Good boat for offshore solo sailing?

Ross · Apr 6, 2010

Read this woman's logs.
http://www.donnalange.com/

captainjoebrown · Apr 6, 2010

ChrisRamsey said:
Hey everybody,

I'm getting ready to start looking for my first boat. I plan on spending the next year or so learning the boat and how to handle it in open waters, and then heading off on a solo sail to New Zealand/Australia.

I'd love to get the opinion of what a good boat would consist of.

From what I've read, 26' sounds about right for a solo sail of this length, but I'm not sure exactly what sort of boats I should be looking for. I've heard a lot of good things about Catalina's cruisers.

I plan on spending up to $30k on the boat, so anywhere in that price range would be great. Of course, the lower the price, the more I can spend on expensive toys for the boat (if it doesn't already come with most of what I'd need)

Any advice or questions you can ask to lead me in the right direction are appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

If I were looking for an offshore boat, Catalina would not be y first choice. Catalina's have fin keels and are a light-medium displacement boat, which will make for a rough ride.
Having said that - I must confess my first sailing sabatical was made on an Ericson 28, a fin keel boat.
Nonetheless, if I were you, I'd look for a full keel boat of medium to heavy displacement. She'll provide a nicer ride offshore and track better.

Look at Cape Dory 27 or 30, Albergs, Bayfield Cutters (although a little slow) Morgan 33, Sea Sprite, Allied series, Almand 31, and the like.

And ask a lot of sailors - ones who have actually cruised rather than raced or daysailed - and you'll begin to get ideas about what's good for you.

To be sure, there are fin-keeled, lighter displacement boats out there, but . . . just ask.

Personally, I'd rather give up a small amount of speed or pointing ability in order to have a safe comfortable cruise. But mine will not be the only opinion.

Good luck and fair winds!

Captain Joe Brown

David in Sandusky · Apr 6, 2010

Education first

I recommend buying Marshall's "Complete Guide to Choosing a Cruising Sailboat" from this site:

http://shop.hunterowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66291&cat=1309

That's not because he answers your question, but because he will educate you on the issues you face.

I will offer a few comments, all IMHO, since you can find a lot of opinions on this subject on this site.

Your price limit means that you are probably looking at 30 feet or less, made sometime before 1985. That's not bad, because production boats have tended to be more and more focused on coastal cruising since then. That means many of them in your price range are not suitable for offshore work.

When my Dad was pursuing this dream back in the 80's, the consensus was that 27 to 30 feet was the ideal size for such an adventure. The trend (driven partly by salesmen looking for larger commissions) has been toward longer boats that will give you more speed. But we tend to underestimate the tremendous forces involved in handling a 40 footer in any kind of adverse conditions.

An ocean voyage means that you will need stowage, steering, safety, and communication design and systems that are beyond most production boats. Again, Marshall lays out the issues quite well.

Look for a chance to crew offshore on a delivery run or two. There is nothing like experience!

A lot of the fun in sailing comes from dreaming about our cruises, and getting ready for them. You have a big dream, so take your time, and enjoy the learning and preparation that is ahead of you.

sailingdog · Apr 6, 2010

I wouldn't recommend a Catalina, especially one under 30' LOA, for any serious bluewater work. There are far better boats to look at. The fact that you're considering Catalinas is a bit worrying, since under 30' they are basically lightly built daysailers, coastal cruisers and weekenders.

Two very good books to look at are:

Henkel's The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats
Vigor's 20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere

As for boats, there are a lot of small boats capable of doing this, and available for under $30,000. I'd highly recommend reserving at least 15-20% for upgrading, repairing and modifying any boat you do get, as boats generally need to be modified to suit the way you will sail it.

Some boats that might be good choices are:

Southern Cross 28/31 by CE Ryder
Alberg 30
Westsail 32
Elizabethan 29, 30, 31
Contessa 26
Albin Vega, although IMHO it is a bit too lightly constructed to work well for this
Norsea 27, unlikely to be in your price range though
Dana 24, unlikely to be in your price range though
Hallberg Rassy Monsun 31

Another good place to look is at:

James Baldwin's Boat List

He lists quite a few smaller pocket cruisers that might work well for you.

There are also some smaller catamarans, notably the Twins series, like the Heavenly Twins 26, that might work as well.

sailaway78 · Apr 6, 2010

I don't want to get into the argument

Over a production boat, custom built boat, this brand or that. I will say that I do have over a few miles of offshore sailing, and I would certainly agree with those who recommended a full keel boat. Especially for single handing. They are more stable overall, and track much better than a fin keel boat. You might want to jump over to the cruising side of this board. There are some serious offshore guys there. One in particular who goes all over the place in an older Allied 30.

higgs · Apr 6, 2010

Don't ignore Allied Seawinds. I am not sure at what price they can be bought, but they are proven.

