Suitable Make and Model for Around the World Voyage

[DirtyDave]

Thats right you salty ol' wise guy. Got back from Catalina Isle last night it was a nice few days on the water with some scuba diving too ....then I found myself in traffic on the 405 fwy so some carousing is in order

[roverhi]

For one thing, might want to rethink your route. Way easier to lay the Marquesas heading there straight from LA or Mexico than from Hawaii. The Marquesas are the group of Islands we enjoyed the most and would consider going a second time around. Hawaii has the advantage of having most things available that might go wrong on an ocean passage on a boat that hasn't quite been rung out. Of course, Mexico is a bit closer to West Marine in San Diego and labor is way cheaper.

Almost any boat will make the trip to Polynesia and back to Hawaii. It's the passage to Oz or Kiwi Land that's the challenge and have seen some real junkers make it there. The passage from Hawaii to the mainland can also be a challenge. I would expect a Bendy would do okay but it definitely wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list. Are you taking a crew of thousands?? Wonder why you are thinking of such a big boat? Boats in the 38'-44' range are usually more than adequate for a couple. A bigger boat typically REQUIRES a crew and that's a cruise destroyer in itself.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha,

You might try the two links after my signature concerning boats. If you want to pursue it further then type "Bluewater" in the search engine after my signature.

The reason these things are after my signature is that it is the most frequently asked question on this forum.

You will buy what you fall in love with regardless so what we recommend may not be the correct answer for you. Do some dock walking and talk to people who have actually done some bluewater cruising. Don't believe everything you hear from folks who have not actually been out there. I think that 36 feet is plenty adequate for a couple.

kind regards,

[Wand]

Originally Posted by daddle

I doesn't really matter what boat. It's the preparation of the boat and crew.

Too true; here's a proven round-the-world voyager

[DirtyDave]

Yea thanks ...not exactly what i had in mind.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by DirtyDave

All of a sudden money isnt much of an issue. My first sailboat was Naples Sabot back in '75 since then mostly coastal a couple Newport to Ensenada races. We are planning on getting more training @ water sailing">Blue Water Sailing here in Cali. and in Florida for the next year or two. Try and take every course offered and log as many miles as possible, go out when the weather is rough on purpose stuff like that till we are ready.

If money is no issue go see a naval architect (Bob Perry is a member on this forum and noted for performance cruisers) and have a custom boat designed.

[DirtyDave]

Isnt much of an object is what i think i said. I would like to cap the whole trip at a mil. a custom built cruiser/racer that could take a beating sounds enticeing however

[barnakiel]

Well,

Much depends on what you will discover for yourself these coming 2 or 3 years that you will be sailing, studying and getting ready for the offshore.

Budget issues aside, it is a good thing when one can go in a boat that is comfortable enough. No comfort = no fun. RTW is a LONG LASTING adventure - living in a tent is OK overnight, but not all year long.

One of the many things that promote comfort onboard is the size of the boat as expressed by length (mostly waterline length) and perhaps just as importantly by displacement. I will say go in a boat that is big enough to provide you with the amount of comfort you require. Small and light will not be comfortable. But big (enough) and light may work, if that's what one likes.

The other good thing is perhaps not going in a boat that is too big. The too big thing again will be expressed indirectly by your boat's size, and probably more directly by her displacement and the size of the canvas (esp. the biggest one that you will have to manhandle).

Now some of the factors will work together while others will act against each other. I mean: the bigger boat may give more comfort but being bigger it will call for more sail which in turn may at a time call for more brute force to handle the sail. If the brute force is there you are fine but if not you end up busted and bruised.

Another unclear example: a bigger and heavier boat will call for more sail area to be driven in light airs (of which there is quite a good portion if sailing RTW) while a boat of the same size but of lighter built will be more easily driven in light airs, alas, it may also be less comfortable in heavy going ... I guess you are getting my drift by now. So on and so forth ad infinitum - the choices are many and the ones you make at the beginning WILL bear on your chances of having fun while being out there.

One even more unclear example: the complexity of boat systems. Are you handy? If not, buy a new boat and get the service repair everything that breaks with the insurance paying for the fun (also - try to sail your RTW within the boat's guarantee period). If such a way impossible, then look for a VERY VERY simple boat, or else a system will break and you will have to go without and pay loads when you finally get to a point where a lame "technician" will temporarily fix it for permanent price. The repair will soon break or it will turn out that the technician left a screw driver that flopped and shorted some very difficult to fix circuits ... But if you ARE handy, then you are fine - you can fix your boat in no time, and again - the simpler the systems, the faster and more viable the fix (esp. if you are say in Tuamotous).

