New Member from Western Australia

[zerubb]

Hi

I am a new member and also new to ocean cruising. I have had a variety of boats over the years, both sail and power, but my sea time has to this point been restricted to sheltered waters. I have an awful lot to learn and unfortunately long past the spring of my youth, in fact my winter is fast approaching. Now for more years than I care to remember I have held a dream to cross at least one ocean in my own boat. It is only now that circumstances allow me to hopefully realise this dream. My kids think I am crazy, my friends probably think the same, but are too polite to say so! But the only thing I fear about growing old is my capacity to dream!

In order to realise this dream I have decided upon a plan of attack. I am currently in the very early stages of studying for a yacht-master off shore qualification and I hope to get some additional offshore sea time either as crew or on one of the offshore ocean courses I have seen advertised on the web. I do not own a boat at the moment and don’t intend buying one until I am a bit clearer in my thinking with regard to size, style etc. My medium (two year) plan is to buy a boat in the USA, hopefully find a crew and sail back to Australia. It is hoped this boat will be my home for the foreseeable future, so in this case size is important. It is also important that I can handle this boat on my own, so I am totally unsure as to optimum size. I know with modern reefing systems, including in-boom reefing, reducing sail can be relatively easy but in-boom systems are expensive and I am not sure as to their suitability for sustained offshore work. My biggest concern is when it comes to docking, I have always felt the bigger the boat the bigger the problem very close to land, this can only be compounded when single handing!

I prefer moderate to heavy displacement, they are more pleasing to my eye and the load carrying capacity is a big plus. My thinking at the moment is a minimum of 30ft up to possibly 36ft, so I guess this means Baba/Tashiba, Mason, Cape Dory etc. I also like the look of the Aloha 32’ and some of the Ericson and Endeavours, but I am not sure of the suitability of these last three for crossing oceans. I know some people have crossed the Pacific in little more then bath tubs with sails, but I want a boat I can have confidence in and one that will at least understand if occasionally I do something stupid!. My budget would be around US$75k for the boat and about US$30k in reserve to prepare her for cruising. Any thoughts and/or ideas regarding any of my plans, size/type of boat etc would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the length of this post.

[Talbot]

welcome to the forum,

If that is a crazy dream then this is the madhouse with lots of us infected.

Personally I dont think your choice has enough hulls - but that is a personal opinion not held by all (cue lars)

I am sure you have already considered this, but just in case, the Australian customs will take the shirt off your back on arrival back home!

[zerubb]

Thanks for having me aboard. I can’t seem to get my head around a sailing boat not leaning when bashing to windward, apart from which the guys who own the marinas, around my home port, charge a substantial premium for multi hulls.

Australian Customs charge 10% GST of the value (purchase price) of the boat plus costs of getting to Oz plus 5% import duty. Because of Australia’s free trade agreement with the US, they waive the duty, if I can prove the boat was built entirely in the US.

How good a deal I get all depends on the exchange rate, at the moment the Aussie dollar is doing ok and boats in the US are good value compared with local. I guess the two main reasons for going down the path I am planning is that sailing west to east makes a lot of sense plus the fact I like a lot of the American conservatively designed boats, Perry, Crealock etc.

I see you are from Pompey, would you believe this desire of mine to cross oceans was birthed in Christchurch about 25 years ago. Small world.

Good Sailing

Oh by the way, can we have our ashes back please?

[CaptainK]

Welcome aboard zerubb.

If you're looking for answers to some. Or maybe all of your answers. This forum, is the right place for you to explore around in!!

And may your quest reveal to you, the boat. Either a mono or multi hull. And that you will one day be sailing around on her? Good luck in your quest!!

[Steve Kidson]

Zerubb,

Welcome to the board from another Aussie; I'm just the other side of the island in Sydney.

Good luck in your search for a suitable boat for your travels. In my opinon, the deciding factors should be (in no specific order of importance)
1. Safety
2. Comfort
3. Affordability
4. Ease of sailing short or single handed.

Good luck and may fair winds find you

Steve

[zerubb]

Hi Steve
Good to hear from a fellow Aussie. Thanks for your advice, I would change the order slightly to read: 1,4,3,2 reason being I think ease of handling helps in the safety of the ship and unless the boat, outfitting and upkeep are affordable the dream can become a nightmare.
On annother issue, do you know anything about the Swanson 28'? Reason I ask, is that it seems to me that one of the options open to me is to buy a short term boat with a view to getting as much hands on experience as I can, before taking the big plunge, and the Swanson seems to fit the bill. This would probably mean shopping in your part of the world, as we don't see too many on the West coast. Thanks again for your advice.

[swagman]

Hi Zerubb,
Welcome also from a fellow West Ozzie albeit now back in Europe for past eight years.
Do you belong to a local sailing club and if so - what one?
Cheers
JOHN

[zerubb]

Hi John
Good to hear from you. No I don't belong to a yacht club, I don't own a boat at the moment. I actally live in Dawesville (just south of Mandurah) so practically speaking the only yacht club available to me would be Mandurah Offshore. Unfortunately this club tends to cater more for 'stink tanks' and offshore fishing.

[swagman]

Hello Back,
I can recall us racing down to Dawesville on the official opening day - seems a long time ago now. There used to be two clubs at Mandurah - one operating from the pub on the north side of the bar - and a sailing club operating on the coastal south side. Can't recall the name of the guy who was Commodore there then - he and his wife had a Swarbrick 9.7 - and lived in the canals just inside the Mandurah entrance.

You might also consider Bunbury - they used to run a good club also.

Anyway - good luck with your search for a cruiser - and enjoy your planned trip.

JOHN

[Talbot]

I actally live in Dawesville (just south of Mandurah)

Thats the area (roughly) than we will probably locate in a few years time so would welcome any comments

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by zerubb

Oh by the way, can we have our ashes back please?

No.

p.s. when I tried to just answer 'no' I was told my answer was too short. Political correctness gone mad! g'day mate.

[Weyalan]

Welcome aboard Zerubb (Sorry, us Tasmanians are always a little slow on the uptake...actually, I'm from Scotland, but Hobart has been "home" for about a decade).

Anyway, big kudos on taking the decision to try to live your dream, regardless of age. I decided to do a similar thing to you, and bought my first boat nearly 6 months ago. Good luck with your search for "the right boat". There is no formula - you just have to look at a lot of boats until you find the one that is right for you. Personally, I wouldn't consider trans-oceanic in anything smaller than about 36', but that's me...and it is important that you make your own choices.

[BC Mike]

I am not an Aussie, never been there, everyone in my immeadiate family has but not me. Nephew Danny is in Melbourne keeping the breweries busy. My late father Edward's ashes are springkled in the Blue Mountains area. I have been sailing on a boat called Aussie Rules, whatever that means. It is a Laser 28. Your game plan makes sense to me, but few listen to me. I have been to Scotland.
Michael

[Weyalan]

"Aussie Rules" is an abbreviation for "Australian Rules Football"; which is a bizzare game that they play over here that is basically a cross between rugby, football, and an awl in brawl...it is actually quite fun to watch, plenty of fisticuffs, etc, and who cares what the score is....

[CaptainK]

Yeah!!!

Punch punch. Kick kick!!