small Blue Water boat

Stu Jackson · Sep 10, 2009

Aleutka information

Paul356 said:
It's hard to find much about an Aleutka...

Nonsense, it was designed by John Letcher who wrote the classic book Self Steering for Small Craft.

The boat is designed for using sweeps, or oars, for power, no engine ever intended.

He sailed the boat all over the Pacific: LA, Hawaii, SF, Alaska, the works.

Great book if you can find it, my copy never leave my frostbitten hands...

HukilauMike · Sep 10, 2009

A real blue water boat for less than $9000? Pardon my cynicism, but it's been my experience that if it sounds too good to be true, it's too good to be true. The boat looks good in the photos, and its seems worth an investigation, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. How many times have you seen broker photos or descriptions of boats that look and sound perfect, only to find upon live inspection that the deck is spongy, the engine is better suited for anchor duty, the photos were taken five years ago, and the teak now looks like a pile of compost?

A real blue water boat for that price? Come on. I may have just fallen off the turnip wagon, but it didn't back up over my head....

MoonSailer · Sep 10, 2009

Why blue water??? If cruising is the goal you can spend a lifetime sailing along the coast of the USA without any long offshore passages. I understand the desire to sail over the horizon but that does require a budget not only for the boat but all of the other essentials in life. BUT if you are willing to live on a Mac 25 out on the ocean for a week or more with no chance of relief....wouldn't living on a Mac 25 for a series of daysails spending nights in new anchorages and hiking along the shore eating local food would seem very easy!!!! Another big advantage is that if things get to rough you can check into a hotel for a few days of clean sheets,AC and cable TV. Of course if you truely desire survival conditions that is another matter.
http://www.btinternet.com/~sail/cruising.htm#What_is_dinghy_cruising

This guy would consider a Mac 25 a huge boat. I have considered making a long cruise in my sea kayak. But so far only an overnight trip in Okeefenokee swamp.

Ross · Sep 10, 2009

There are some attributes in a so called blue water boat that are not wonderful for daysailers. A small cockpit is good for ocean going boats but not for a daysailer with six people on board. Being able to close the boat up as securely as a submarine is essential for an offshore boat but un-necessary for a daysailer. The wind and the waves can combine to knock a boat onto her beam ends or even roll her completely and many daysailers can't recover from that, an ocean going boat must. An ocean going boat must be able to secure everything below deck so that in rough weather the cabin isn't trashed. daysailers and coastal boats may not have the means for this.

jibes138 · Sep 10, 2009

The guy from Japan

What about the guy from Japan that crossed the Pacific in about a ten foot boat? A bunch of people were rowing across the Atlantic in 22 foot rowboats. All kinds of crazy stuff out there. You could probably build a wooden boat for 5 grand or so, there was a Folkboat with a square sail that made about three Atlantic crossing before disappearing never to be heard from again. Forget the name but there was a book or two about it

Ross · Sep 10, 2009

Re: The guy from Japan

My requirement for a boat or an airplane is that it must be able to get you there AND bring you back. One way trips are not an option.

MoonSailer · Sep 10, 2009

Ross I was taking a position that I read from you about cruising. You said that you felt no need to leave Chesapeake Bay as it provided all of the sailing room that you require. So I am proposing to Brendanthehunter that if he wants to cruise and has a boat suitable to coastal cruising then go coastal cruising. NOW. This is the ideal exspoused in "Sensible Cruising" that it is better to cruise NOW in the boat that you have than to wait until SOMEDAY for the perfect boat. I seriously doubt that if Brendan doesn't like coastal cruising where he can buy bags of ice and beer that he won't enjoy weeks out of sight of land. Also Brendan is more likely to survive mishaps while coastal than when several hundred or even 20 miles from shore. "Sensible Cruising" is a fantastic book on realistic cruising for most sailers. Also if he has a trailer he can cruise Chesapeake in the summer and then pull the boat to the keys for the winter. There are a lot of cruising options for a Mac 25 ..just not blue water. That is why I bought my Mac26. My family and I towed it a lot to places we wanted to sail. Charleston, Panama City, Kentucky Lake. Standard operation was to drive one day to the destination. Sail all week and then drive back home.

