Realistic boats for blue water cruising

[boatman61]

How about a C&C.. suitable as most for the 'Milk Run'... then outfit in St Martins before heading West into the sunsets...


BVI Yacht Sales Ltd. (Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands)

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1423770498000

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resi...=1423770498000

No affiliations..

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Smithpurd

I am absolutely blown away by the amount of both responses and activity on this site. The amount of info here is incredible. I joined the humboldt yacht club and forgot to mention that in the OP. Someone also mentioned to read some moitessier, but I am already halfway through " the long way" I will be sure to send some private messages, but I had some more questions about this site without getting to far off topic. A lot of people reccomended getting a crew position on a boat. I noticed an option for that on the top of this site. Does this work?is it as active as the forums? Have other people gotten crew from this website? Thanks again

I have not sought crew or sought to be crew through this site, but it is worth a shot. It is way more preferable to go with someone you know and whose sailing ability you have confidence in. That said, I am sure there are some very competent skippers here seeking competent crew. When you contact them remember you are interviewing them, and their boat, as much as they are interviewing you. Skills and experience are good, but checking to see if personalities will mesh well may be just as important. If you have any doubts, just politely bow out. I once crewed on a boat where I did not know the skipper and he didn't know me, but since a trusted friend had referred me, and paid for the plane ticket and threw me on the plane, it worked out well in the end for both of us. The skipper was rightfully concerned about who was showing up out of the blue, but he really needed crew for the delivery so he trusted the referral. I already knew of him and his reputation and the boat as well. I have a friend who sailed back from Hawaii on a heavy displacement ketch (slow boat) with someone he ended up not really getting along well with. It made for a very long trip on a very small boat. Crewing on a bigger boat is probably preferable at first because you'll meet more people, learn more and watch duties are a little easier.

[David_Old_Jersey]

As you have probably gathered, no one way to skin a cat. Lol.

If you click on the boat equipment list in my signature will give you some ballparks. The refurb thread link will forewarn you about optimistic boat buying!

On the advice thing, I would say that the more you learn the more and better your questions will be to yourself (no one ever stops asking themselves questions!). In your shoes, I would be looking to crew for others, start inshore (SAR range - not all boats and skippers are created equal!!) before maybe trying a few delivery trips. It's both about trying out different boat styles and understanding that skippers have mixed abilities no matter the experience. Same as crew!....but being prudent can get you a long way, without relying on luck. Plus you get hands on experience of seeing how problems are dealt with - and the dull stuff like watch keeping and cooking. And maintanence.

It's all about increasing your chances of success (and having fun) before writing large cheques. And being married to own boat......not to say that it is not possible to write a cheque and "go now" (and come back!), enough do - but it's about the odds, especially on enjoying yourself.

Boats is all about choices, and living with your own choices - for some that is the key part of the attraction, for others a nightmare.

[thomm225]

Some guy came into our marina yesterday with an old beatup Tartan 34C. He got a slip and put the boat in there.

The boat looked rough but as I stared at it while he was attaching his lines etc to the pilings I didn't notice any serious defects. It was just old with faded fiberglass topsides etc

I did notice that his engine was running very smoothly though for such an old boat. I'm starting to get tired of my outboard so I have a bit of diesel/inboard envy going.

Later he told his neighbor that it had an M25 Universal Diesel in it now which replaced the original engine an Atomic Four.

Maybe I just like old boats but that boat looked to be pretty tough.

TARTAN 34 C sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

The boat is also on the Mahina Offshore Boat List:

Mahina Expedition - Selecting A Boat for Offshore Cruising

[AiniA]

In our circumnavigation we saw a fair number of young cruisers, overwhelmingly from Sweden and Norway. These folks singles and couples had boats from 27 to 33'. Typically they were doing three year RTW trips. By far the most common boats were Vega 27s with single examples of boats like Bristol 27 and precursors of Halberg-Rasseys (Monsuns). Remember that most of these people were from Scandinavia.

In your original post you said you wanted a boat big enough for two or more people. There is a huge difference (size and cost) between a boat suitable for two and boat suited for more. This is a fundamental decision to make.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

As you have probably gathered, no one way to skin a cat. Lol.

If you click on the boat equipment list in my signature will give you some ballparks. The refurb thread link will forewarn you about optimistic boat buying!

On the advice thing, I would say that the more you learn the more and better your questions will be to yourself (no one ever stops asking themselves questions!). In your shoes, I would be looking to crew for others, start inshore (SAR range - not all boats and skippers are created equal!!) before maybe trying a few delivery trips. It's both about trying out different boat styles and understanding that skippers have mixed abilities no matter the experience. Same as crew!....but being prudent can get you a long way, without relying on luck. Plus you get hands on experience of seeing how problems are dealt with - and the dull stuff like watch keeping and cooking. And maintanence.

It's all about increasing your chances of success (and having fun) before writing large cheques. And being married to own boat......not to say that it is not possible to write a cheque and "go now" (and come back!), enough do - but it's about the odds, especially on enjoying yourself.

Boats is all about choices, and living with your own choices - for some that is the key part of the attraction, for others a nightmare.

Good advice! I was also thinking the other day how often I refer back to Murphy's Law and it seems to serve me well. "if anything CAN go wrong, it will" (and at the worst possible time.) That is not at all to sound negative or pessimistic, it is the recipe for happiness aboard because when you have scrutinized everything and have overbuilt it, or prepared it, reasonably, you sleep much better at night and you trust your boat much more. When things get rough, your anxiety level is lower and you have less fatigue (which is really one of the biggest dangers at sea.) Keep everything simple, strong and safe and your enjoyment level will be higher. High tech stuff and conveniences are great, I use a few of them, but I just think it's not smart to depend too much on anything that cannot sit overnight in a bucket of seawater, or can run out of battery power. It's smart to have the basics to fall back on.