361 "Offshore"?

[Tim]

I've just purchased a 361 (although I haven't gotten it yet) and I have a question to the 361 owners on this site: Can anyone tell me about offshore experiences with this boat, good or bad? I sail on the upper Chesapeake Bay, so my definition of "offshore" may be a slighty watered-down version. I'm not talking transatlantic here... by "offshore" I mean: in the ocean, out of sight of land for 24+ hours. I'm thinking of taking the trip from the Chesapeake to New England via a direct Cape May to Block Island leg which would definately meet my definition. I know that these boats are considered by many to be dockaminiums uncapable of any "real passagemaking", but surely someone out there has some experiences they can share! Any and all comments appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Jose Venegas]

So far so good

Tim, I would not worry one bit about the seaworthiness of the 361 for making that passage. The French government has a very strict rating for sailboats and they rate the 361 in the "A" (Blue water) category. I brought mine from Florida to New England last June in four legs: including one from Norfolk to Block Island (3 days outside). We had excellent weather most of the time, but did have to battle a little storm over the Gulf Stream. My experience, so far, has been that the 361 can handle quite well heavy weather, although I have never had to deal with more than30 knots offshore. Fair winds and enjoy it.

 

[Ken Cobb]

The stats say no

There are several formulas used to measure seaworthiness of hull designs, such as length to beam ratio, capsize screen, etc. By those formulas, the 361 is not designed to be a passage-maker. For example, its capsize screen rating is 2.1, and boats with a score above 2.0 are not recommended for passage making. The 361 gets hurt in these formulas because it is relatively beamy and light in displacement for its length. (The capsize screen rating measures the ability of the boat to right itself after a capsize.)Obviously there is more that goes into seaworthiness than hull design and displacement. The integrity of the ports and hatches, the strength of the cabin roof, and some other factors are important, too.Having said that, the 361 is still more than capable of handling short storms up to 40 or 50 knots of wind. If you are talking about a one to three-day shot from Point A to Point B, and the weather forecast is for no serious storms, the 361 is perfectly fine for such a voyage.The difference between the 361 and a true blue water boat like a Westsail 32 or a Crealock 34 is that the latter two boats could possibly even survive a hurricane, while the 361 probably could not.

 

[Tim]

Thanks guys

Ken-I had looked at the numbers (capsize screen in particular) which is what inspired me to post the question about real experiences (thanks by the way, Jose!). Also, the reason why I qualified my use of the term offshore with quotation marks is that I'm more likely to do the sort of 2-3 day point to point jumps that your refer to rather than the true passage making that would meet the standard definition of offshore. Theory being that any major storms (i.e. anything with a name) could be reasonably foreseen/avoided. Naturally, nothing can be taken for granted as one could encounter hurricane force winds in a microburst. Anyway, thanks to both of you for your thoughts.

 

[Ken Cobb]

Qualification

One thing I forgot to mention is that numerous 361's have been taken across the Atlantic, but the owners who do that normally go when it is not hurricane season or winter. They pick their spots. Also, on the trip you are talking about you could duck into shore in less than half a day's sail at any point.