How does one tell the difference...

[Brian D]

Between a blue water cruiser and a coastal sailer?I guess one could "kick the tires" so to speak. Meaning pushing on the hull to see if there is any play. But that might not be the way to do it. Is it safe to say that blue water cruisers are built like a solid brick house and a coastal cruiser not as solid?Any examples of blue water cruiser?

 

[Ross]

You gat into some of the fine points

of boat design here. Many boats have crossed oceans that were designed as daysailers. I would look for a smallish cockpit, a companionway that is entirely above the combings, robust standing rigging, a deep hull and full keel with an attached rudder, redundant bilge pumps at least one of which is a large capacity manual pump, large cockpit drains, windows and hatches that won't get blown in by a breaking wave, you must be able to carry everything you need for thirty days, so a lot of storage space. You won't be anchoring each night so you need a good cooker with mechanical pot holders.Oh yes and most important, the ability to flush over board. Holding tanks are for inshore waters.I am sure that others have their criteria.

 

[Clay]

Not a deck step'd mast

that's for sure. I ask the same question many times.I read that life boats are all designed 26 feet, so that would be the ideal size I'm hinking, but I'd want a 34 footer at least if I were going to sail to Holland. Keeping in mind I am a solo sailer, no need for a large boat.I am also thinking I would want my stay's at least 1/2" thick compared to the 1/4" they are now, but I am not an engineer that knows so I would be looking for over kill and three of everything.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Well, Almost any boat marketed as a "bluewater

cruiser" or with aspirations of being seen as such, will have visible, external chainplates.

 

[Franklin]

Designed for Bluewater

My additions to the list are:Everything inside is latched downlarge water tanksprotected rudderlots of handrails inside and outlots of storage roomnice anchoring setup (cruisers live at anchor)

 

[Ross]

Also fiddles on every horizontal surface

No flower pots next to the galley sink. Everything should have a functional reason for being.Clay read "Cruising in Serafin", it will tell you a whole bunch about this ideal size of a boat.

 

[Ross]

Pete, now that was a lee shore!

Yes, there really is a boat under all that sand.

 

[Clay]

Time to fix the center board

After seeing the bow sticking out of the sand, yup, it's time to fix the board.I'll read "Cruising in Serafin" Txs, Ross

 

[Tim]

Offshore

A book I bought to answer that question is "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat" by John Vigor. It is very practical and filled with great ideas on what to look for and what you may need to install in a bluewater boat. It starts with an excellent 5 page test to determine how seaworthy a boat is. It asks a bunch of questions about the boat and each answer gets different points. Your total points at the end tell you how seaworthy, the lower the better. Just glancing at this and seeing what gets low points is a good indication of what to look for.A worhty addition to the library I think.

 

[tagalong]

Hey Pete

While the pic is interesting, it has nothing to do with whether or not that was a blue water boat, a coastal cruiser or whatever else it might have been. That pic is a testimony to the skill of the skipper, the elements, or whatever, but certainly no reflection on the capabilities of the boat. What may work as a blue water boat for a good and experienced skipper, could be a death trap for a stupid, and/or inexperienced novice. On the offshore passages I have made, my first question is always the skill and experience level of the crew on board. Then I ask about the boat. I would rather be 100 miles offshore on a 22 Catalina than a 40 Hinkley, if the Hinkley was crewed by idiots and the Catalina by an experienced skipper.

 

[Ross]

Pete, I think the next thread should be

How do you know when you are capable of skippering a boat off shore?My short answer would have to be, when you can't imagine a situation that you couldn't handle. That is to play games in your mind featuring all manner of conditions and how you could best handle them. When you can sail on all points, reef, and heave-to, then with a good weather forecast you can sail outside the harbor.

 

[John Nantz]

Nail Hit on the Head!

The days are getting shorter and the temperature is getting cooler. here we go again....."tagalong" and Ross - you guys are on to it! That is, don't fixate on the boat, look at the capability of skipper and crew and other factors. Some people have sailed across oceans with sailing surfboards and others couldn't motor across in the Titanic. The point is, it isn't all about the boat!John Neal cruised the South Pacific in a 20-something that he modified, another person went from Alaska to the South Pacific and had a picture of himself in Austrailia and he used a 1030's flat-bottom scow of a sailing fishing boat and this was just over 30ft long and light displacement. I talked to a gal who soloed most of the way around the world in her small boat but it was lost at anchor while she made a trip to the US. Oh, and she was in her 80's!Sometimes the successes can be contributed to 'dumb luck' but if you talk to those that are successful you can get an idea of how they got that way.And then there is the Law of Averages - sometimes 'stuff' catches up with the best of 'em. A piece of space junk falls out of the sky and sinks the boat - 'stuff' just plain happens.Now, to answer back to the lawnmower.

 

[John Nantz]

Corrections

Darn it - the screen moved just as I was editing and the cursor hit the "submit" button. This just goes to prove that stuff happens!That was a 1930's flatbottom scow.And the last line was for Fred; Why am I on the computer? Just checked about something else - I'm trying to get the darn lawnmoer started! It doesn't have any spark. And the condenser is probably about due for replacement as it's at least 20 years old! Now back to the lawnmower!

 

[Alain Pascal]

in the sand

Nice picture I saw the serie of these, the owner was pushed to shore while is anchor was dragigging, the boat was not damaged but lied on the beach, the owner left and returned the next day: The boat was aft sunk in the sand one more tide cycle and that is the picture of what was left, wow!

 

[Anchor Down]

The Wild Card

With all respect, Putting Tom Neale on a Catalia 22 doesn't turn it into a blue water boat. Answers like this don't do much for the honest questioner, just as the ANECDOTAL, i.e., "I heard about a guy who…" postings do.The posts that discuss actual boat design/fitting out are more useful, because, while they can be argued, they are at least objective.

 

[Franklin]

Pic

Isn't it funny how somebody (Pete) finds a pic and makes up a story to prove their point. Trying to say that the boat was sunk in sand because it wasn't a blue water boat is nuts. If it wasn't a blue water boat and went into blue water and had a problem, don't you think it would have never made it to the beach?

 

[Franklin]

Anchor Down

I think the point they are just trying to make is that one can't just go and spend $300,000 for a blue water boat and go. One has to pay his dues and learn the ins and outs of sailing and boats. I think the audience just gets a feeling that the poster may not know this.

 

[Clay]

I thought

any landing is a good landing

 

[Ross]

Cat 22's have crossed the pond

It ain't recommended but they have done it. We have had some really bad things happen in sheltered water when inexperienced people were careless. Same place two years apart, one boat dragged anchor into the power lines on the Amtrak bridge and was burned to the water line two years later a couple sailed into the same lines with the same results. Fortunately no one was killed.I can only recommend that if you find you are draging anchor, and know that the bottom isn't foul, let out more scope. There have been times that my anchor wouldn't set on 5:1 but dug right in at 8:1.

 

[Ross]

Clay only if you were flying ! and then

only if you can walk away. The thin places around the edges are the most dangerous.