I appreciate the "go for it" attitude of you guys but I have been involved in high risk situations for over 30 years and I have learned the hard way that "blank" happens and that when it does I want strong people and strong equipment at hand. At 54, I am beginning to learn to sail. I believe in ten years I will have experience for bluewater but less strength. Additionally, 25 years ago, I had the good fortune to build from scratch a 28 foot powerboat which an extremely competent sailor friend of mine drove from Florida to St. Thomas. It was amazing the amount of extra fiberglass we put in the bow and the attention to extra stength throughout the boat was exhaustive. I am cautious for a reason. What I would really like are suggestions for boats from the mid to late eighties in the 40 foot range that are not as expensive as the Swan, Hinckley, etc. but possess bluewater strength. I have a Catalina 36 I love but I cannot be convinced that a boat like this is as strong as those especially constructed for more harsh conditions than coastal cruising. Ideally, manufacturers names are important to me because in ten years I may want a mid to late nineties model. What about the Morgan series?
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M
MArk
Turtlebones - CSY 44
Bo, Here's an informative site (related link) telling of one couple's search for and purchase of a blue water boat. The CSY 44 Walk Over is roomy and built like a brick port-o-let. There are worse boats to be on when the fertilizer hits the ventilator! Boat Trader Online (http://www.boattraderonline.com/) has several CSY 44 Walk Throughs and Walk Overs listed for between $68K and $150K. Happy sails _/), MArk
Bo, Here's an informative site (related link) telling of one couple's search for and purchase of a blue water boat. The CSY 44 Walk Over is roomy and built like a brick port-o-let. There are worse boats to be on when the fertilizer hits the ventilator! Boat Trader Online (http://www.boattraderonline.com/) has several CSY 44 Walk Throughs and Walk Overs listed for between $68K and $150K. Happy sails _/), MArk
P
Paul
Recomendations :the long list
Bo, here is a list that I pulled from a web site about John Neal: Mahina Tiare fame. I don't have the address anymore but kept this list in a spreadsheet. it is a "boat load" but if you want data, here it is: Take this list and copy it into your clipboard and past it into MS Excel and it should come back. Then widen the 3 columns and voila! Country Boat Comments USA Able Able 32, 42, 48 Superb quality, not inexpensive. *USA Alajuela 33 *USA Pearson Alberg 30, 35, 37 Early f/g boats. Well proven, not expensive. USA Alden 38, 44, 46, 54, 58 Classy, well built, beautiful and expensive. *USA Alden Boothbay Explorer 58 John Alden design. *USA Allied 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 42 Good Value. FRA Amel 36-53 Strong, well designed. *CAN Amazon 29, 37, 44 Steel boats, attractive modern designs. FRA Henri Waquiez Amphitrite 43 Strong and roomy. Excellent company. USA Morris Annie 28 *CAN Bayfield 29, 30-32, 40 USA Bluewater 60 Modern, top quality Chuck Paine design. ENG Bowman 36-58 Strong boats. *CAN Brewer 42 Improved version of Whitby 42. *USA Bristol 27-45 USA Bristol Channel Cutter 28 Good company. Well built, not my personal choice. CAN Cabot 36 Ted Brewer design *USA Cal 2-30, 34, 36, 39, 40, 2-46, 3-46,48 Bill Lapworth designs. Comfortable, reasonably priced. USA Caliber 28, 33, 35, 38, 40, 47 Well-built. Michael McCreary Designs. *USA Cambria 40, 44 Fast, well-built and attractive. *ENG