Hinckley fever, and other ramblings ...

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

Bluebell surely is a stunning boat and I can see where she'd be easy to fall in love with!

But you said you wanted lots of refrigeration and a freezer large enough to provision for a month or more, as well as nearly constant use of satellite internet, but this boat only has a puny 440Amphours in its house bank and no genset. Where will the electricity come from to power your new, large freezer and your internet use?

Also, where on this boat will you put a big satellite antenna without spoiling its looks?

That galley will seem mighty small when it's used every day. There's almost no counter space that isn't above something you'll need to access while using that counterspace.

V-berths have been used for years on boats but if you're like me, you'll get tired of your pillow falling off the end of your bed onto the sole and you'll also get tired of both you and your wife having to climb out over your pillow whenever you have to get up in the night. There will be no such thing as either you or your wife sliding unobtrusively into your own side of the bed after getting up in the night. I've spent many a summer sleeping in V-berths and just spent last week sleeping in one on a Caribbean charter boat, and I sleep fine in them, but for long term living aboard I prefer a bed with a headboard and one that can be accessed from the side or ideally, both sides.

Bluebird is an extremely elegant boat and would be perfect for a couple who only planned to spend a week or so at a time aboard, but for what you say your purposes are, I think you need to look further at something larger and with a much more robust electrical system. If you can singlehand a 42' boat, you can singlehand a 51' boat too so don't be afraid of the size. You just need to get in the habit of always planning a step or two ahead and you sound like you'd do that anyway.

Thank you very much for that detailed reply. Many good points. Sure, another 10 feet will certainly help. If I could find a 51' in the same shape as Bluebell, and for the same/similar tag ($$$), it won't bother me stepping up a notch. Still thinking, and currently not in any rush, which is good.

Thanks again.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Hello PCM,

I am repeating myself but I was less direct in my first comment.

Brutally said; "you cannot load 5 pounds of s**** (stuff) into a 4 pound bag. You need far larger than a 42 footer... nearer 60 and probably not a Hinckley. They are lovely but not fit for your purpose.

GL

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Hello PCM,

I am repeating myself but I was less direct in my first comment.

Brutally said; "you cannot load 5 pounds of s**** (stuff) into a 4 pound bag. You need far larger than a 42 footer... nearer 60 and probably not a Hinckley. They are lovely but not fit for your purpose.

GL

Thanks for being frank. Actually, I'm well aware of the limitations. However, I'm not interested in any other maker. If I have to go 51' or 61' I will. But, I won't go larger than that. Whether 42', 51', or 61', I'll make it happen. The smaller the vessel, the more some desires will be crossed of my laundry list of wants. That's fine. Being a Cal (look it up) grad, I take all advice, and sarcasm, with a grain of salt.

Oh, and please don't call my future honey a "bag". She's a Hinckley, damn it!

[Eleuthera 2014]

Serious disease you got... expensive too.

Just beware that throwing money at your problem might not bring a useable solution. Being at anchor with an engine problem you cannot solve because you cannot reach the faulty component ... the machinery compartment NOT designed for usefulness but for prettiness will take a lot of shine off a sunset with Mai Tais on deck. An old saw: "Cruising is boat maintenance in paradise"..

I hope your "disease" does not destroy your dream. You have the moolah it seems.. but in the opinion of the vast majority of long distance cruisers here, your boat choice is limiting your horizons.

GL... I will continue to follow your thread... your stubbornness/single mindedness is interesting... :-)

[Eleuthera 2014]

Lookie here....

Fabulous!

1973 Jongert 22 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Serious disease you got... expensive too.

Haha. Yup! That's what I've been thinking also. My therapist has already given up, and now won't even answer my calls. Jeeezus! I already put one of his kids through med school. Some nerve!

[QOUTE]Just beware that throwing money at your problem might not bring a useable solution.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I know what your saying. But you know what they say, when there's a will, it usually comes with a credit card statement so fat it's pushing at the glue on the envelope.

[QOUTE]An old saw: "Cruising is boat maintenance in paradise".. [/QUOTE]

Well, I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for. Also, those that put less attention to scheduled maintenance spend more time in the engine bay with a crescent wrench. Personally, other than Hinckley, I see very few boats still looking so good after 20 years of owner love, and I'm not interested in an Island Packet (odd name) or a Banjer (another odd name).

GL... I will continue to follow your thread... your stubbornness/single mindedness is interesting... :-)

Ever talked at length with a Maine lobsterman? I have. They get a lot done in heavy rocky fog and swells on boats that many would look down their nose at. Yankee ingenuity, it is.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Lookie here....

Fabulous!

1973 Jongert 22 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

That's an interesting boat. Then again, anything over 60' is more than enough for a business couple with a few laptops and a "smallish" satellite dome stuck up high on the mast.

