name a affordable blue water manufacturer!

[bigwhyte]

for me buying a boat that cant go off shore is like having a wife that wont make love !nice to look at but not much good. so what do i look for. every other add says blue water how do u realy tell ? thanks again.
ps i love this site !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Efraim]

Here is a good place to start.
Ted Brewer Yacht Design

[rtbates]

Cape Dory.

Lots of good info in these two books by John Vigor.

Amazon.com: Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere: Books: John Vigor

Amazon.com: Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear: Books: John Vigor

[camaraderie]

If you are looking for a NEW boat then probably the least expensive blue-water capable is the Caliber40 in terms of production boats. Pacific Seacraft, Saga, Valiant,CaboRico,Moody would all be suitable.
For semi custom stuff you have Passport,Morris,Shannon,Hylas,Hinckley, Tayana and more but pricing is quite high to VERY high.

For older boats...here's a good ist to start:
Mahina Expeditions - Boats to Consider for Offshore Cruising

[dkall]

WESTSAIL - WORLD CRUISER YACHT CO.

WOA Web Site

[unbusted67]

That would be "an affordable blue water cruiser" not "a" Check out Albin Vega or Cape Dory

[hellosailor]

I suppose sailing and bluewater sailing is like marital relations: You can read up all you want, but you'll still have no idea what it is all about, or whether you will enjoy it, until you go out and get some experience at it.

One man wants a trophy wife, the other can't stand Blonde Moments.

Fortunately, you can charter boats for a week's trial. It is much harder finding wives to check out.<G>

[GordMay]

Name an affordable Dakar Rally-capable off-road vehicle.
Like the previous; “affordable & offshore” might be somewhat mutually exclusive specifications.

[ssullivan]

Yeah, I'm with Gord on that one. There isn't an offshore capable boat that's affordable... unless you have a ton of money.

What's your definition of affordable? $5? $100? $10,000? $50,000? $500,000?

[Zach]

I'd like some more information about these five dollar boats!

[SkiprJohn]

Affordable off shore but small. 26' International Folkboat. Tartans and Islanders come to mind as well as some Pearsons. Depending upon who finished them, Cascades have cruised all over.
No one mentioned Hans Christian (not affordable) definitely off shore blue water.
JohnL

[SkiprJohn]

I forgot the Mariner 31/32 or Fuji 31/32 depending upon their condition. Some of the smaller Cheoy Lees also would be off shore capable.
JohnL

[starfish62]

Pearson 10M was a very big bang for my buck. Went from Florida to Australia with nary a whimper.

[Latitude9.5]

I found this site helpful when bluewater boat shopping.

Mahina Expeditions

It's not an exclusive list, but it really gives you some great info and a great place to start. As mentioned affordable is a pretty broad term, rolls royce is affordable to some.... just not me.

The Pearson's are definetely a lot of boat for buck as mentioned, we looked at several and were in the air between the cal and the pearson 424.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by bigwhyte

.. so what do i look for. every other add says blue water how do u realy tell ? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yo Big,

one way to tell is to look at what cruisers are using successfully. Accept the fact that entry-level racer/cruisers are usually not. For specific suggestions you must advise what you mean by "affordable". But a true bluewater cruiser will have most of the following:

Seaworthy design capable of heaving-to.
Rugged construction to high industry specifications.
Heavy duty mast, sails and rigging, with adequate reefing and storm sails.
Excellent seaberths with leecloths.
Diesel inboard with filtration/water-separation system.
More than one way to produce and store electrical power.
Adequate food storage and preparation equipment.
Sanitation system.
More than one adequate anchor/retrieval system.
Sufficient fuel and water tankage.
Lots of storage.
Fully redundant safety gear, including emergency equipment and "abandon-ship" gear.
Dinghy/liferaft.
Provisions and spares, with manuals for all equipment.
Manual backups on essential equipment.
Tools.
Small, self-bailing cockpit with high bridge sill.
Small windows.
Good ventilation, including seaworthy hatches.
Dodger.
Adequate navigation system, including charts, books, instruments and manuals.
...

You see where this is going? This list is far from complete, and only lists ESSENTIALS. It really doesn't stop until you run out of time or money. Or go. But when you go, may you go informed and well-prepared for the worst you can expect, with hopes you'll never have to face that.

When you have a fairly good understanding of what MUST go into a bluewater boat, then you MIGHT be capable of making a good choice.

Good luck making the right choice.

best, andy