Researching Blue Water Boats

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Barkingmad

.... Great day of sailing, biggest swells I've sailed in. There was no doubts when you where heading down the back of a wave. You were looking and sailing DOWN!
....

Hopefully you also got to look and sail UP as the alternative isnt pleasant unless you have gills

[Barkingmad]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Hopefully you also got to look and sail UP as the alternative isnt pleasant unless you have gills

Looking at the sky is somehow less freaky on a boat. Blue sky over the bow vs green water.

[Dogscout]

Two big dogs on a 37 ft boat. Those poor dogs. The 3 to 4 dingy rides a day are gonna suck.

[Hoodsail]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

we also realize that over all a bigger boat will be a more comfortable sail in general. So its a balance between bigger and a realistic budget. We have as a result ruled out anything under 30 feet. We have a 105 lbs Rottweiler that is coming alone, as she is only two years old .

Forget everything I mentioned earlier, as I failed to consider your 105# dog! No way your dog will make it up/down the companionway steps so you will have to carry/lift him. Hate to say it but have you considered a catamaran? Couldnt find your budget so uncertain if this is realistic option. thnks

[nortonscove]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

Thank you for you genuine thoughtful response. It is people like you that make the sailing community the best it can be. Although...NOT ! quite as helpful as Goboatingnow, letting me know that all saltwater is Blue! That is a game changer for me.

May have to rethink my plans after learning all Saltwater is Blue! Have to now consider boats that can only sail in blue water ! I know this it not listed on sailboatdata.com., so back to the drawing board.

All joking aside , I have been on sailboatdata.com, but still trying to learn all the abbreviations and terms listed. Thank you for what you pointed out!

Actually on the really nasty days round here it appears to be grey.

[nortonscove]

I would ask the poster how much time they have spent simply watching an angry Ocean from the safety of the land. Many people get caught up in videos and magazine photo shoots but have never stood out at night and heard the roar of the ocean. It can be overwhelming.

Living in a camper is one thing but getting caught in a place where just parking isn't an option is a whole other world. I've seen four storms in about the last six weeks where winds have exceeded 130kph. I watch from my house as the waves wash over islands that I row past for fun on the nice days.

These are the first things you should consider and not what boat you want but rather do you really want one at all. My son's girlfriend is from Manitoba and thought she knew what a storm was until she came to the ocean.

[Lady Captin]

Thanks to all that replied. Now to attempt to answer some questions, as best we can at this point. Realizing that so much can and will probably change as we learn and grow.

The plan as it stands now subject to change . Buy a boat in Ontario, or US have the boat moved to Ontario, if bought in US. You make a very good point about the East Coast , and we are giving that more thought, Thank you !

Plan at the current moment - Great Lakes-- Erie Canal- ICW_ Florida - Caribbean_ Panama- Pacific Ocean. One of the reasons for this, is that we feel that this plan would allow us to truly learn our Boat and build our confidence in our boat and ourselves.

We could buy on East Coast, but would have to do a little more serious sailing out of the gate so to speak. That is our very basic plan at this point with the little knowledge we have. It may not seem like the best plan, but we have to start somewhere.

Clearly as many know, when it comes time to buying a Boat, the Boat may have more say in the plan than we intended.

On that note , does anyone have a some simple formula , that would give a person an idea of the cost of moving say a 32-36 foot boat from say Florida to Ontario across land. Could you do it for 5,000 Canadian, or would it be closer to 10,000. Just wondering !

Hope this helps ?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

On that note , does anyone have a some simple formula , that would give a person an idea of the cost of moving say a 32-36 foot boat from say Florida to Ontario across land. Could you do it for 5,000 Canadian, or would it be closer to 10,000. Just wondering !

When I priced out trucking my boat from Thunder Bay to Vancouver back in 2014 the price came in around $12,000. This was for a 37-foot, 12' beam boat. I assume the price is higher now.

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

On that note , does anyone have a some simple formula , that would give a person an idea of the cost of moving say a 32-36 foot boat from say Florida to Ontario across land. Could you do it for 5,000 Canadian, or would it be closer to 10,000. Just wondering !

Florida to Ontario I think will fall more like $15,000. I was looking at trucking a 42 foot sailboat from Florida to the Chesapeake two years ago and I was getting quotes around $18k. That's a bigger boat, and there's a bit more to it, but I'm guessing you would be somewhere in the $15k ballpark. Maybe a smaller boat is far less than I imagine... Bear in mind as soon as you go over 8.5' (I think) you have to have oversize permits for every state you go through. So if you are getting a boat that is under that in width, price may drop notably.

dj

p.s. Just looked up the Pearson 30, it's over 8.5 feet wide. If you have to get oversized permits for all states from Florida to Ontario, I think that $15k is low...

