Practical dream boat?

shemandr · Oct 11, 2016

Thank you Jackdaw for an interesting question! I'm between boats and trying to work out that exact question - complicated by my impending retirement and relocation. So far no Tongan women involved but ... let's stick to sailing. It's going to have to be a downsizing thing.
First my criteria: 1) Trailerable at least for taking away from boatyard for off season. Sustainable. 2) Probably fractional rig. Easy for old farts to tack. 3) Real head. 4) Performance. Really don't want to sail a dog. Not fun. 5) Over night capable - but not two week cruise capable. 6) Wednesday night competitive.
I hate to say it but the Alerion Express 28 fits most of this criteria.
I'd love to hear other alternatives.

shemandr · Oct 11, 2016

Davidasailor26 said:
So I'll take a new angle on the question - two new boats instead of one. One cruising focused for weekend trips - The new Beneteau 38.1 impressed me at the show for that purpose. And one more serious racer - maybe something like a J88.

No, you only get one boat. That was the deal.

capta · Oct 11, 2016

I think if I could do my 'last boat' purchase again, I would go back to a Jim Brown Searunner 37'.
Probably the best cruising design I've ever sailed or seen and they are easy to sail and efficient. Absolutely the most miles for the money of any boat I've sailed, maintenance wise, by probably a factor of 4.
Fuel costs were negligible, most often being able to sail when everyone else was motoring.
With a cutter rig and the mast in the cockpit (long before roller reefing/furling) and the wheel on the mast, all sheets and halyards were within reach from the wheel.
Several times I was able to make an anchorage before sundown because she could easily do 50 miles in 4 hours in a good breeze.
With 22.5' of beam, no pole was necessary to fly a chute and though the 37 only weighs 5 tons it offers three queen size berths. The vane gear was designed as an integral part of the boat and operated faultlessly from 6 to 60 knots of wind. I'm sure it would have done fine above 60 knots as well, but at some point I've got to earn my pay and do something, when the situation gets a tad dicey.
This is no roomaran, but a fine sailing vessel capable of beating out of a tropical cyclone or 1200 miles up the Red Sea, never mind slipping across an ocean with the trade winds behind her.
Truly a 'stable platform from which to set one's sails'.

Davidasailor26 · Oct 11, 2016

shemandr said:
No, you only get one boat. That was the deal.

Alright, alright. If we're going to stick to the rules I'll go with a Beneteau First 35. Big enough to comfortably cruise for a couple of days, but small enough to be manageable for a small crew. Still decent performance for racing, at least until you load it up with all the cruising stuff. The shoal draft at 5'11" and only having 53 gallons of water would be the necessary compromises.

Gene Neill · Oct 11, 2016

I think we just about have our dream boat (Albin Vega 27) ... but a below-decks shower and some more room would be nice.

So ... Pacific Seacraft 34.

Stu Jackson · Oct 11, 2016

I just sailed our boat from San Francisco to Vancouver Island. Gimme a new set of sails and I'll be good for the next 18 years.

She's a "keeper."!!!

Or a Catalina 42, aft galley, forward stateroom.

The Garbone · Oct 12, 2016

The one I have..

Some marinas around us have a 30 foot minimum anything shorter than 30 and your giving away money over the years.

Anonymous 121765 · Oct 12, 2016

Since we are all dreaming, My dream would be a Perini Navi.
Hands down! Check em out:

http://www.perininavi.it/en/fleet/perini-navi-sailing-yacths-31/navigation

CR

JohnVTX · Oct 12, 2016

I will stick with my Catalina 30. Perfect for single handing on a lake

Justin_NSA · Oct 12, 2016

Ditto. I'll stick with my Hunter 30T. It's perfect for the sailing and weekend stays we do. I just figure I need to spend about $1k to get it in perfect shape. It's at the top of what I personally consider affordable to enjoy the sport.

Gunni · Oct 12, 2016

Davidasailor26 said:
So I'll take a new angle on the question - two new boats instead of one.

Nothing new to that angle - two boats like two spouses is a recipe for trouble. Unless you are JD Rockefeller you gotta settle on one.

Kermit · Oct 12, 2016

Jackdaw said:
Interesting replies so far!