But no boat sails by her own virtue and your skills and preferences will be another huge contributor to what boat you will pick up for the trip. If you are of the racing pedigree you may not really appreciate a boat that is a typical cruising design - built to sail comfortably and safely, with speed still on the list, but not at the top of it. And if you have zero racing experience and your skills are of purely weekend cruising nature, a racy boat may be a bit too much to handle once condition call for active and attentive driving.

This much in the way of general blah blah blah.

In practical terms, I have seen solo cruisers to go in anything from 20+ footers to 60 footers and doing it. Alas, the big boats were all of light or UL displacement while the little shooters were pretty heavy boats. With the most common configuration of the "cruising couple" - I have seen boats ranging from 23 to say 54 feet with single offshots in each direction. However, with couples I think most people went for boats between 30+ and 40+ feet, with those in the smaller boats (below say 34) seriously limited by how much junk they could carry along. Limited, but somehow not unhappy, actually far from it.

My own boat is 26' and she was very small (not the smallest though) among the RTW boats we met (also - she was very easy to handle - we started or circumnavigation with ZERO cruising experience ...). Recently, I have sailed my colleague's 36' Jeanneau (80'ties model) and she was way too big for me to handle, I would NOT swap boats ... I have also sailed a Pearson 365 ketch (same size as the Jeanneau just completely different design) and she was very EASY, I have also delivered a 54 ft catamaran across some pretty silly winter weather (and with some help from my friends) and big bang - she was very easy to manage. Safe and comfortable and ... noisy.

I have sailed many other boats too - some good, some bad, some half way between. The newer lighter boats all very good if racy, not quite so good if designed for the weekend / inshore / charter market.

No hard rules, just too many clues that add together, or not!

Okiday. That's +/- 0.01% of a rough introduction to choosing the right boat for a RTW. Mind you that probably half of it wrong while the other half biased.

;-)
barnie

[DirtyDave]

Thanks Barnie, all the thoughts i was wrestleing with you put down in black and white. The 473 waterline to sail area and displacement puts it at a faster cruiser suitable for fun type races like we have here on the west coast and it is certainly comfortable enough for two with a ton of tools replacement parts and provisions that will be needed on an extended tour. Yes I am handy very handy been called McGuiverish if i dont have the right part i can improvise quickly to get me by untill proper repairs can be made if needed. As far as a couple handleing this size of a boat, it has been said and i agree that its not so much the boat but how its rigged and how the crew is prepared we both will be. This is not a whim. I would like to thank all of you for your input tonight. Blue Skies and Smooth Sailing to all!!!!

[savoir]

Take a look at the Hallberg-Rassy series. They may not be what you want but they do represent the quality end of the market. You could always use them as your measuring stick and scale down from there.

I wouldn't recommend a Beneteau.

[DirtyDave]

Duly noted. like I have said i haven't bought anything yet. I have to ask why you wouldn't recommend a bene. I am here to learn.

[S/V Alchemy]

I doubt I can add to this...I'm still getting fitted out.

I would mention, however, that you have to view appropriate boat size in terms of "what can the weakest crew manage solo in 30 knots at 3 AM on watch?"

My answer was "steel 41 foot pilothouse cutter". Everything, particularly the amount of crap we are going to bring, follows from that.

Hint: Not a lot of crap.

[savoir]

Beneteaus are built to a price not to a standard. Half their market is charter and the other half is family weekend racing/cruising. Both sectors are cost conscious so Beneteau are obliged to take shortcuts in order to hold their share of each market. Living on and sailing a boat for months is mighty hard on gear and you really are better off paying a little extra for the quality stuff that should last longer.

If you want to race, the 40.7 44.7 and 47.7 perform pretty well to their handicap. Each has won handicap races all over the place.

[DirtyDave]

savior, I just saw a hallberg-rassy '99 for sale. Nice boat with a pricey tag for a 13 yr old boat spiked my interest. Thanks for the tip, will check further. Maybe i will need two boats one to race/play and one to actually tour with. I was trying to get both and even with a semi custom layup with beneteau i might not get that. I will have to get in touch with a impartial experienced surveyor and go through this with him. i also was tipped to seek a certain Naval designer maybe my wants for a dual design like this might be worth investigating as well.

[DirtyDave]

Savoir that is, apologies.