Brendan Check out the trailer sailer forum here at sailboatowners.com!!!!

Scott T-Bird · Sep 10, 2009

Brendan's blowing smoke!

It sounds like this MacGregor is Brendan's first sail boat and he wouldn't know the difference between his MacGregor and any of the small blue water boats that are suggested. I think Brendan should keep his day job and sail his MacGregor for awhile wherever it happens to be. He even seems confused about his destination and possible routes. At first it sounded like he was intending to island hop into the Caribbean from Florida. If I'm not mistaken, it should be possible to jump from island to island all the way even to the Windwards without anything much more than a day sail except for the longest passage from Florida to the Bahamas across the stream, which may be the most perilous part. But many MacGregors have done that 24-hour jaunt. All those little jaunts could be done during the right weather windows without that much danger (with a little luck to avoid unpredictable squalls and the odd hurricane!).

But many of you seem to have convinced him that he needs to make an ocean crossing. Why, I'm not sure.

Going back to the island hopping ... it is called the "thorny road" for a reason. It think it is working against the trades the entire way which will give the boat a beating. Waiting for weather windows will also be time consuming and expensive. It's unclear if Brendan has just $7,500 for his entire adventure or if he has some money and income and $7,500 is all he has available for the boat. I'm guessing Brendan has about $7500 and that after he buys the boat, his money will have to be spread out for purchasing components, living expenses and supplies. That might last about 2 weeks and he may never get any further than his 1st destination in the Bahamas (assuming he is starting from Florida). Good luck! I hope Brendan finds a job in Florida to save-up. Live on the MacGregor and keep working for that kitty. It should build-up fast and hopefully you will find a way to achieve your goals!

Ross · Sep 10, 2009

Nancy and I were sailing/motoring in the fog one day, nothing to see except the water for a few hundred feet and I remarked to Nancy that if we just multiplied that by forty days we would know what crossing an ocean is like. I personally think that days and weeks of empty ocean would bore me to tears or worse.
After Eric died Mrs. Hiscock wrote an article for one of the magazines detailing her circumnavigation of the harbor where she was in a sailing dink. She held that it was a perfectly fine adventure that you couldn't enjoy in a large boat.
I am trying to convince Nancy that our big boat can serve as a movable room and the dink can be used to explore the many shallow creeks that we pass. I haven't been very successful yet.

Dave Groshong · Sep 10, 2009

Or maybe an old Cal 28:

http://www.stirlinglaw.com/cal28/

I sailed hull #13 (1963) over 15,000 open ocean miles single handed. I did do some structural modifications such as packing the hull/deck flange from the outside with thick epoxy and fiber glassing it from the inside. Also replaced the windows with oversized Lexan. Purchased the boat for $4500 in 1998 and sold it for the same price years later.

MoonSailer · Sep 10, 2009

The Thorny Path is a way to avoid the trade winds as you sail souteast through the islands. Basically you wait for a front to stall or reverse the trades and then hop to another island or anchorage. Sailing at night in the lee of islands is another tactic. I read the book and it sounds like a lot of motoring in the light winds and waiting for the light winds.
Ross I agree that spending time out of sight of land is boring. But I do plan to sail offshore as much as possible from Florida to the Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully by the summer of 2010. I am very forunate that my wife enjoys sailing. But she does not like to be out of sight of land. She did well on the few overnight passages that we have made. I figure that we can cruise a lot of coast with a few 100 mile overnight passages. Our Pearson 323 has a good reputation as a solid coastal cruiser.
, http://rollinscs.com/boatpages/cruisinglogpage11.htm

Stu Jackson · Sep 10, 2009

Curious - What's the Difference

MoonSailer said:
... she does not like to be out of sight of land. She did well on the few overnight passages that we have made.

