Tough and safe family boat

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by EQJim

Yes very true. But between you and me (and the rest of the world on this public forum) one of the many reasons we are attracted to the cruising world is because of the lesser exposure to constant social media and tech. My kids will have a life time of tablet, VR, internet and social media in front of them, so if we can tone that down just a tiny bit and swap it for real life advantures we would be very thankful.

Be aware there will be a lot of growing pains. Also online is one of the primary ways our kid interacts with his friends when we’re off in the RV, so access is important for him to maintain those relationships.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

causation and correlation

the fact is I bought my first boat at 29 ( 33K) my generation is the last with guaranteed state backed pensions , generous health plans and elderly supports, coupled with the fact that I have experienced the greatest growth in asset prices thats been seen

Young professionals cant afford houses, They certainly cant afford boats and then they have no time to enjoy them anyway

Thats why , not that they arent interested in sailing

Folks crossing oceans in small boats are an extreme rarity , kids even less so , but its not because they are bored

Dinghy sailing around me is fantastically popular with kids , may more then when I was growing up

What?

Sure they can afford it (to sail); it's just not something they want to do.

Young professional techs I hire are making $92,000 when the walk in the door, and they are late 20 year olds.

These guys are Cyber and Computer techs.

First thing they do is to buy a house then a Mercedes, Infiniti, or Lexus.

One of my techs traded his Audi for a 2019 Shelby Mustang, and I believe they go for around $85,000 then he has his Raptor Truck also.

Where most old folks have a disconnect is the technology.

These young people I'm talking about were born in the early to mid 90's (if you can image that!) so had a cell and computer as a child.

Computer setup changes etc that would confound an older adult are child's play for these guys.

One tech majored in Business but got the required Cyber Cert Security + for fun and the exam was a breeze for him. Then he got a tech job when he realized what the pay was as compared to what an entry level MBA type job would pay.

On the other hand, my best tech a 71 years old took that exam 3X before he could pass it and had tons of online assistance studying for it

[Fore and Aft]

EQJim boat size really depends on your family dynamics. We are a close family and the idea of personal space is foreign to us. We have a 14 year old boy and 10 year old girl and happily coastal cruise on our 32 footer. Our kids just need a place for their books, clothes and a space where they can retire too so they can read in peace.
I would seriously consider cruising in our yacht. Mainly because with the extra money saved we can go to more marinas and visit more tourist attractions. Some people might disparage my liking marina's. But when you have kid's onboard, unlimited hot showers, laundry and the ability to step on and off the yacht are priceless.
Cheers

[more]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

The statement may be a bit hyperbolic, but in the essence has a lot of merits. With a family of 5 you can't expect to do half a year of boat work on the hard before leaving the dock. This kicks most boats over 20 years old off the list of reasonable candidates. That's basically anything before 2000.

I write this sitting on a 40 year old boat, but still agree it would be a brain-dead choice for a family of 5 with little experience in boat work.

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

The statement may be a bit hyperbolic, but in the essence has a lot of merits. With a family of 5 you can't expect to do half a year of boat work on the hard before leaving the dock. This kicks most boats over 20 years old off the list of reasonable candidates. That's basically anything before 2000.

I write this sitting on a 40 year old boat, but still agree it would be a brain-dead choice for a family of 5 with little experience in boat work.

how many yearss pass before you need repair.
is inside like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq7GnT6sHhY

[EQJim]

@ Fore and Aft,
Yes, this is one of the reasons we want to go charter summer of 2023 because we want our kids to also experience the marina life. Honestly it doesnt really attract us (the parents) as much but, as always, we all will have to compromise one way or another.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by more

how many yearss pass before you need repair.
is inside like this

More, on my 40 year old boat, I need to repair all the time and no, it doesn't look anything like a modern production boat. For this reason, I would never consider my boat a good choice for a family of 5 wanting to sail now.

[rotrax]

Originally Posted by more

All boat older from 2000 is garbage and for recycling.

I dont know what you are smoking but if I give you the money can you get me some?


