older really strong boat or newer not-so-strong

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Bob Morane

France is really close to the opposite of the world of Tasmania. (it falls a couple thousands of kilometers west in the Atlantic)
I regularly see Jeanneaus' and Beneteaus' here in Hobart harbor and down south.
Surely, they aren't that lightly and cheaply designed if people sail hundred of thousands of miles in them, no ?

100%, I've cruised with a Beneteau 473 for thousands of miles this year. Fabio has now crossed three oceans and many seas, the boat certainly is not falling apart. It's not a one off, I've seen many modern boats, inmast furlers and all transiting the oceans.... guess they are all just lucky, just like the catamarans I cruise with. Real vs fantasy!

[ALLAN WARD]

Hi ThaidUp, I have sent you a private message. allan.windward@gmail.com

[Verschuijten]

Hi all,

I had a very strong build ta Chiao41. We completely rebuild it. But when we moved aboard we found it too small. Then we bought a 2000 Beneteau Oceanis 44 CC Clipper and upgraded for a world circumnavigation. Renewed and replaced nearly everything. Never regretted this decision. What a nice boat to sail and more, to live on.
Every boat is a constant process of upgrading of systems. Once you neglect this the boat runs away from you and will become lower in price.
After our circumnavigation we will change to a motortrawler.
We are currently sailing in the Caribbean..
A Dutch Ships Engineer for 34 years and since 2013 a tugboat Captain. For any interest or more info please reply.
John

[gmakhs]

If you have 200k of budget contact a builder and order a custom 34 foot , the boat will be new and you can reinforce the areas you want depend on the cruising you want to do .
Older designs are strong but slow and detoriate, new are fast but weak .

Most of the boats can get you anywhere in the trade winds zone , people have done it with less than 20 feet simple boats or more than 80 feet ships , I am.currently.sailing the trades and west Africa in 26 feet .
Buying a boat is not simple and you will need to review all the systems , simple and cheap is the best option if you plan to visit really remote areas if not you can have more.complex gear .

[sailguy2004]

Originally Posted by ThaidUp

Yep, 40-something LOA, and would like to have potential to circ. Budget is 150-230k.

I have a really nice 1983 KP 46 for 149k named Tara and in Ft Lauderdale.
Can be found on Yacht world

[RobPatterson]

I sail a Hans Christian 48T. It is in the heavy cruiser class. It sails very well, better than expected for a heavy cruiser.
I looked at a lot of boats. I could have bought a used charter boat for 1/4 of the cost. Many factors influence the decision. It is already outfitted with cruising gear and the rigging is ready for big wind and seas. It is comfortable to live in. It doesn't get tangled in lobster pots, long lines or fish trap bouys. There are more, if course, like the excellent comprehensive guide posted previisly. The big factor is aesthetics. My wife loves the teak. It is beautiful inside and out (to me). I think it is important that you like your boat.
After all that, the old boat does need stuff fixed more than a new boat so include maintenance costs into your purchase.
There are dogs for sale and some true bargains- https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/76073
Good luck

[A la carte]

I bought a '93 Pacific Seacraft and have not been sorry (hence, my obvious bias). Probably my main "like" is that she doesn't "pound" and I've always felt safe in rough weather (Pacific and Atlantic). Some of the newer boats will pound to the point where it jars your teeth and hull integrity becomes an issue. The downside is that she's a heavier boat with a different hull plan than the "pounders" so, she gets up to hull speed a little later than the new ones do.

[NickCreak]

Not sure if you’d be interested but from your description our boat (just up for sale) sounds like it’d fit your requirements.
It’s a westerly (known for being over engineered and reliable blue water cruisers) just over 40ft and is extremely safe. I looked at number of ‘newer’ boats are very few had the build quality, safety and ease of sailing I was looking for.
Plus with your budget you could upgrade even further..
https://westerly-owners.uk/advert/we...windward-lady/

Contact me on ncreak@gmail.com if interested

Nick

[thomm225]

The thing is if you buy a new or newer boat you don't learn anything about maintaining the boat which is fine if you plan to pay others to do it.

