Cruising in South Pacific

[jpcraw]

If you were going to cruise the South Pacific, what boat would you choose? For starters lets just say roughly 30-36', under $30k (boat alone).
Obviously there are many many choices, designs, sail plans, etc. to choose from. Not looking for a thesis, just interested in your opinon. There are no right answers because there are no perfect boats.

Where to start...

[Pblais]

For starters lets just say roughly 30-36', under $30k (boat alone).

I think you have a budget problem. I would suggest you start at 36 ft and maybe go up. You need to do the math as far as all the stuff you need to carry. Water and fuel count too. You'll need at least a few tons at bare minimum. The boat to carry all that needs to still float. Being seaworthy help assure you make it any place in one piece.

As far as choices you don't have any by the time you find a boat fit for the trip at reasonable cost. That would be the one you should take no matter what it's brand. If you sailed closer to home you might get closer to a realistic budget for a boat that would make and be affordable. Better to be cruising any place rather than stuck on land or lost at sea.

Sometimes it really is all about the money.

[starfish62]

Depends a lot on crew. A 30-35 foot boat is fine for one or two, but gets crowded quickly. Other considerations, like do you want a compressor, factor in to the size. Look at tankage, especially water, and give preference to a multiple-tank setup. If a tank fails, you'll still have enough water to get to land. The distances in the south Pacific are so big that you have to factor in stores for 1-2 week passages. That being said, I sailed the SP in a 33-footer and was comfortable most of the time. Though bigger is better in heavy seas.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by jpcraw

If you were going to cruise the South Pacific, what boat would you choose? For starters lets just say roughly 30-36', under $30k (boat alone).

<snip>

Where to start...

Where to start? Define the cruising experience you are willing to tolerate. I think your three variables are -

Boat / Money / Time

You can get a lot of boat in a hurry if you have a lot of money.

You can get a lot of boat cheaply if you are willing to invest time to fix it.

Honestly 30k is not much money for a boat that you intend to do passage making on. If I wanted to see exotic places with a smaller (read cheaper) boat, I'd buy it in the region and sell it when I left.

The owner of this 30 foot boat is Canadian. He modified it extensively in order to hold stores and water. He single handed it from Canada and was selling it locally for $30,000.

You could have stepped aboard this boat, added groceries and gone cruising. He was nice enough to let us look around. The below decks was like a submarine. A place to sit and one berth. Everywhere else was lockers and gear. Two people on this boat would have been tough.

I think $30k is a very sporty target for a passage making boat.