Camper Nicholson 31, 32, 35, 38, 39, 40, 43, 47, 56, 58, 70 Out of business except for shipbuilding. Watch for blister problems on all models. *USA Cape Dory - all models All models are well designed and built. USA Cape George Cutters 31, 36, 38 Some owner completed. Strong and fast. USA Cascade 36, 42 1965-67 design still being built. *NZ Cavalier 39 Well-proven design. FRA Henri Waquiez Centurion 42, 47 Stong, fast and attractive, short on tankage. USA Cherubini 44, 48, 62 Semi-custom boats. Beautiful and expensive. *CAN & ENG Contessa 26 & 32 Tania Aebi and B.J. Cardwell both circumnavigated in 26's. HOL Contest 31, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48 More common in Europe. *USA Pearson Countess 44 Early f/g John Alden design. Will need to be repowered and rewired. CAN Corbin 35, 39 Watch for hull blisters USA Pacific Seacraft Crealock 31, PH 32, 34, 37, 40, 44 Santa Ana, CA. One of the very best companies building cruising boats. * USA CSY 44 Sturdy and reasonably priced. USA Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 Santa Ana, CA. * Various Deerfoot Yachts Fast and innovative, aluminum and fiberglass hulls. GER Dehler 34, 38 Modern, racer-cruisers. USA Dickerson 36, 37, 40, 41, 50 Nicely proportioned and well-built boats. *USA Easterly 38 *USA Eastward Ho 31 Eldredge-McInnes design. ENG, USA, CAN, RSA, SCT Endurance 35, 38, 40 Peter Ibold design, some owner completed by various yards in ENG, USA & Canada. *USA Esprit 37 Perry design. Comfortable, well proven. *ARG F & C 44 Modern Frers designed cruising ketch. *USA Fast Passage 39 Some built in Canada, some by Tollycraft. Excellent boat. ENG Fisher 30-46 Motorsailers. Great for N.W. Alaska & N.E. USA Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 Mini-Ocean Cruiser. USA Morris Francis 26 *CAN Fraser 41, 46, 50 Good modern cruisers. USA Freya 39 Good value. Many owner-completed, so quality varies. FRA Henri Waquiez Gladiateur 33 Very sturdy, short on tankage. *CAN Goderich 35, 37, 41 Attractive Brewer steel boats. SWE Hallberg Rassy, 9.4, 31, 312, 33, 35, 352, 38, 382, 39, 41, 42, 42F, 45, 46,49, 53, 62 Well built, comfortable, and surprisingly fast. Very strong company, excellent service. *ENG Halmatic 30 Similar to Nicholson 31. USA Hinkley 30-64 Well built, very expensive, hold their value well. Short on tankage and storage. CAN H.T. Gozzard 31, 36, 44 Good design and construction. FRA Henri Waquiez Hood 38 Strong, fast, and attractive. Short on tankage. TAI Hylas 44, 47, 49 Frers & S&S designs. Good sailing qualities, tankage and storage centerboard. USA Island Packet 27,29, 32,35,350,37,38,40, 44, 45 Roomy and comfortable. Improving every year. USA J-40; J-44, 130 Fast, light. *USA Miller Marine Jason 35 Built near Seattle, some owner-completed. HOL Jongert 50, 55, 60, 67, 73 Heavy, expensive, well-built steel yachts. USA Justine 36 Excellent Paine design, Morris built cruiser. Expensive. *USA Kaiulani 34, 38 Lovely steel Brewer and Yohe designs. CAN Kanter 42, 45, 60, 65 Steel and aluminum boats, semi-custom. Highest quality. DEN LM 27, 28, 290, 30, 315, 32, 380 Some have inside steering. Well-built. USA Morris Leigh 30 Very well built, attractive. USA Morris Linda 28 TAI & USA Little Harbor 42 - 90 Ted Hood designed, heavy displacement. Semi-custom. Production returned to U.S. from Taiwan. Expensive. *USA Allied Luders 33 (DOVE), 36 Older well-built fiberglass boats. SWE Malo Quality offshore boats. USA Pacific Seacraft Mariah 31 At least one circumnavigation. TAI Mason 33, 43, 44, 53, 54, 63 Some of the very best