[jimp1234]

Good discussion. I find myself on the same horns of the dilemma as the OP. From a practical standpoint, particularly with a working budget of $200k - $250k or so, its worth considering a newer production boat. And all you have to do is take a look at a list of boats who've completed the ARC Rally to see that there are lots of Beneteaus, Jeanneaus, Hanses, along with the "usual suspects" the HR's, Outbounds, Hylases and Oysters, so clearly a newer production boat is more than capable of crossing oceans. However I still lean towards an older heavier displacement boat mainly because of the way they sail.
I don't claim to have the experience of some of our members but I have sailed almost every weekend for the last 4 or 5 years on San Francisco bay on lots of different boats such as Beneteaus, Jeanneaus, Catalinas, Hanses, J/105's along with a few "heavies" like a Hans Christian, a Hallberg Rassy, and an Island Packet. I don't think there should be any argument in saying that a 28,000lb. Hallberg Rassy 45 is going to sail differently when compared to a 15,000 lb Jeanneau 42. Whether it sails "better" or not is more an open question. And btw, I'm not ascribing all sailing characteristics to displacement only, as obviously boat design, type of keel, etc. plays a significant role as well. Is there a well found 40 ft. heavy displacement cruiser out there somewhere that's less than 10 years old, and costs around $200k? Maybe, but I've not come across her yet.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Verschuijten

Hi all,

I had a very strong build ta Chiao41. We completely rebuild it. But when we moved aboard we found it too small. Then we bought a 2000 Beneteau Oceanis 44 CC Clipper and upgraded for a world circumnavigation. Renewed and replaced nearly everything. Never regretted this decision. What a nice boat to sail and more, to live on.
Every boat is a constant process of upgrading of systems. Once you neglect this the boat runs away from you and will become lower in price.
After our circumnavigation we will change to a motortrawler.
We are currently sailing in the Caribbean..
A Dutch Ships Engineer for 34 years and since 2013 a tugboat Captain. For any interest or more info please reply.
John

Welcome aboard John!

[Tillsbury]

I've owned boats from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and this century. Without exception the newer boats are far better built. Think how much better cars have got in this time. Yes, older boats can be heavily built, but they can also have idiotic features such as wood cores, timber sheathed in fibreglass in the structure, services hidden away inaccessible, teak decks fixed with screws, the list is endless.

If you get a well built boat from a decade or so ago, you will need to do some maintenance for sure. Perhaps seacocks, certainly standing rigging and sails if they haven't been replaced, and electronics. But the structure of the boat is likely to be intact.

Watch for GFC boats though - the financial pressure from 2007 caused some visible cost-cutting in the larger brands for a few years.

[ALLAN WARD]

Fortunately as owners of sailboats we all have different preferences, likes and dislikes otherwise we would all be sailing around in identical boats. Our Shearwater 39 (L.O.A.43ft) ticked all the boxes in our case. We wanted a fast, seakindly, solid design that could handle any situation that we could find ourselves in off our notorious South African coast but that could also be handled easily when shorthanded particularly when the First Mate tips the scales at 50kg.

Although beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder another big issue for us was that she had to be pleasing to the eye. Although she has a modern underbody hence her pace, she is very pretty above the waterline and during the last number of years while cruising she turns heads wherever we go. In South America where virtually all the boats we encountered were the modern production type boats we continually had people admiring her and complimenting us on her looks and particularly her performance. We lean towards the " traditional look " but we also wanted an efficient sailboat particularly when the wind is forward of the beam. With her moderate displacement and stiffness and easy motion through the water she powers through choppy seas with ease and beating against the wind is something we don't stress too much about. Last season our passage from Antigua to Barbados was the most enjoyable of our entire season.

Check out our beloved boat on http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/68951

[swisssailoralex]

I also sailed on a lake and decided to sail the seas. But first I had to get a boat. That's where it all started. And now more than 3 years later and over 5000nm of water sailing">blue water sailing, I'm at anchor on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. My boat is an 1981 Jeanneau SunFizz 40. It's not what I wanted, but when I saw it it was. So my advice is, go out and see boats first hand, like in below video. (The prior video in the series is about seeing new boats at a boat show in Italy). Cheers! https://youtu.be/OqvPvC-h4XI

[cygnus]

Hello Thaidup, I am new to the Forum also. I had a 1969 Pearson 35 for many years, The fellow I bought her from sailed from Chicago to the Azores and back. Would other readers consider this a Bluewater boat ? Was the Kon Tiki a Blue water raft ?