[Lady Captin]

So will try to keep this short and to the point.
This should be fun and entertaining and get the juices flowing, lol.

Please feel to toss in your thoughts freely.

I would love a list of 32- 34 boats that ....YOU.... would feel as Blue water worthy.
By Blue Water, I am not referring to the water color , more along the lines that you feel the boat in question is built to a degree that it would protect a less experienced sailor to a very small degree.

I am thinking along the lines of the Westsail 32 . There is little debate that this boat is a tank on the water. I realizes that its a slow boat, and has it limitations. I am more curious of a 32-34 boat that you feel could measure up to what the Westsail offers ?

I want to use this boat as the measure, only because it has a reputation that appeals to my wife and I ! we aren't in a hurry to get there, we just want to feel as safe as possible in the boat we sail, at least at this point.

The only boats I want ruled out are those that have unprotected rudders, for personal reasons. At the least a decent skeg is required as far as my question in this case is concerned.

Thank you.

Hope this question makes sense ?

[Barkingmad]

A Catalina 27 has circumnavigated.
I think the youngest woman to go around the world was in a Contessa 26.
I think the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic was 6 feet.
The list keeps going.

Don't buy a boat based on the illusion of safety, YOU provide the safety NOT the boat. It makes none of the decisions.
There are few truely bad boats, plenty of bad sailors though!

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

So will try to keep this short and to the point.
This should be fun and entertaining and get the juices flowing, lol.

Please feel to toss in your thoughts freely.

I would love a list of 32- 34 boats that ....YOU.... would feel as Blue water worthy.
By Blue Water, I am not referring to the water color , more along the lines that you feel the boat in question is built to a degree that it would protect a less experienced sailor to a very small degree.

I am thinking along the lines of the Westsail 32 . There is little debate that this boat is a tank on the water. I realizes that its a slow boat, and has it limitations. I am more curious of a 32-34 boat that you feel could measure up to what the Westsail offers ?

I want to use this boat as the measure, only because it has a reputation that appeals to my wife and I ! we aren't in a hurry to get there, we just want to feel as safe as possible in the boat we sail, at least at this point.

The only boats I want ruled out are those that have unprotected rudders, for personal reasons. At the least a decent skeg is required as far as my question in this case is concerned.

Thank you.

Hope this question makes sense ?

I think I read somewhere up above that you have two BIG dogs? One a 105#? If so and you are planning to take them with you forget anything below 40 feet.

If you care for your dogs, don't try this on a small boat. they will be miserable. I love dogs but would never take one on long passages. Dogs will survive but they are not happy

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Barkingmad

A Catalina 27 has circumnavigated.
I think the youngest woman to go around the world was in a Contessa 26.
I think the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic was 6 feet.
The list keeps going.

Don't buy a boat based on the illusion of safety, YOU provide the safety NOT the boat. It makes none of the decisions.
There are few truely bad boats, plenty of bad sailors though!

100% correct , its a newbie fallacy that thinks the design will save him from himself

[double u]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

...I am thinking along the lines of the Westsail 32 . ...
The only boats I want ruled out are those that have unprotected rudders, for personal reasons. At the least a decent skeg is required...

as I wrote in my post earlier:

fixations like that show that you should "bluewater" yourself some more. Look at the boats at typical "bluewater crossroads": no Westsails there (eveen 30 years ago there were few...) & very few "protected rudders (in a really serious crash no skeg will survive - & then neither will the boat.)

[double u]

Originally Posted by nortonscove

I would ask the poster how much time they have spent simply watching an angry Ocean from the safety of the land. Many people get caught up in videos and magazine photo shoots but have never stood out at night and heard the roar of the ocean. It can be overwhelming.

Living in a camper is one thing but getting caught in a place where just parking isn't an option is a whole other world. I've seen four storms in about the last six weeks where winds have exceeded 130kph. I watch from my house as the waves wash over islands that I row past for fun on the nice days.

These are the first things you should consider and not what boat you want but rather do you really want one at all. My son's girlfriend is from Manitoba and thought she knew what a storm was until she came to the ocean.

(a little bible-thumping is in order, because this quote applied to so many "I-want-to-sail-bluewater" "fans"
Mt. 22: 14: " “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”