's not in the cards. So here is the question for the delivery captains: Which of the boats listed would you refuse to do an ocean passage on IF the equipment was satisfactory?
Thanks,
Don

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by MJH

While you have an unreasonable time frame, the ratios are below.

BOAT,SA/DISP,DISP/LWL,COMFORT,CAPSIZE RISK, V HULL
Beneteau 44cc, 21.47,163,26.0,1.96,8.47,sloop
Brewer 44cc, 205,175,22.3,2.08,7.98,sloop
Freedom 42cc, 15.17,174,29.1,1.86,8.42,sloop
Hunter Passage 42, 17.35,191,24.8,2.05,8.07,sloop
Moody 42cc, 14.57,256,32.3,1.84,7.9, ketch
Morgan 45, 17.19,222,30.0,1.8,8.08,sloop
Tayana 42cc, 15.36,362,43.7,1.63,7.70,cutter

Acceptable Ranges:
SA/DISP 15-17
DISP/LWL 280-330
COMFORT 25-50
CAPSIZE RISK <1.8

None of these boats meet all the acceptable ranges; the typical tradeoff scenario. However, the Tayana 42 has the best COMFORT ratio and best CAPSIZE RISK ratio but will take you a tad longer to get there...what's important? Numbers don't lie.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

Not definitive but from info provided I would lean toward the Tanya 42 because it is a CUTTER. That has a number of advantages, provided it’s a true cutter.

We have cutters and by far our most commonly used sail is the staysail. Here is an article that’s interesting and makes the case for a cutter rig.

https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/09...-voyaging-rig/

[Tayana42]

Yes the Tayana 42 is a true cutter. And yes, I too use the self tacking staysail on its boom almost all the time.