Cruising with kids

danthemusiclawyer · Jul 22, 2004

An old friend of mine used to regularly sail his viggen (the vega's little sister @ 24ft) from the south coast of England to the Isles of Scilly (you can google search for a map) with his wife and two kids, on week long round trips and they were fine. I think that the Vega can sleep 4 six footers in relative comfort on short trips (and from what you say it seems unlikely that you will be sailing round the world). My gut reaction is that the broker wants you to spend more cash.

________________________________

From: texas_rockhound [mailto:rlcarroll@...]
Sent: Thu 22/07/2004 15:00
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlbinVega] Cruising with kidsHi,
I posted this query to the UK site and to Pocketcruisers. It was
suggested that I repost it to this list, since you guys are the
experts. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Ricky

lucas_deboer · Jul 22, 2004

Ricky,
When I was looking for a Vega, I met a family of five, who had been
cruising with the whole family for over 20 years on their Vega. Their ship
was equipped with a 5th bed (it is possible to add 2 bunk beds in the main
cabin). They did day-sailing and coastal cruising (France-UK-Netherlands-
Denmark). Even when their kids were already grown up boys they continued
sailing with the whole family. So I would say a Vega is definately big
enough for , just less luxury than a wide 30-32 ft ship.
Good luck with your purchase,
Lucas V-2122

--

pfmarrack · Jul 22, 2004

Ricky,
I looked at that Vega at Kemah. It looked like a well kept boat.
IIRC Hull 2930. Lots of extra equipment. There were several plaques
for completion of the Harvest Moon Regatta. I have day sailed my
Vega with 5 adults. Two adults and two kids for a weekend / week
would be fine. I find the Vega handles well in most conditions and
is forgiving. The one thing I like the best, which adds to its
safety and helps keep you dry, is the deep cockpit. Good luck.

Paul
V2926

robertgainer · Jul 22, 2004

Ricky,
I think that you are the only one who can decide if a given boat is large
enough for cruising. It is only a mater of creature comfort not of safety. I
have lived on boats as small as 26 feet and had no trouble at all, but
that?s me. One of my Atlantic crossings was the 34-day passage with Arnie
Moser on the Vega ?Shanghai Lil? in 1984. I think that along with my other
trans Atlantic crossings (boats from 22 feet to 110 feet) gives me the
standing to offer the opinion that the Vega is one of the safest and most
able boats that you can get, and if you can deal with the size issue you
will enjoy cruising on her very much.
Enjoy the boat and all the best,
Robert Gainer

theluckyfrogannandaleva · Jul 22, 2004

we just purchased our 38 ft custom steel cutter. i owned a vega for several
years and spent every weekend aboard. the cockpit is large enough to handle 4
with ease while cruising and the Vega is a nice tough boat for coastal
cruising. I would take one around the coast without a second thought to it.. (just
a lot of preperation)... The wife wanted something a little larger, and this
was about as big as we could handle. Were departing for parts unknown this
September. Going to be a long hot August getting prepared. You can keep up
with us at hahano.com/sail. We are home schooling our 10 year old and would
love to meet up with other kid boats while we cruise.

Dan
Dan@...

elrond8177 · Jul 23, 2004

Hey Rockhound,
If a broker in the Clear Lake area told you that the
Vega didn't have the cockpit space for sailing 4 he
was just trying to get you into a more expensive boat.
But don't take my word for it. You're welcome to come
down and take a day sail with us and see what you
think.
And Paul... as far as not getting wet in the
cockpit... well... on the way to Galveston that Friday
night I couldn't vouch for the protection! LOL I was
one soggy sailor by the time we got to the RR bridge!
But then we were headed into a pretty stiff breeze and
had to motor the last few miles. Thank God we had a
Vega that night! Can't wait to do the trip again.
John & Carol
'Southern Comfort Too'
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!

http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

pfmarrack · Jul 23, 2004

John,
I've been staying pretty dry. Although may foredeck crew (Andrew)
has gotten soaked a few times. I quess I'm not trying hard enough.
The Galveston trip was excellent. I have some pictures I will post
soon. The local Vega's will need to do it again soon.

Paul
V2926

brockhaus77 · Jul 24, 2004

Hi,

I've been sailing my Vega for 2 years, with several overnight trips with my family (2
teenagers). Overall, I'd say space is tight but not unbearably so - at least for short trips. (I
wouldn't take "non-family" adults on an overnight trip, though - you have to be
comfortable with a rather intimate sharing of space). However, I personally have a bit of a
problem with the headroom - I'm 6' tall and my bones aren't the youngest anymore, so
never being able to stand fully upright anywhere under decks does put a noticeable crink
in my neck, and trying to change clothes etc. in the forepeak (with the door closed ) is a
bit of an acrobatic exercise.
The cockpit is o.k. for four - we even sail with our dog and sometimes guests (although
more than 4 people in the cockpit gets a bit crammed). You have to scramble a bit when
you change tack etc., but other than that, the only problem is the tiller which tends to get
in the way (if you still have the original straight version). In particular, it tends to get
dropped on the knees of unsuspecting passengers. I am planning to get Steve Birch's
replacement tiller which supposedly solves this problem (does anybody out there have
experience with it?)
So in summary I'd say it all depends on your budget and your "agility". I may yet upgrade
to a larger boat sometime in my future (if money allows) so I can stand up fully, but so far
we can get by with the space the Vega provides. (Storage is plenty).

- Sebastian V1060 VegaLyra

papasbackhoeinc · Jul 25, 2004

Dear Sebastian,

We just finished a four days trip with our Vega on the IJsselmeer in the
Netherlands.

Our children have become grown ups and donot join us any longer. Under
those circumstances our Vega is large enough.

If you are expecting that your teenagers will join you on your trips
for several more years the Vega is too small.

We did a lot of racing when our two sons were teenagers. I can assure
you that the space was crammed with a lot of sails lying round including
the spinnaker.

Now we have a furling jib, which will roll and unroll itself quit
easily.

That makes sailing a lot easier. It did not make the Vega faster.
Specialized jibs are better in my experience.

We enjoy having our boat , which is uncomplicated and nice to sail.

Henk Jansen
Vega 1682.