older vs. newer fiberglass boats

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,374
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Is there a blue water cat boat?

dj
 

Mr Fox

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Aug 31, 2017
204
Marshall 22 Portland, ME
Is there a blue water cat boat?

dj
The nonsuch is pretty cool, but typically a catboat really is a coastal boat; it's great if you want tons of room in a small package and super shallow draft. I'd never go seriously offshore in mine, but we island hop and explore rivers and coves. Perfect day sailor with occasional overnights, not a serious cruiser.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,374
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
I want to sail one of those! That would be fun! Talk about simple rigging!

dj
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I have heard of people sailing their ComPac 16s to the Bahamas from Florida, on weekends, so while not serious bluewater ocean crossing, those are still serious waters, crossing the Gulfstream.

I like cat boats too. Their flexibility as coastal cruisers is excellent and they are very pretty with their deep sheer lines and high bows. Stable, roomy and solid performers

In deciding how to choose which boat to invest in, I think gettinthere brought up some great points.
Where will you sail? How much space will you want for guests? Performance vs comfort? Flat hulls with wing keels will be faster than a full or semi full keel. That full keel boat will be more comfortable in rough seas but the Bene will be faster and point better for fun daysailing
What are you looking for in a boat? The older designs are perfectly comparable in a bluewater cruiser if you don't plan to race from point to point. In fact, some of the older designs, pre-1980s, offer advantages with their full keel narrow hull designs. They have better helms, leading to less fatigue, and generally roll less than wider hulls. For trailer sailing, there are lots of good choices, but newer lighter construction offers more options for towing and launching. The list can go on and on as to how one evaluates value in choosing a sailboat purchase.
Get the boat that fits your needs the best, pay to get on the water and stay sailing as easily as possible. Cheap is a nebulous term in sailing, so too is value.

I hope, since this thread was started last October, that mauiman has worked his dilemma out with satisfaction. I'd like to read about how it went.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Check out this Sirius 35 DS. I swear the Salon reminds me of a Catamaran On a Monohull boat.

It has an interesting design with a lot of thinking about a build for a cruiser sailboat. It has a strong Comfort Ration and a below 2 Capsize Ratio. This looks like a boat designed with blue water cruising in mind.


 
Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
What a wonderful layout. I wonder how the Sirius 35 DS Sails. And what it costs!
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
What a wonderful layout. I wonder how the Sirius 35 DS Sails. And what it costs!
It is an amazing layout in 35'. A review I read was all about the space below at the cost of side decks and light air sailing performance.

I wondered that because the SA/D is just over 15.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
And what it costs!
Lots of Euros. 90 to 250 plus boat bucks in the current exchange rate.

While affordability is an issue for most, I have to say the design is interesting.
 
Sep 11, 2015
147
Hunter 31 Marina del Rey
I can give you an example of my boat (35 year old H31) vs. an early 2000s H310 in my marina, so that you can decide for yourself what the differences are.

1) You buy a boat because you fall in love with her. It could be the layout, the sailing capabilities, anything that makes your heart stop. In my case, I like the layout and the sailing characteristics (and the price, of course).

2) After 35 years, the hull does not look as nice as on the younger boat. You can polish it to perfection but it is becoming too expensive relative to the value of the boat. This is even more noticeable with the deck. The non-skid is worn out on a few places, while the younger boat looks fresh and shiny. Can you fix it? Yes. Is it worth it? No.

3) Inside you have teak, younger boats have other materials. The older boat, especially one that was not super expensive at the time, shows its age. The sole is worn, some of the joinery is falling apart. Again, it can be fixed but not worth it.

4) The bottom you paint every 3-4 years, so no difference. The mast, standing, running rigging, sails - no difference. Systems, no difference. Any boat that you buy you will be refitting every 5-10 years based on your use and preferences. Similar to how often you renovate your apartment.

5) Engine, the older boat may need a replacement, mostly because 30+ year old engines have difficulties in obtaining parts. I replaced mine at age of 32 or something. My boat happens to have fiberglass tanks, etc. Other boats have tanks that corrode after a while. If you get into tank replacement, water heater replacement, etc. where you have to disassemble half of the boat, it becomes increasingly not cost effective.

6) Another consideration with 30+ year old boats is how much longer you would use it. For example, if I were to replace the standing rigging now, the new rigging would be good enough for another 15-20 years. The boat will be 50-55 years old at that point. It is probably not worth it. Again, very similar to having an old car and deciding to fix it or buy new. At some point it just does not make sense. I think I may sunset the boat next 5-10 years.

SV Pizzazz
 
Feb 11, 2017
122
former Tartan 30 New London, CT area
Pizzazz makes some good points about maintenance costs.
Newer boats also offer improved performance, which you may desire. And as the newer boats age, that performance may become more affordable.
I remember (still) coming out of SW harbor in our Tartan 30 heading for Frenchboro, beating into a snotty SWer. At some point I noticed a boat behind us, coming the same way, and just eating up ground on us. I beat him to Frenchboro (getting the last inside mooring) but took the dingy out to see what had been chasing us. I was very impressed with the performance. It was a Saga 43. Light displacement, fractional rig, small jib.
Bit of research showed it was out of my price range, as well as it's little sister, the Saga 35.
But that was 20 years ago. That same boat could be affordable today.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
Sitting here by my computer i have a plug I took out of a customers boat to install a new through hull when I moved his galley. The boat was a 1962 Pearson 32 footer and the plug is exactly 7/8 inch thick- very well built boat and until a hurricane put it on the bottom was going strong. The boat has been raised, refurbished and is sailing again.

My own Seafarer Meridian (Phil Rhodes design) was built in Holland in 1961, and after I reworked the interior, has taken me almost 12,000 miles, including twice across the Gulf of Mexico, once single hand, and twice across the Gulf Stream That mileage only includes cruises, not local day sails.. With a decent crew ( hopefully a lady :) ) I'd willingly sail her most anywhere, blue water OR coastal.

Pictured at anchor in Pipe creek, Exumas, Bahamas
anchored Pipe Creek.jpg
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,374
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Not all old boats a slow. Certainly there are modern designs that are faster both in hull and sail design. But some of the older faster boats are still pretty darned good. I used to own a boat that new it had been the world champion in the old 3/4 ton class. By the time I owned it, it had been modified to be a blue water cruiser rather than a cruiser/racer. I was one lovely summer day sailing across a long bay off the coast of Spain and suddenly realized there were a number of modern boats racing across the bay and were just behind me, gaining on me. Well, of course I couldn't just continue to not pay attention so I trimmed my sails, tweaked my sail shape and walked away from the whole pack. My boat was 10 to 15 years older than any of those other boats, had a heavy trans-oceanic main, well, and a really nice reacher that was old, but still in great shape. So sure, there are faster newer boats. But here are some very nice older boats also... They aren't all dogs...

dj