I chose the criteria to limit it to one realistic boat; not one that took an army to sail or that a new set of sails would be a 2nd mortgage for the most of us. And one boat means having to look hard at how we really sail, and not just in our fantasies. Allow yourself two boats (been there done that) and the whole thing changes.

What was interesting was how many would choose their current boat. That fits in many ways; if it works it works. My First 260 is in many ways an ideal boat for me... quick, lifting keel, designed from the ground up to solo sail. So I get that.

But I would not choose it given free choice, Sailboat design has changed SO MUCH in the last 30+ years. And so has construction techniques. So I'd find a modern version of it. Faster, lighter. better.

So current:

Dream boat: Pogo 30.
Same designer (Conq-Finot), lifting keel, very fast but stable. Designed to solo AND cross oceans. Sail cost reasonable, and I could keep her at Minnetonka, or Lake Superior, or on the Med. Day-sails 6 or sleeps 2. Perfect/

I'm keeping my current dreamboat. For reasons already stated.

weinie · Oct 12, 2016

Jackdaw said:
Interesting replies so far!

I chose the criteria to limit it to one realistic boat; not one that took an army to sail or that a new set of sails would be a 2nd mortgage for the most of us. And one boat means having to look hard at how we really sail, and not just in our fantasies. Allow yourself two boats (been there done that) and the whole thing changes.

What was interesting was how many would choose their current boat. That fits in many ways; if it works it works. My First 260 is in many ways an ideal boat for me... quick, lifting keel, designed from the ground up to solo sail. So I get that.

But I would not choose it given free choice, Sailboat design has changed SO MUCH in the last 30+ years. And so has construction techniques. So I'd find a modern version of it. Faster, lighter. better.

So current:

Dream boat: Pogo 30.
Same designer (Conq-Finot), lifting keel, very fast but stable. Designed to solo AND cross oceans. Sail cost reasonable, and I could keep her at Minnetonka, or Lake Superior, or on the Med. Day-sails 6 or sleeps 2. Perfect/

Had a feeling you were going with the pogo!
I would so love to get on one of those downwind in a breeze one day.
My reservation with them is that winches are all the way up on the coach roof making tacking single handed kinda a bit of a chore. Ditto with the mainsheet.

Also, as you said 'practical'... I went with the j88 as there is a large fleet locally as well as an authorized dealer nearby so support and parts is readily available...not to mention OD racing.

Gunni · Oct 12, 2016

Living around a bunch of competition-crazied sailboat racers I would observe that if you are willing to step back a notch on your performance expectations and forgoe racing sails, expensive aramid rope, and all the other high-end gear that keep the Harkens in high style you can get a lot of sailboat excitement at a very affordable and sustainable cost.

Bosman · Oct 12, 2016

I am not surprised in Jackdaw's choice. If I haven't seen the reply, I was voting for (including the Pogo 30)
a) Sapphire 27

b) Seascape 27

Pogo 30 fall right in the same category of hand-laid adrenaline infused boats. Good choice for your style of sailing!

centerline · Oct 12, 2016

so far, no manufacture makes/outfits a boat like the one I would consider my "perfect boat", so like others have said, my "perfect" boat would have to be the one I currently own, a Cal 34-III. it has already been well set up and rigged for offshore work/passages. it was originally built as a solid boat, and still is.....
EXCEPT, I would like to have it modified. professionally lengthend 2.5 ft overall (no change in beam), and the cabin enclosing bulkhead at the bridge deck moved rearward to shorten the cockpit to 6.5ft.... both mods would create more interior room so that I could create a better galley with a refridgerator, and increase the size of the nav station/chart table.....
AND, the transverse settee at the rear of the cock pit raised up (about 16") so that. 1, its at a practical height for a helm seat, and 2, so it would create a deep locker so that I could place hooks in there to store all my lines on, and the extra life jackets, and other light items that take up so much room...
is this practical?.. I dont know, but it would seem like a nearly perfect boat for us.

Gunni · Oct 12, 2016

In the spirit of your tag line: I learned a long time ago, you can't change a woman and if you try it will not turn out well. Same with a boat. You have to settle, or move on.

MrBill_FLL · Oct 12, 2016

Tartan 3700, or a Bene 39

but if I won the lotto and price was no object, a Swan over 50'