I'm green and I got ?s

[Fog Bank]

Originally Posted by lesterbutch

I understand what your saying but where I come from we were allways taught that if you learn on the boat your going to sail, then you ultimately become one with the boat and you can virtually sail it in your sleep. It appeared to have worked for me.

For some individuals, that does indeed work. For others, not so much. In all like all things, your mileage may vary.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Fog Bank

Starting with a blue water boat seems, in my eyes, to be putting the cart before the horse. Instead of rushing into buying a serious boat, buy something smaller. Get a Cal 20 and actually learn the art of sailing. You'll learn a lot, and will be able to sell your learner with ease. Crawl before you walk. Just my thoughts...

Minor changes in sail shape, etc make big differences on little boats- not so much on big boats. Little boat sailors can sail big boats, not necessarily the other way around though.

A 1/5 knot difference doesn't mean much on a booze cruise, but it will sailing from Galapagos to Marquesas. As a matter of fact, it makes about a day difference.

Go ahead and buy the bluewater boat of your dreams. And buy a used Laser, then sail the Laser- you will learn MUCH faster.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by ridgebackguy

But it is what it is, money is a concern and so is my comfort, so I probably will not be going the smaller rout to begin.

Okay, re-read this a couple of times since my first answer but nope, still makes no sense to me.

"My budget is limited, so I want a big and expensive boat to buy and maintain.
I also want all the bells and whistles so I can have all the comforts of home".

Sorry, but ....

See if you could possibly make due with something like a Wauquiez Centurion 36, or a Wauquiez Pretorien 35.
Plenty of room for a couple so no problem for a single guy/gal; very well suited for cruising around the world (except for where there's ice. They're plastic so liquid water only).

I'd go smaller, but then again, I don't need a lot of stuff and gadgets to be happy and comfy

If those are above budget, look at the smaller Wauquiez boats - the Centurion 32 will keep you safe and comfy on an ocean crossing as well.

Edit: if those are all above budget (Waquiez boats aren't the cheapest option), look for one with a few osmosis blisters. At least here in the Netherlands, people act like the boat will delaminate within minutes and the boats become damn near impossible to sell.
Spent a couple of days cleaning and repairing and you have an amazing blue water cruiser for a very low price.

[hamburking]

Whitby 42
Niagara 42
Pearson 422

Enjoy.

[YachtBroker]

Honestly, if you are looking for a 40+ year old 45-50' something for $60K USD as the link you sent suggested and that is your budget, you're just buying a lot of work for a little bit of money. Not to say that Huisman 47 you sent is not a good boat or needs anything but Price usually reflects condition in the boat world. Also that boat has a 40hp diesel which was common back then. That boat today would have a 60-75hp diesel in it. It also has 3800 hours. Not super high but high. I would highly suggest looking at some 35-45's and see if you can live with them. A modern (post 1992 or so) sailboat in the 35-45' range are pretty roomy and can literally have the room of a 1970's 50 footer.

Also you have not taken into account the maintenance (bottom jobs are by the foot as are slips) in a boat of this size. As mentioned in several threads here, everything goes up in price as it goes up in size.

While everyone should establish a budget to stay in, I'd look at all sizes that you can live with in that budget, newer and older. And also take into account you will spend anywhere from 10-20% of the purchase price probably fixing stuff in the first year. The older the boat the more to fix. There are some really good older boats out there that will take you anywhere, but I'd try to stay more in the 80s and beyond as the boats were just generally bigger and better built.

[Greenhand]

What comforts do you expect for that size boat? Are you holding house parties? Why so many berths but only a two burner stove? Why so many berths and only one head?

The boat you have chosen indicates that it was designed for racing, but the interior has been rebuilt. How much weight was added? How does that affect performance?

[JPA Cate]

imho, the OP needs to get out sailing, coastally, and experience the realities of what he thinks he's dreaming of. That experience will then help with his choice of vessel.

The smaller and simpler the yacht he eventually chooses, the more time he'll have for play. Let the OP go to a boatyard and look at the size of the bottoms he'll be sanding at haulout time. Let him consider the costs to maintain the larger boat versus the smaller ones.

Start small, sturdy, and simple. You can always move up, but in terms of bang for your buck, remember that should you choose a pocket cruiser, you'll still be enjoying the same views as the guys in the megayachts, have access to the same exploration.

Ann

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

imho, the OP needs to get out sailing, coastally, and experience the realities of what he thinks he's dreaming of. That experience will then help with his choice of vessel.

Excellent advice.

The ocean looks very different from an armchair than it does from the cockpit.

[Mithril Bham]

Go to a yacht club or sailing club and get a spot as crew racing. Find a crew spot on cruise to Hawaii. We used to sell spots on 50ft boat to Hawaii and back. Learn from someone experienced first.