Taiwan built boats. *USA Mercator 30 Inexpensive. At least one has circumnavigated. ENG Moody 24 - 44 Good boats, reputable builder. USA & ENG Morris 26, 28, 30, 32, 36, 44 Chuck Paine design. Superb quality, good company. SWE Najad 330, 361, 370, 390, 420, 490, 520 Quality, attractive boats. FIN Nauti-Cat Motorsailers 35,40,43, 53 S&S designed models are much better performers than earlier models. CAN Niagara 31, 35, 42 Well-built and roomy. Good company. *USA Nordic 34, 40, 44, 45 Bellingham, WA. Attractive well built boats. USA Nor'Sea 27, 35 27' is trailerable. Good sailing boat, affordable. TAI Norseman 400, 447 Well-built, fast, expensive and attractive. *ENG Ocean 60, 71 Powerful boats. *USA Ocean Cruising 42 Only a few built by Hank Hinkley. Classy. USA Pacific Seacraft Orion 27 Santa Ana, CA. ENG Oyster 42, 45, 485,49, 55, 61, 70, 80 Some have inside steering. Attractive, expensive and first-class! *USA Pearson 35, 365, 424, 520 Well-built, not flashy. Reasonably priced. FRA Henri Waquiez Pretorien 35 Strong, fast and attractive. Excellent company. *USA Pearson Rhodes Bounty II Early fiberglass boats,classic design. TAI Royal Passport 41, 44, 50 Modern cruising design. Good storage/tankage. ENG Rival 36-41 Not many on West Coast. Good boats. USA Sabre 34, 38, 42, 362, 402, 425 Built in Maine, excellent quality. ENG Sadler 34 Unsinkable, fast, beautiful. Superb boat. CAN Saturna 33 Attractive, Bill Garden designed pilothouse cutter. SWE Scanmar 35 CAN Sceptre 41 Modern pilothouse. *USA Allied Seawind II 32 Excellent boats. Good value. First f/g boat to circumnavigate the world. USA Seguin 44, 51 S&S design. Excellent boats. Semi-Custom. USA Shannon 28, 37, 38, 43, 50, 51 Excellent boats. Expensive and reliable. *TAI Skye 51 Similar in appearance to Swans. Strong and fast. *USA Southern Cross 28, 31, 35, 39 Good boats. Attractive designs. *CAN Spencer 35, 42, 44, 54 Older boats, built in Vancouver, B.C. USA Sundeer 56, 64 Excellent and expensive. * USA Tartan 37 Centerboard, well proven. SWE Sweden Yachts Expensive and well built. Racer-cruiser designs. TAI Taswell 43, 49, 56, 58, 60, 72 Quality, attractive, good sailing performance. TAI Tashiba 31, 36, 40 Perry designs. USA Townsend 30 Built in Pt. Townsend, WA. Traditional design Attractive and strong boat. HOL Trintella Roomy and well-built. *USA Pearson Triton Superb value. Earliest f/g production boat. Very sturdy. USA Valiant 32, 37, 39, 40, 42, 47, 50 Major blister problems on Valient 40 hull numbers 116-250. No problems with any of the excellent Texas built boats. CAN Vancouver 27 Also built in Taiwan & England. *USA Pearson Vangard 32 Excellent value. *SWE Albin Vega 27 At least six have circumnavigated. Inexpensive. ENG Victoria 30, 34 Chuck Paine designed. SWE Vindo 29, 34, 38, 39 Attractive, well-built. *USA Vineyard Vixen 30, 34 Attractive design. ENG Westerly 26 - 36 Not flashy, but well-built boats. *USA Westsail 28, 32, 39, 42, 43 Well-built boats. 39 is rare and attractive Perry design. CAN Whitby 42 Sell for around $75-100k. Inexpensive but sturdy and roomy. USA Windship Expensive custom boats. *USA Yankee 26, 30 S&S designed. Inexpensive. MULTI-HULLS USA Corsair F-27, F-31, F-41 Many fast and safe ocean crossings. Easily trailerable. *FRA Fountaine Pagot 37-55 Roomy, attractive, expensive. USA Lagoon 37, 42, 47 Roomy, attractive, expensive. FRA Jeantot Privilege 39, 48 USA Various Searunner Trimeran 31, 37 Jim Brown, excellent designs. Most were home built. Watch for soggy plywood. FRA Waquiez Kronos 45 Expensive, stylish, good company.
