Can a couple sail a 64ft FC yacht around the world?

[Tingum]

I am going to agree with SailorBoy1, if you have to ask then the answer is NO. A big boat can hurt both your pocket book and your body. What is manageable on a 35' boat requires a totally different skill level on a 65'.

[ssanzone]

Originally Posted by atoll

if you like hard work,paying $150 a night in marinas,using $200 dollars worth of fuel a day when motoring,$5000 on a haul out,taking out a bank loan every time something breaks!
go for it,but it won't be cheap!

i am guessing FC stands for ferro cement and, assuming i am correct, even finding a yard that can lift that beast out of the water.

6 and 9 yr olds are more hold than many give them credit for and could certainly function as helmsman (assuming the captain is present), trim sails and help cooking and cleaning below deck.

6 and 9 yr olds can not stand watch overnight or manage sails without

can a 64' boat be managed by 2 adults and 2 kids, yeah.

will any of you actually have 30 seconds of rest to enjoy cruising is a better question.

if you decide on a boat this size, i recommend new rigging (runnign all lines aft and, perhaps, a self tailing head sail, and sails and plumbing and electronics and a serious motor service prior to setting sail in the interest of removing as much risk of failure as possible given the limited crew.

-steve

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by Group9

Depends on the couple.

and where they plan to take it.

[Sand crab]

Is this the one in the Bay area?

[Weyalan]

Phone up your insurance broker and ask him for a quote to insure a 64 foot FC boat... when he stops laughing he will tell you it is uninsurable.

Run away. Run far, far away.

[DumnMad]

Sounds too big to me. It would probably be comfortable at sea which may be more important to you than sailing speed. On the otherhand an FC boat won the short-handed race from Moolooaba Australia to Japan so it depends on design.
Most of the -ve comments re FC are ignorant and prejudiced by experience with historic poor-builds.
While its no longer viable to build FC compared to fibreglass because of labor costs many 30 to 40 year old boats are still crossing oceans. On my 15 boat pier there are 3 FC boats all with a history of ocean sailing around NZ and all in great condition because they have been well maintained. One FC boat came into port a few months ago after a 4 month non-stop voyage from South Africa!!

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

It is 100% doable if the couple has what it takes.

b.

As in ....
Cape, mask, and tights!

[stillbuilding]

Autopilot, powered everything, well prepared, well designed, we'll maintained. Depending on competence -
Sure - not too much different from a 45'. Have to think ahead and have strategies for everything.

[robert sailor]

FC boats are like all boats, some are better than others. Its not a boat I would choose because there are several negatives that others have mentioned but many of these boats have circumnavigated and can be built very stout.
They were very popular years ago because they could be homebuilt and years later there we lots of big holes dug in the back yards of would be sailors who found the project was just too big. I have seen some that were junk the day they were built and I have seen others as fair as fiberglass.
We spent a lot of time with a young couple and 2 kids that had a 60 foot FC boat and they sailed it all over the place including many offshore voyages. It was their home for the better part of 5 years and served them very well.
They are usually very cheap to buy and there fore attractive but they are very hard to sell and many have been relegated to live a board status for the cheap seat crowd.
Personally I would recommend against it, not because of strength(most are probably stronger than many Bendy boats out there) but because you'd probably have to spend a lot of money getting the boat ready and its just money thrown away. Finally, the young couple and their kids were seasoned sailors and knew their boat very well and had no problem handling it in any conditions which included lots of stinky weather as their home was in Alaska so yes 2 adults and 2 kids that know what they are doing can handle it.

[pingrossouw]

Hi All...

a big thank you for all the replies so far, it is nice hearing all the different opinions.

Let me first just clarify a bit. We are looking to buy her for a live aboard firstly and grow into her as we go along. Our cruising will only start in a couple of years so we do have time to learn the ropes....

"She is a 64 foot Robert Clark design Cruising cutter. First launched in 2000, with a 125 HP Perkins diesel engine. The mainsail is fully battened and at the base of the mast is an electric winch to assist. The main is also equipped with a stackpack and lazy jacks and has slab reefing. The genoa is on a Hood roller furler and there is a hank on cutter/ storm sail. There are six manual winches in the cockpit and three on the mast. There is a hydraulic in line auto pilot."

We have come to terms with FC as a hull material, and as strange as it might sound we actually prefer it to GRP

[Tingum]

You will probably not be able to insure it but then again FC is as strong as a battleship and has the advantage of being easily repaired. The older it is the stronger it gets. Sounds manageable the way it is set up, since you are going to hang close till you learn it you should be fine. Good luck.

[CarlF]

You'll have no problem at the dock but here are upgrades that I would consider critical in a boat this big before cruising with a short handed crew:

Bow thruster - You can't pull or push this big a boat at the dock.

Electric winches for sheets and furlers.

A furling main (I prefer in boom) set up to operate entirely from the cockpit.

Two headsail rig (Solent or cutter) with both sails on furlers. These sails are too big to routinely change at sea with a short handed crew and partially furled genoas don't work.

As a shorthanded crew, equipment failures can be hard to deal with on a big boat. Reliability more than size could overwhelm you.

During your years at the dock I would replace the standing and running rigging, buy new sails, new batteries, new alternator, new autopilot, replace every hose, replace (or refurbish) seacocks, install a double Racor filter system, clean fuel tanks, replace anchor chain and rode, replace rudder bearings and any wearing parts in the steering system, replace high risk engine parts (mounts, starter, fuel pump, exhaust riser, heat exchanger, fuel hoses, cooling hoses)

Obviously this cuts into the "good deal" but it is probably still much less than buying a new boat.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I'm going to say NO because the original poster had to ask the question, which probably means it is a no for their level of experience

Bingo....

Find the nearest F350 Super Duty, set the parking brake and run a line from the hitch to your cockpit winch.... That will give you some practice for trimming a genny on a 60+ with a bit of wind in her...

[WebWench]

Be very wary of boats that seem to be a good deal, or much less expensive than others of similar size. The cost of Maintenance, upgrades, refitting and repairs will be much much more than you can even imagine.
Even if you plan to just live aboard and think you will get it ready to cruise during that time....get a good survey and then get prices on everything that needs work. Talk to an insurance company as well....at the very least you will need liability insurance in case you damage someone else's boat.
If you don't have experience with large boats already....I would steer clear.

[David_Old_Jersey]

The answer is YES!

Can you? - clearly not.

Could you? - no idea.

Will it be easy? No. But sailing RTW will never be easy no matter the size of the boat.......for that there be jumbo jets!

IMO not a silly question - first step is to get a handle on some ballparks.

But in this case a cheapy FC 64 footer as a first boat is all but guaranteed to end in broken dreams. and that long before heading off RTW.