A sweeping statement and while it might be true of some boats it is certainly not true about many older vessels I am familiar with.


I own a Hartley 32 in steel, built 1986. She is strong, seaworthy and reliable. I maintain ALL systems myself.


I also own an Island Packet SP Cruiser from 2007. She is strong, seaworthy and reliable.I maintain ALL systems myself.


My wife and I did our last training in a 100 year old boat, a Brixham Trawler. Still in use today and coded for commercial use. Now 114 years old.


It sounds to me as if you dont want to work on older boats. That is fine, but you are allowing your prejudice to be displayed. You only get to see the dogs, not the ones in good order.


Your opinion has value, but like all opinions it reflects the truism :-


Opinions are like ######## - we all have one!


It is my opinion, directly opposite to yours, that pre year 2000 boats areas good as their owners maintain them.


I retired from business in 2008. My business was restoring antique motorbikes. The last one I restored was a 1913 AJS Model B.


That looked like new and ran better than new due to improvement in materials and knowlege.


Old boats are EXACTLY the same, if the will and the money is there.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by EQJim

Dear cruisers,

This is my first post, so let me start off with a short intro.
We are a family of 5 with three boys aged 7, 5 and 1.
We are looking to start cruising for a period of time, starting end of 2026 and seeing where it will take us (and for how long). Practically this would mean at least 9 months but possibly up to 5-6 years in a warmer climate.

I have sailed when i was a teenager in the Netherlands but stopped when going to college. Two years ago i felt the itch returning (am 37 now) and i wanted to get out more, most specifically on the water. This was also due to Covid but i appreciated the fact we got to spend so much quality time on the water with our family and this got us thinking: "what if we could do this for a longer period of time?" So: we started to draw up a plan.

- Get all relevant certifications and take lessons to brush up my skills. Same goes for my wife who had previously never sailed. I started with my first certification "klein vaarbewijs 1" and passed the exam. I am now getting into "klein vaarbewijs 2" and will be getting my VHF certifications as well. Not really sure after this part but i suppose it will be something along the lines of lessons for coastal cruising and actually skippering a boat.
- Buy a boat to practice and experience the water and get some miles under our belt. Also: we want the kids to appreciate the life style as well. So: we bought a Friendship 26. Way to small to live on but enough for some nights on the water at anchor and just learning the ropes.
- Set aside money. We are fortunate enough to both have relatively good paying jobs so we are setting aside cash for our travels. This brings me to budget: As it seems now we have a budget between 300-350k EUR (350k + in USD) by end of 2026. Knowing the budget we started looking at boats and fell in love with the idea of multihulls (i know, let me finish) but after a couple of months of browsing, thinking and evaluating the hypothectical budget we have stepped away from that part of the plan.

We are now looking to buy a monohull up to whereabouts of 150k EUR in 2026. For this money we want the boat outfitted for long travels and liveaboard (but not neccesarily ocean crossings, i feel our crew has to little experience (kids and all)). So think: dinghy, solar, possibly a water maker, solid rigging and sails, a reliable diesel and 3-4 cabins (preferably 4 but this is flexible), reliable anchor and chain. The works so to speak. Main reason for the boat-buying and outfitting budget relative to the total budget is we want to have the option to prolong our travels if we want to and we appreciate the fact all boats need (costly) maintenance and upkeep.

But this brings me to our predicament: we have looked, just window shopping obviously so far, at Bavarias, some Dufour, Jeanneau in the range of 42 to 54 feet. Some things we liked, some other things we disliked. Nothing really major so we are still very open for.. everything? But we also realised we know jack **** about blue water cruising for longer periods of time. So we are turning to the internet with the question:

Wanting a safe and realiable (our two utmost priorities) family boat, what other brands (big and small) should we be looking at?

Im being honest: googling didnt really come up with good results so far. We ran into the likes of Hallberg-Rassy but also a lot of discussion about production boats. Honestly, not the most helphul so far. I read we should be looking at boats with protected rudders (non stick rudders) and maybe even steel hulls but my search is turning up quite little and our query seems to be quite niche.