Bo, here is a list that I pulled from a web site about John Neal: Mahina Tiare fame. I don't have the address anymore but kept this list in a spreadsheet. it is a "boat load" but if you want data, here it is: Take this list and copy it into your clipboard and past it into MS Excel and it should come back. Then widen the 3 columns and voila! Country Boat Comments USA Able Able 32, 42, 48 Superb quality, not inexpensive. *USA Alajuela 33 *USA Pearson Alberg 30, 35, 37 Early f/g boats. Well proven, not expensive. USA Alden 38, 44, 46, 54, 58 Classy, well built, beautiful and expensive. *USA Alden Boothbay Explorer 58 John Alden design. *USA Allied 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 42 Good Value. FRA Amel 36-53 Strong, well designed. *CAN Amazon 29, 37, 44 Steel boats, attractive modern designs. FRA Henri Waquiez Amphitrite 43 Strong and roomy. Excellent company. USA Morris Annie 28 *CAN Bayfield 29, 30-32, 40 USA Bluewater 60 Modern, top quality Chuck Paine design. ENG Bowman 36-58 Strong boats. *CAN Brewer 42 Improved version of Whitby 42. *USA Bristol 27-45 USA Bristol Channel Cutter 28 Good company. Well built, not my personal choice. CAN Cabot 36 Ted Brewer design *USA Cal 2-30, 34, 36, 39, 40, 2-46, 3-46,48 Bill Lapworth designs. Comfortable, reasonably priced. USA Caliber 28, 33, 35, 38, 40, 47 Well-built. Michael McCreary Designs. *USA Cambria 40, 44 Fast, well-built and attractive. *ENG Camper Nicholson 31, 32, 35, 38, 39, 40, 43, 47, 56, 58, 70 Out of business except for shipbuilding. Watch for blister problems on all models. *USA Cape Dory - all models All models are well designed and built. USA Cape George Cutters 31, 36, 38 Some owner completed. Strong and fast. USA Cascade 36, 42 1965-67 design still being built. *NZ Cavalier 39 Well-proven design. FRA Henri Waquiez Centurion 42, 47 Stong, fast and attractive, short on tankage. USA Cherubini 44, 48, 62 Semi-custom boats. Beautiful and expensive. *CAN & ENG Contessa 26 & 32 Tania Aebi and B.J. Cardwell both circumnavigated in 26's. HOL Contest 31, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48 More common in Europe. *USA Pearson Countess 44 Early f/g John Alden design. Will need to be repowered and rewired. CAN Corbin 35, 39 Watch for hull blisters USA Pacific Seacraft Crealock 31, PH 32, 34, 37, 40, 44 Santa Ana, CA. One of the very best companies building cruising boats. * USA CSY 44 Sturdy and reasonably priced. USA Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 Santa Ana, CA. * Various Deerfoot Yachts Fast and innovative, aluminum and fiberglass hulls. GER Dehler 34, 38 Modern, racer-cruisers. USA Dickerson 36, 37, 40, 41, 50 Nicely proportioned and well-built boats. *USA Easterly 38 *USA Eastward Ho 31 Eldredge-McInnes design. ENG, USA, CAN, RSA, SCT Endurance 35, 38, 40 Peter Ibold design, some owner completed by various yards in ENG, USA & Canada. *USA Esprit 37 Perry design. Comfortable, well proven. *ARG F & C 44 Modern Frers designed cruising ketch. *USA Fast Passage 39 Some built in Canada, some by Tollycraft. Excellent boat. ENG Fisher 30-46 Motorsailers. Great for N.W. Alaska & N.E. USA Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 Mini-Ocean Cruiser. USA Morris Francis 26 *CAN Fraser 41, 46, 50 Good modern cruisers. USA Freya 39 Good value. Many owner-completed, so quality varies. FRA Henri Waquiez Gladiateur 33 Very sturdy, short on tankage. *CAN Goderich 35, 37, 41 Attractive Brewer steel boats. SWE Hallberg Rassy, 9.4, 31, 312, 33, 35, 352, 38, 382, 39, 41, 42, 42F, 45, 46,49, 53, 62 Well built, comfortable, and surprisingly fast. Very strong company, excellent service. *ENG Halmatic 30 Similar to Nicholson 31. USA Hinkley 30-64 Well built, very expensive, hold their value well. Short on tankage and storage. CAN H.T. Gozzard 31, 36, 44 Good design and construction. FRA Henri Waquiez Hood 38 Strong, fast, and attractive. Short on tankage. TAI Hylas 44, 47, 49 Frers & S&S designs. Good sailing qualities, tankage and storage centerboard. USA Island Packet 27,29, 32,35,350,37,38,40, 