MoonSailer · Apr 7, 2010

Almost any Pacific Seacraft boat will do. My brother had a 25 that he loved. I talked to a man who had sailed his PS25 from Oregon to Patagonia and back. I think that it is in John Vigor's book on 20 boats. My dream boat is a PS 37. But my Pearson 323 has served me well as a coastal boat.

zeehag · Apr 8, 2010

pacific seacraft mariah and dana and allied anything .....other makes and models dependent on your personal likes.....full keel and attached rudder are goood for tracking and stability----i w oulodnt choose a fin/spade combo for single handing--is a lot of work.....fun to sail but alot of work!!!

Scott T-Bird · Apr 8, 2010

Here's a World Cruiser ...

I've been driving by this little beauty everyday lately and finally stopped to take a few photos. She is a Dockrell 27 and it seems that she will be making her home on tiny Budd Lake in New Jersey. While I was photographing, a fellow drove up and said he gave this boat away to the current owner (a guy with a small beachfront on Budd Lake) and that he has another Dockrell 24 that he could sell to me. I told him that I wasn't interested but thanks anyway. It was kind of weird to stop for just a moment (off Hwy 46 in Budd Lake, New Jersey) and have a guy immediately pull up in a pick-up and start talking about these sailboats.

shemandr · Apr 8, 2010

There was a story like that here on LI. Everyone had been driving by this 37? ft. centercockpit for years. One day a guy I know stopped and pretty soon he was talking to the owner. The owner said if you want it, its yours to haul away. An so he did. A lot of sweat and some money and now's he got a pretty good cruising boat. You just never know until you find out the story.

bffatcat · Apr 8, 2010

What not to Buy

Most of the guy have given you some sound advice. Im gonna comment on something a little different. First Dont buy an Alberg 30. mentioned in this thread. Well thought of by many. I owned one in the 70`s for 9 years. It was well thought of in its day This was a slow narrow short waterline boat. (about 20' waterline on a 30ft loa boat The boat was slow wet and tender. It wouldnt point worth a dam. It wouldnt go to weather in any kind of a chop. All it did was hobby horse on its short waterline. It was a happy day for me when I sold it. and bought a pearson 10M a roomy fast stiff solidly built d weatherly boat. and oh yes it had a fin keel. And finally dont buy an extremely slow boat. Your not in a hurry but you do want to get where your going enough said

nardus010 · Apr 28, 2010

Hi everybody : first post here !
If you can find one: a Contessa 32
Kids sails these boats arround the world. Its very comfy in heavy seas.
In Europe these boats go for arround 30k nowaddays.
Very seaworty ,I know,because I own one.She`s from1977 and sails like a dream !
Here`s a little video ishotwithmy mobile. Sailing in Europe with 26knots wind.
Youtube movie

Drew13440 · Apr 28, 2010

FFatcat - I'm not gonna argue with a former owner, but you're A30 was "tender?" A 9,000 lb boat with a 37% ballast ratio and a conservative sailplan is tender? What are you in now that is stiffer? Just curious, thanks.

Tim Jedda 22 · Apr 28, 2010

S&S34

http://jessicawatson.com.au/pink-lady

It's a tough little yacht as Jess has shown!

druid · Apr 29, 2010

First, a Caveat: I've never been "offshore" because we have a giant breakwater here called Vancouver Island.

That said, I've cruised a lot, some in pretty nasty weather, and read a lot. The heavy-full-keel boat is definitely a nicer ride, but at around 30 ft you do have to consider "getting there", and how much you will enjoy sailing her (I can't imagine me enjoying sailing a pig for a month to get to Hawaii...). I do agree that a Catalina (or Hunter) are too lightly-built to be considered (I had a Catalina 36 for 17 years, and I'd almost prefer my Cal 25 when it gets Really Nasty).

I do like the Cal line - I'd recommend a Cal 29, but they have "the dreaded beam" issue. You'd probably be able to get a Cal 34 in your pricerange, and they're proven offshore boats that are built like a tank but still fast.

One thing that has been hinted here: a BIG factor in an offshore passage is comfort: you will be spending a LOT of time on the boat. Make sure you're comfortable down below, can make meals, sleep, read, etc. I knew a guy at my marina (39ft ferrocement) that did a lot of offshore stuff - he had a fireplace and an overstuffed easy chair down below!

druid

Good boat for offshore solo sailing?

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