Two things I don't understand: 1) Helming her = sitting on a coffee table? 2) The non-existent nav station is now a latte bar? To each his/her own, I suppose.

I'll take those davits! Shhhhhh. Please don't tell Jon Eisberg. He might have a heart attack.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

That's an interesting boat. Then again, anything over 60' is more than enough for a business couple with a few laptops and a "smallish" satellite dome stuck up high on the mast.

Two things I don't understand: 1) Helming her = sitting on a coffee table? 2) The non-existent nav station is now a latte bar? To each his/her own, I suppose.

I'll take those davits! Shhhhhh. Please don't tell Jon Eisberg. He might have a heart attack.

1. Folded seat at the helm

2. There should be a proper nav station... just not shown.

Davits give you lots of options. Mine is a combi Gantry/Solar panel support with suitable lift points. I lift out my dinghy each night to avoid it "growing legs".. usually assisted by the neighbourhood low life. Dinghy goes atop aft cabin during long passages. The Jongert posted looks the dog's b*******!!

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

1. Folded seat at the helm

2. There should be a proper nav station... just not shown.

Davits give you lots of options. Mine is a combi Gantry/Solar panel support with suitable lift points. I lift out my dinghy each night to avoid it "growing legs".. usually assisted by the neighbourhood low life. Dinghy goes atop aft cabin during long passages. The Jongert posted looks the dog's b*******!!

Folding seat helm? I'll pass.

There is a nav station. Its small, with a black control panel on the wall and what appears to be a closed laptop. Yet, in fact, it now serves as a latte bar. That boat screams "We spend tons of time dockside." It's like a little house, not a sailboat. I want a sailboat.

A dog's "*******" what? You lost me with that one.

[Ericson38]

Taswell 56. These are well made.

[Saltyhog]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Folding seat helm? I'll pass.

There is a nav station. Its small, with a black control panel on the wall and what appears to be a closed laptop. Yet, in fact, it now serves as a latte bar. That boat screams "We spend tons of time dockside." It's like a little house, not a sailboat. I want a sailboat.

A dog's "*******" what? You lost me with that one.

Looking carefully, I think the black control panel on the wall is actually a wine chiller / fridge. On the other side is the latte bar. Whether or not you believe a full on nav station is still needed with modern digital charting, I still think that's pretty funny.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Saltyhog

Looking carefully, I think the black control panel on the wall is actually a wine chiller / fridge. On the other side is the latte bar. Whether or not you believe a full on nav station is still needed with modern digital charting, I still think that's pretty funny.

You sir, are correct! Good eye. I was merely quickly spinning through the photos.
I suppose the helm is the nav station. There is some sort of table located just port of the helm. Can't make out what it is, exactly. Is that a washer/dryer tucked into the back of the engine room? Interesting boat, she is. Not my cup of tea, but someone's.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Ericson38

Taswell 56. These are well made.

That's a very pretty boat. My dream of turning a 42' Hinckley into my ideal live-aboard vessel is slowly fading. I'm starting to get ready to raise the white flag of defeat. However, I've looked at a few 50'+ Hinckleys over the past few days that are giving me hope that I'll still be able to help the Maine economy.

[ddavis4464]

Hi John,

A lot of guys want to marry Britney Spears, but if they did they would soon tire of the high maintenance, and low livability. Same goes for a boat. Most people stop cruising because they get tired of living in the nineteenth century. With little electricity, or noisey generators, little space, showers you can standup in, on and on...the First Mates finally give up.
For a fun safe coastal boat something between 40 and 46 feet, beamy and sallow draft. Sailing ability is irrelevant, despite what the media has indoctranated everyone to believe. Heavy anchoring gear is what is important. In twenty-five years of cruising I'll bet I've only sailed a hand full of times when traveling. You motor down the ditch or up the river.
Lots of solar and wind power will run the freezers and frig without a hot, loud generator, with all of it's maintenance. In the last five years I have never use the gen set aboard Sea Imp except to keep it functional...once a year or so.
A real recliner, and settee big enough to lay down and read on are, oh, valuable when you are hanging for a week on the hook waiting for the storm to pass by. Think "bed" with an 8" mattress, not a berth and you'll be on the right track. 300 gallons of water should last you a month or more, and the same in fuel lets you fill up once a season at the best spot.
Anyway, John, that is the conclusion I have come too.
Danny L. Davis
"Read more, be more"

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

I'll take those davits! Shhhhhh. Please don't tell Jon Eisberg. He might have a heart attack.

Nah, no worries, I'll probably survive... The odds of our ever crossing paths in the Tuamotus are probably slim to none, anyway... :-)

Certainly, the convenience of davits is hard to dispute... I simply hate to see the look of a beautiful 42-footer marred by dangling a tender from the transom, it's not hard to do...

:-)