44, 45 Roomy and comfortable. Improving every year. USA J-40; J-44, 130 Fast, light. *USA Miller Marine Jason 35 Built near Seattle, some owner-completed. HOL Jongert 50, 55, 60, 67, 73 Heavy, expensive, well-built steel yachts. USA Justine 36 Excellent Paine design, Morris built cruiser. Expensive. *USA Kaiulani 34, 38 Lovely steel Brewer and Yohe designs. CAN Kanter 42, 45, 60, 65 Steel and aluminum boats, semi-custom. Highest quality. DEN LM 27, 28, 290, 30, 315, 32, 380 Some have inside steering. Well-built. USA Morris Leigh 30 Very well built, attractive. USA Morris Linda 28 TAI & USA Little Harbor 42 - 90 Ted Hood designed, heavy displacement. Semi-custom. Production returned to U.S. from Taiwan. Expensive. *USA Allied Luders 33 (DOVE), 36 Older well-built fiberglass boats. SWE Malo Quality offshore boats. USA Pacific Seacraft Mariah 31 At least one circumnavigation. TAI Mason 33, 43, 44, 53, 54, 63 Some of the very best Taiwan built boats. *USA Mercator 30 Inexpensive. At least one has circumnavigated. ENG Moody 24 - 44 Good boats, reputable builder. USA & ENG Morris 26, 28, 30, 32, 36, 44 Chuck Paine design. Superb quality, good company. SWE Najad 330, 361, 370, 390, 420, 490, 520 Quality, attractive boats. FIN Nauti-Cat Motorsailers 35,40,43, 53 S&S designed models are much better performers than earlier models. CAN Niagara 31, 35, 42 Well-built and roomy. Good company. *USA Nordic 34, 40, 44, 45 Bellingham, WA. Attractive well built boats. USA Nor'Sea 27, 35 27' is trailerable. Good sailing boat, affordable. TAI Norseman 400, 447 Well-built, fast, expensive and attractive. *ENG Ocean 60, 71 Powerful boats. *USA Ocean Cruising 42 Only a few built by Hank Hinkley. Classy. USA Pacific Seacraft Orion 27 Santa Ana, CA. ENG Oyster 42, 45, 485,49, 55, 61, 70, 80 Some have inside steering. Attractive, expensive and first-class! *USA Pearson 35, 365, 424, 520 Well-built, not flashy. Reasonably priced. FRA Henri Waquiez Pretorien 35 Strong, fast and attractive. Excellent company. *USA Pearson Rhodes Bounty II Early fiberglass boats,classic design. TAI Royal Passport 41, 44, 50 Modern cruising design. Good storage/tankage. ENG Rival 36-41 Not many on West Coast. Good boats. USA Sabre 34, 38, 42, 362, 402, 425 Built in Maine, excellent quality. ENG Sadler 34 Unsinkable, fast, beautiful. Superb boat. CAN Saturna 33 Attractive, Bill Garden designed pilothouse cutter. SWE Scanmar 35 CAN Sceptre 41 Modern pilothouse. *USA Allied Seawind II 32 Excellent boats. Good value. First f/g boat to circumnavigate the world. USA Seguin 44, 51 S&S design. Excellent boats. Semi-Custom. USA Shannon 28, 37, 38, 43, 50, 51 Excellent boats. Expensive and reliable. *TAI Skye 51 Similar in appearance to Swans. Strong and fast. *USA Southern Cross 28, 31, 35, 39 Good boats. Attractive designs. *CAN Spencer 35, 42, 44, 54 Older boats, built in Vancouver, B.C. USA Sundeer 56, 64 Excellent and expensive. * USA Tartan 37 Centerboard, well proven. SWE Sweden Yachts Expensive and well built. Racer-cruiser designs. TAI Taswell 43, 49, 56, 58, 60, 72 Quality, attractive, good sailing performance. TAI Tashiba 31, 36, 40 Perry designs. USA Townsend 30 Built in Pt. Townsend, WA. Traditional design Attractive and strong boat. HOL Trintella Roomy and well-built. *USA Pearson Triton Superb value. Earliest f/g production boat. Very sturdy. USA Valiant 32, 37, 39, 40, 42, 47, 50 Major blister problems on Valient 40 hull numbers 116-250. No problems with any of the excellent Texas built boats. CAN Vancouver 27 Also built in Taiwan & England. *USA Pearson Vangard 32 Excellent value. *SWE Albin Vega 27 At least six have circumnavigated. Inexpensive. ENG Victoria 30, 34 Chuck Paine designed. SWE Vindo 29, 34, 38, 39 Attractive, well-built. *USA Vineyard Vixen 30, 34 Attractive design. ENG Westerly 26 - 36 Not flashy, but well-built boats. *USA Westsail 28, 32, 39, 42, 43 Well-built boats. 39 is rare and attractive Perry design. CAN Whitby 42 Sell for around $75-100k. Inexpensive but sturdy and roomy. USA Windship Expensive custom boats. *USA Yankee 26, 30 S&S designed. Inexpensive. MULTI-HULLS USA Corsair F-27, F-31, F-41 Many fast and safe ocean crossings. Easily trailerable. *FRA Fountaine Pagot 37-55 Roomy, attractive, expensive. USA Lagoon 37, 42, 47 Roomy, attractive, expensive. FRA Jeantot Privilege 39, 48 USA Various Searunner Trimeran 31, 37 Jim Brown, excellent designs. Most were home built. Watch for soggy plywood. FRA Waquiez Kronos 45 Expensive, stylish, good company.