[Ian Johnstone]

G'day,

I reckon the first thing as you are evidently comfortable being at sea is to ensure you have a seaworthy vessel. We circumnavigated in the late 70's with no electronics but with a seaworthy boat. Again a couple of years back with everything that was possible to have on a 48ft Cat.

The enjoyment was the same and the places visited were the same (roughly) but it all came down to the fact that you do not need all the bells and whistles. Those that do not sail until everything is perfect are in most cases fooling themselves. We met people out there on 50ft wonder cats and also on 40 year old 28ft sloops with bugger all in the way of electronics.

The point is you can sail your dream on whatever you choose is comfortable and dry, seaworthy and capable of being sailed by yourself or crewed if you wish. Do not worry about seamanship. It is a only something you can gain from experience. Not a course. Sailing is relatively easy. Pull the sails up and go where the wind allows you to go or you will need big diesel tanks.

Do not be scared by navigation and weather. Learn to use your senses and learn what clouds mean. GPS is a wonderfull thing if their is power to make it work. Make sure you have a sextant and can do at the very least sun-run-sun sights and have the correct charts. We met people who would not go into an anchorage if they did not have charts or electronic charts. Learn how to stand off an entrance and judge it. Use common sense and remember that you have a brain.

Kep a good log book of conditions and positions with weather details every hour. It soon becomes a mine of information and will teach you how to sail in all conditions by becoming your prime reference in the future.

But most importantly have fun. If it is not fun and you cannot learn it is probably not your dream. Live it and live it well.

[Juho]

Some random notes from a fellow sailor (not super experienced either).

1) It is a good approach to buy a boat that has sailed the oceans, if you plan to do the same. For example the linked Huisman probably has lots of ocean sailing related stuff already installed, and the seller at leas says that it is ready to go. I don't know much about this boat, but I hope and assume it is a solid cruiser style boat, designed to survive the open seas.

2) You should make sure that the boat has all the equipment you need to sail it singlehanded. That may include autopilot (a must), bow thruster, small enough sails or powerful enough winches, furling sails (jib and/or main), radar and/or AIS (to alert you even when you are asleep), all the important lines in the cockpit, maybe even a remote windlass. You don't need all of them but they all help.

3) I recommend hiring a professional surveyor to check the boat with you (money well spent if the surveyor is a good one). And I recommend you to go for a test sail to see if you can handle the sails alone (also in bad weather) etc.

4) In addition to the required $60,000 (or maybe less), I hope you have the same amount of extra money to fix and upgrade what you need to, and to prepare for life at sea.

5) 47' is already a big one. You can start with a much smaller boat too. Depends on what you really want and what you can really afford (and what size is ok for singlehanded sailing).

6) You are already familiar with the sea. Sailing is not difficult. Just a few more additional things to learn. It depends much on your personality what route is the best. If you are by nature very careful, don't take risks, eager to learn by reading a lot, you can just buy a boat and start sailing with small steps. For many people taking some courses and learning under the guidance of some experienced sailors, or maybe as a crew in some other boat works better. Or maybe follow both lines. Do you have a tendency to rush forward, first crash your new toys and think only later, or the other way around?

7) You should also have interest to learn and be able to maintain and fix all the technical stuff in your boat. You will not be spoiled like in the tugs .

Good luck. Just pick the path that works best for you.

[Bill Seal]

Male sure you have EASY access to all parts of the engine space. (Or have a really well trained spider monkey.)
Don't ask me how I know.

[dagranger]

AQ good source for cruising info is Nigel Calder has a good cruising book if you google you will find it..cal 40 is a great boat Hans Christian 38 or 43 is a marvelous boat for cruising more sea kindly and built like a brick ----house..have sailed both but for long distance the 43 is far superior Don inFriday Harbor

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mango51.

[exMaggieDrum]

Good luck with your journey. With your background and aptitude on boats you should be able to do it if anyone can. I don't think (emphatically) that you need to start with a small boat and move up. That will work but it will cost you more overall, IMHO, than just going with a boat more for what you want to do - bluewater sailing.

I have found this website to be a good read for what some people regard as good qualities for ocean going boats: Sailboat Reviews of Offshore Cruising Yachts : Bluewaterboats.org It is quite a bit out of date and leans more to the older, but still popular with some, full or modified full keel boats. It does not include many more modern designs. But it does have extensive discussion about what some view as essentials in selecting a sound vessel, and why.

I don't have a link or exact reference but there are articles about which boats solo sailors have used to do long passages safely. Some of these were for races. I would not seek out the "fastest" boat for your journey, at least, I would not choose one boat, or type of boat, over another purely because it was faster.

A book I really like, more oriented to couples possibly but sound in its discussion of important qualities of an offshore boat, is "The Voyager's Handbook, 2nd Ed" by Beth Leonard. Highly recommended. There are others too.

Good luck.