Yacht Noobie looking for advice!

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

" The Parallax is only happy if left to her anorexic tendencies. Heavily laden as she will be for the trip to the Caribbean, she will be if not slow, laboured." Subsititute Indonesia for the Caribbean and there you have it.

I think this was referring to a trip from mainland USA to the Caribbean. Distances to and around Indo are relatively short with abundant places to stop and resupply. It is a lifestyle choice. Having lots of stuff maybe good for some folks but others are quite happy to take a minimalist approach.

[Cpt Mark]

Looking at ads and trying to make a buying decision is silly. Happens with noobs all the time. You need to get onboard as many different boats as you can and start learning about what works/doesn't work for you.

Off the top for me. Galley down, immediate disqualifier. Saildrives. No effing way. Battery placement. Nope. Look at that long line of batteries you can't easily access or service. Especially if they are lead acid and need water.

Head/shower on top? Never seen that but in regards to earlier comment about cabin height (he liked galley down as it is less windage on top) you're going to have similar windage with this one.

Galley down. Great if you or your guests want to be seasick and all alone while prepping meals. No, not everyone gets seasick but a lot do in that config.

Headroom. My #1 requirement in all boats I have owned is that I can stand up anywhere inside/outside the boat. If you're not physically comfortable you will not enjoy it as much.

Bridge slap. That boat is going to be loud. During the day annoying. Trying to sleep on passage, nope.

"You should get a 40 footer". I can't stand it when people say dumb things like this. If the boat is well designed and thought out for it's intended purpose a smaller boat is absolutely fine. Manufacturers build boats bigger all the time. Bigger is better. Right? They have to have a new model. A bigger boat by 5 feet costs a lot more to to buy,own, operate than a smaller boat. Back in the 70's the AVERAGE size cruising boat for circumnavigation for a family of 4 was....27 feet. Look at the Flicka 20. Many have gone around the world and they were designed beautifully for that.

I intentionally bought a sub 40 foot cat. I singlehand might have 2 or 3 people on occasion. I fit into a standard marina slip. I can be hauled out by most any travel lift in the world. When the sh*t hits the fan I have smaller sails to deal with etc.

1 thing I did like about that boat was the deck clearance. Compared to a gemini that you have to do acrobatics to move around the standing rigging and is already to narrow.

Look at the boats not in the view of sunset, anchor drink in hand. Look at them I'm in a big storm, 15-20 foot seas, 30-40 knots of wind, rain and something major just failed. Autopilot, engine. Speaking of engines. Imagine trying to bleed that engine or service that engine at sea? Access is everything.

I bought an Island Packet, Packet Cat 35. Is it perfect? Of course not. But it ticks more than enough boxes to make me happy. Engine access is a dream. No trampoline. That area is a huge garage, Has a 3rd hull part of the way from bow to about 1/3 the way aft. This hull splits the bow slap wave for a quieter ride and surprisingly less of a cat ride and more like a mono hull ride.

[xbillaroo]

We have been doing ocean passages since 1986. First time around the world was in a monohull this time we are sailing around the world in multihull. We much prefer the multihull but we are a lightwave 45’ with good bridge deck clearance, robust, plenty of protection. My sincere recommendation to you is buy a monohull with your budget. For $200k you will get a much more suitable platform for travelling the world . Catamarans are expensive to get one suitable for sailing the world ,without many compromises.

[pragmatist]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

I know you are new to this but it would still be worth you doing your own preliminary survey. There are lots of resources available that explain the basics. I picked one at random. Marine Survey 101, pre-survey inspection You will be able to identify any glaring faults that would be deal breakers before committing to a professional survey.

That's a brilliant web link - I shall keep it to hand. Thanks.


The OP might also find https://multihulldynamics.com/ useful. It is a paid site but only about £10 a year. We have used it to compare lots of different catamarans and found some surprising results. In terms of your prospective new boat it might be of interest.

[pragmatist]

We bought our current cat about 4 years ago and found it difficult to decide what we wanted. So we did 2 things - firstly we created a list of requirements divided into essential, desirable and "if we were rich enough". Then we entered each boat into a spreadsheet and, for each of those items, added a figure for any addition/update required. It was much easier to see that a boat which looked in good condition actually might be poorer value than another because, for example, the standing rigging needed replacing.


The other thing we found to be aware of was water ingress into the deck and/or hull where the boat was made of sandwich. One boat we had hoped to buy would have cost about £15,000 to repair. Dips in the deck and, in particular, put a straight edge across the foot of the mast can help detect this. Good luck with your plans !

[VIPJets]

Like any large purchase, I would recommend going with a seasoned broker with a good reputation, if planning on purchasing a pre-owned boat, and a good mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, or with a reputable factory for a new boat. I just bought a 58 foot Sloop brand new, but, as with most new boats, there was about 2 months of a break-in period which apparently is not uncommon... in 2 years, I have put 10000 miles and one Atlantic crossing on this boat. ... It all depends what level of luxury you want or need ...before venturing too far into the blue water, I would recommend hiring a knowledgeable captain for at least a week of sea trials until you get a good feel of the boat ... .likewise, I would recommend hiring a seasoned captain (e.g. RYA Yachmaster 'Ocean') with at least a one ocean crossing under his belt before you venture out on your own.
Insurance may require this anyway . But the bottom line is what level of luxury do you want and what budget do you have for annual maintenance and care which can run easily over $20000 annually?
Anyway my two cents...

QUOTE=yachtnoob;3917517]Hi all! I have dreamt of buying a yacht to sail around the world for years now and I think I finally have enough saved. I would love to buy a Multihull and I found the following in Australia and would love your opinion if you have a spare minute to look!

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/runa...ir-/1319947555

My friend advised me for blue water sailing 40ft would normally be ideal but what are your thoughts on the above? Would something like this be okay to sail all around Australia and to indonesia etc? Could I potentially go further? The plan would be to work on my skills up and down the coast of Australia before venturing further.

Thanks so much for your time.[/QUOTE]