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Paul
Recomendations the short list
bowman brewer bristol cal cabot caliber cape dory esprit hallberg rassy mason moody morris najad norseman royal passport sabre sadler seawind shannon valiant pacific seacraft catalina hunter j
bowman brewer bristol cal cabot caliber cape dory esprit hallberg rassy mason moody morris najad norseman royal passport sabre sadler seawind shannon valiant pacific seacraft catalina hunter j
J
Jack Tyler
Moe about Paul's list...
Bo, I'd encourage you to look at the site Paul was referring to - especially because of the lengthy rationale John offers for what he looks for in an offshore boat rather than because of the list he comes up with at the end (which is by its nature dated and as he points out, not exhaustive). John is about to reach his 400,000th offshore mile and is thoughtful as well as experienced; this rationale is worth considering. (link below) One way to mitigate your own personal loss of strength & stamina over the next 10 years (at which point you apparently think you will be cruising offshore) is to think in terms of smaller boats. 40' seems to be the default size these days - I challenge you to revisit that assumption. A friend who's currently circumnavigating single-handed (until he can change that...) is now 60 and figures, health permitting, he has 10 more years to be offshore. He's already done 2 transatlantics, cruised the Med and lies at anchor in Cartegna as I write this - and he's been able to do all this because he sails a later model Tartan 27, which he can handle financially and physically. If you saw the boat, you wouldn't consider his choice 'unsafe' nor has the boat proven to be so over the last decade. I also think that, in your desire to be deliberative and unassuming about gaining the experience necessary to head offshore, you are painting yourself into a corner. There's no reason a full year (or two seasons in a seasonal climate) can't offer you sufficient time to develop the skills necessary to begin sailing some offshore legs, if in fact that is yourgoal. And in truth, that's how one 'becomes safe' offshore IME - building blocks of experience that include offshore stints sooner rather than later. Relying on brand names to help you find an offshore boat can in some cases be helpful and a short-cut of sorts - e.g., I've yet to see a Hallberg-Rassy of any length that wasn't ready for offshore sailing, presuming the careful maintenance and basic equipment needed. But while some brands are intentionally built to scantlings and using methods contrary to extended offshore sailing, other brands are a mix of more/less suitable designs, built perhaps at times when the builder was struggling financially or when the workforce was weak or in ways different from models built earlier. Relying on a brand name is relying on a crutch during the selection process. I have seen boats built by Bowman, Pacific Seacraft, Valiant and Bristol - usually good designs from what were/are considered quality manufacturers - that were true heartaches to their owners. Good luck on your search...and on your prep. And don't underestimate your ability to accomplish both. Jack