If it's nighttime, maybe the only things you see are the lights?

Ross · Sep 10, 2009

Plan your passing of cape hatterus very carefully. The gulf stream runs very close to the coast there.

MoonSailer · Sep 10, 2009

Stu that's right. At night we can only see the lights. Our overnight passages have all been between Panama City and Pensacola Florida. It takes about 24 hours as the wind usually dies during the night. We pass Destin florida but the pass there is very tricky. But you can take an air craft carrier through the pass at Pensacola.
Ross our plan is to sail to the Bahamas and spend a month or two in the Abacos and then sail up the coast to North Carolina and go into a pass there (morehead city) and take the ditch to Norfolk. Unless there is an exceptional weather window we won't go around Hatteras.

Franklin · Sep 10, 2009

Scott T-Bird said:
But many of you seem to have convinced him that he needs to make an ocean crossing. Why, I'm not sure.

To some waiting for light or no wind and motoring to the next Island is ok but not for me. I want to sail. Trying to sail up wind for 120+ miles to the next port against the wind and waves in a boat that doesn't point well and doesn't take waves well will turn that one day trip into a 3-4 day beating. Not something that many will enjoy.

bffatcat · Sep 10, 2009

aleutka 26

John Letcher the boats designer did some passagemaking in an aleutka 26 It`s a solid boat.
suitable for ocean sailing. Trailerable too. Kind of slow though with twin keels and no power source. There been talk about the Icw etc: going to need an outboard for that. than again $8900 for the boat is already over budget. Without $$$ for spares repairs and modifications.

Theres been talk about a catalina 27 An OK boat for coastal sailing but not really suitable for offshore and definitely not trailerable. Another possibility is a Bristol 24 or 26 A solidly built long keel boat not really trailerable but it could be trailered . It would have to be put in the water with a travel lift You might be able to find one in your budget and do some modifications to make it offshore ready.

Youve been told by others on the forum that a Mac 25 was not built for offshore work
The land is kind to humans but the sea is indifferent. Please dont make a big mistake by
taking a lightly built totally unsuitable boat offshore

MoonSailer · Sep 10, 2009

I agree Franklin, After reading the Thorny Path I had no desire to take that route. It would work if you were really in no hurry at all and had plenty of supplies. But as a way to get somewhere it sucks. http://www.caribbeancompass.com/thornypath.htm , http://bristolrose.blogspot.com/2009/03/if-you-want-to-smell-roses-beware-of.html ,http://bristolrose.blogspot.com/2009/04/thorny-path-part-ii-bemoaning-mona.html

Franklin · Sep 10, 2009

bffatcat said:
There been talk about the Icw etc: going to need an outboard for that. than again $8900 for the boat is already over budget. Without $$$ for spares repairs and modifications.

This boat has an outboard that comes with it. It is listed at $8900 but it's not uncommon to offer 25% less which would come out to $6675. Now I'm not saying he could get it for that but if he did, he would have $1,000 for parts and spares which should be good enough for a boat without much to it like that one (no AC, no Frig, no Desiel, no charger). If I wasn't so old and accustom to things like Ice in my drinks and a frig...aka...I was young like him (he is a college student) I'd love to have that boat. Just add a wind generator and a hand held water maker and I'd be off cruising the world.

kenn · Sep 10, 2009

small derail

Amen to the following:

This is the ideal espoused in "Sensible Cruising" - that it is better to cruise NOW in the boat that you have than to wait until SOMEDAY for the perfect boat.

...Word.

One of the books in the sailing section of our meagre home library is Dinghy Cruising by Margaret Dye. It's quite humbling to read about their adventures doing some extended cruises in a Wayfarer; it makes our 19' micro-cruiser seem luxurious by comparison. On the other hand her matter-of-fact description of the practical problems they encountered, and the way they solved them, is very inspiring, and after reading it, no problem seemed insurmountable with the right attitude and some clear-eyed thinking.

This is a derail, sorry.

small Blue Water boat

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