Would someone mind pointing us in the right direction or sharing relevant experiences? It would be most appreciated!

Many individuals (particularly first boat buyers) go about selecting a boat without much objective criteria in a backasswards approach, i.e. they buy a boat without much thought or because it has a nice salon and then force it to perform in uses it was not designed for. If you were to build anything you would start with an objective and develop a plan with specifications.

So, first determine how you are going to use this boat what it is supposed to accomplish, the waters it will be traversing, and any other specifics you have discovered while developing your objective. With the above in mind gather a sample of boats you are considering and compare all their specifications and ratios to determine a small group of qualifying boats. You can use saildata.com or Sail Calculator Pro.

Since you will be buying a used sailboat your choice will be amongst those that are available for sale, not some ideal boat that is not available (buying a boat far from home is problematic and carries many hidden costs).

Lastly, take your time and be thorough (the devil lies in the details) as this will be a decision you will have to live with, right or wrong.

Good Luck.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Adelie]

Welcome EQJim

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

[mountaindweller]

Many have brought up looking at an ex-charter boat, which may be a great option for you to get into a newer boat at a more reasonable price point. I would look at charter companies operating within the Med. Why? The charter sailing season is quite short in the Med compared to say the BVI's. If you compare engine hours and wear/ tear on the boat, you will likely find boats with less hours for the same year boat in the Med. Moorings/SunSail, for example, has bases throughout the Med with boats only staying in the fleet for 5 years. Possibly an option to explore. Best of luck in your journey!

[EQJim]

We will be going to charter with the family summer of 2023, so maybe that is a good moment to have a look at some ex charter boats as well .

I would like to thank everyone in the topic so far for chiming in!

My wife and I are reading the "Get real get gone" book at the moment and it is very inspiring, most with regard to all the stuff you probably don't need.

Next up is: "the voyagers handbook". So until sailing season starts mid April we have loads of reading to do.

[more]

Originally Posted by EQJim

We will be going to charter with the family summer of 2023, so maybe that is a good moment to have a look at some ex charter boats as well .

I would like to thank everyone in the topic so far for chiming in!

My wife and I are reading the "Get real get gone" book at the moment and it is very inspiring, most with regard to all the stuff you probably don't need.

Next up is: "the voyagers handbook". So until sailing season starts mid April we have loads of reading to do.

try Bavaria C42,hansa 418 , oceanis 40.1 this boat is in your budget. try charter boat
this boat inside cockpit is bigger from 45-46 ft old boat. more sq meter,for less maintenance cost.

Bavaria put has set the bar high that other manufacturers have to follow.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by more

All boat older from 2000 is garbage and for recycling.

cheapest 2008 Amel 54 54ft €399,000 (US$455,710) tax not paid
Le Marin, Martinique
over budget. i living from repair boat if you come to me with boat older from 2000. i don't want talk with you. every bolt is a problem on this semi-custom boat.
Only Bavaria because simply Germany design is a good boat and easy maintenance.

Pure nonsense, we did a comfortable circumnavigation in a 1982 boat in the 2010s with few issues. The vast majority of boats we say in Pago Pago or Mauritius were pre 2000 and more often pre 1990.

[AiniA]

Perhaps we need a rule/guideline for threads like this, you cannot recommend the brand/model of boat you have. If your Podunk 41 is actually the best boat ever conceived enough other people will recommend it so it will be obvious that it is the one you want. We did our long-distance cruising on a second generation Bristol. Is it well-suited for crossing an ocean or two? Certainly. Is it the best? I can't say I haven't used other vessels. I can see what sorts of boats are being successfully cruised and can recommend brands like Amel and HR. The reality is that people cruise an enormous range of boats.

[mrcarson]

Most I know, WIth internal and external varnish used to remove the external and oil the timber, Rub down and reoil every 6 months or so. Last boat.15+ yrs 12mth usage,
still as new