Bo, I'd encourage you to look at the site Paul was referring to - especially because of the lengthy rationale John offers for what he looks for in an offshore boat rather than because of the list he comes up with at the end (which is by its nature dated and as he points out, not exhaustive). John is about to reach his 400,000th offshore mile and is thoughtful as well as experienced; this rationale is worth considering. (link below) One way to mitigate your own personal loss of strength & stamina over the next 10 years (at which point you apparently think you will be cruising offshore) is to think in terms of smaller boats. 40' seems to be the default size these days - I challenge you to revisit that assumption. A friend who's currently circumnavigating single-handed (until he can change that...) is now 60 and figures, health permitting, he has 10 more years to be offshore. He's already done 2 transatlantics, cruised the Med and lies at anchor in Cartegna as I write this - and he's been able to do all this because he sails a later model Tartan 27, which he can handle financially and physically. If you saw the boat, you wouldn't consider his choice 'unsafe' nor has the boat proven to be so over the last decade. I also think that, in your desire to be deliberative and unassuming about gaining the experience necessary to head offshore, you are painting yourself into a corner. There's no reason a full year (or two seasons in a seasonal climate) can't offer you sufficient time to develop the skills necessary to begin sailing some offshore legs, if in fact that is yourgoal. And in truth, that's how one 'becomes safe' offshore IME - building blocks of experience that include offshore stints sooner rather than later. Relying on brand names to help you find an offshore boat can in some cases be helpful and a short-cut of sorts - e.g., I've yet to see a Hallberg-Rassy of any length that wasn't ready for offshore sailing, presuming the careful maintenance and basic equipment needed. But while some brands are intentionally built to scantlings and using methods contrary to extended offshore sailing, other brands are a mix of more/less suitable designs, built perhaps at times when the builder was struggling financially or when the workforce was weak or in ways different from models built earlier. Relying on a brand name is relying on a crutch during the selection process. I have seen boats built by Bowman, Pacific Seacraft, Valiant and Bristol - usually good designs from what were/are considered quality manufacturers - that were true heartaches to their owners. Good luck on your search...and on your prep. And don't underestimate your ability to accomplish both. Jack
D
David Foster
27 to 30 favored in the 70's
While my Dad was researching his cruising dream in the '70's this was the referred size for many ocean cruisers. Lower acquisition costs, much lower maintenance costs, easier line handling and simpler, more reliable systems are typical of these designs from the beginnings of plastic boats. 40 feet tends to be the threshold for modern production boats (Hunter, Catalina, and Beneteau) - for marketing and pricing reasons, rather than any design consideration shorter production boats are aimed at coastal cruising - which is what most of us are doing. But the 70's 30 foot designs of these boats are all capable if properly prepared. Check the archives for extended discussions of this subject. Owner reviews include some good data, too. One of us is preparing his 70's Hunter 27 for an Atlantic Crossing, for instance. David Lady Lillie
While my Dad was researching his cruising dream in the '70's this was the referred size for many ocean cruisers. Lower acquisition costs, much lower maintenance costs, easier line handling and simpler, more reliable systems are typical of these designs from the beginnings of plastic boats. 40 feet tends to be the threshold for modern production boats (Hunter, Catalina, and Beneteau) - for marketing and pricing reasons, rather than any design consideration shorter production boats are aimed at coastal cruising - which is what most of us are doing. But the 70's 30 foot designs of these boats are all capable if properly prepared. Check the archives for extended discussions of this subject. Owner reviews include some good data, too. One of us is preparing his 70's Hunter 27 for an Atlantic Crossing, for instance. David Lady Lillie
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