Best quality coastal cruiser

[carstenb]

I'm not going to discourage your desire for 2 heads and electric winches. Personally I'd find 2 heads excessive - but what do I know about your friends and their needs/habits?

I used to own a 33 foot Bavaria - 1 head, 2 cabins, manual winches (they could have been converted to electric although we never found it necessary).

Good boat - sailed well, very comfortable and for any type of coastal cruising I'd certainly recommend one of these to anyone.

Lots of european manufacturers make well-equipped models in your size reange, Dufour, Jeanneau, Benneteau, Bavaria just to name a few.

One of these baots from the early to mid 00's should fall within your price range and have most of what you are looking for (two heads might be tricky to find though).

Re the advice to start sailing in dinghys and the like. Sure - sailing small boats is fun and great experience. Do you need to start in that? I don't think so - just start out easy, watch your weather and you'll learn quite a bit along the way. Will you get some hard knocks? - yep, you will and you'll learn from them

The boat can take more than you can. And there is no reason you can't both own a bigger keel boat and still do some samll boat sailing in a club - you'll learn a lot about sail trim.

Here's a link to a 35 foot bavaria for sale in Spain ( I live in Europe). That is a lot of boat for 59K euros (65K USD). It is only 6 years od - check out hte pics.

Bavaria 35 Cruiser, 2009, Pris EUR 59.000, Brugt Sejlb?d/Sejlb?de S?lges, Palma de Mallorc... Spanien
good luck

[weavis]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I used to own a 33 foot Bavaria - 1 head, 2 cabins, manual winches (they could have been converted to electric although we never found it necessary).


The boat can take more than you can. And there is no reason you can't both own a bigger keel boat and still do some samll boat sailing in a club - you'll learn a lot about sail trim.

Here's a link to a 35 foot bavaria for sale in Spain ( I live in Europe). That is a lot of boat for 59K euros (65K USD). It is only 6 years od - check out hte pics.

Bavaria 35 Cruiser, 2009, Pris EUR 59.000, Brugt Sejlb?d/Sejlb?de S?lges, Palma de Mallorc... Spanien
good luck

Excellent marque.
More Bavs here
Boats for sale, used boats, new boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

Dont forget-different A/C electrical system on most European boats-but they seem better fitted out than the ones for the American Market.

[Paul J. Nolan]

Look, he asked for advice and I gave it. My position is simply: learn to sail before you buy a big boat. Not a radical stance, is it? Yet, immediately the cacophony arises: "No,no,no!" "You don't need to learn!" "I never learned to sail and look at me now!". Well, I respectfully disagree.

Seven decades have left me with a few strong opinions (some might say, "Way too many strong opinions.")

1) people coming into the sport should first learn to sail. I mean the basic blocking and tackling: how to sail a beat, reach, run. How to tack and jibe. How to steer, how to steer a compass course. How to set and trim sails. How to sail in light, moderate, and heavy air. Etc.

2) One learns more, better and faster in a small boat than a big one.

3) The Laser, for many reasons, is the best small boat in the world.

4) Some exposure to racing will hone your skills, skills on which you will rely many, many times in future years.

That's my advice. Take it or leave it.

Paul, now outta this thread.

[Paul J. Nolan]

PS: the advice to look into an Album Vega was good advice, in my opinion.

P.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

Look, he asked for advice and I gave it. My position is simply: learn to sail before you buy a big boat. Not a radical stance, is it? Yet, immediately the cacophony arises: "No,no,no!" "You don't need to learn!" "I never learned to sail and look at me now!". Well, I respectfully disagree.

Seven decades have left me with a few strong opinions (some might say, "Way too many strong opinions.")

1) people coming into the sport should first learn to sail. I mean the basic blocking and tackling: how to sail a beat, reach, run. How to tack and jibe. How to steer, how to steer a compass course. How to set and trim sails. How to sail in light, moderate, and heavy air. Etc.

2) One learns more, better and faster in a small boat than a big one.

3) The Laser, for many reasons, is the best small boat in the world.

4) Some exposure to racing will hone your skills, skills on which you will rely many, many times in future years.

That's my advice. Take it or leave it.

Paul, now outta this thread.

I dont want to race. I dont want exposure to racing. I dont need it to learn to sail. I didnt learn to race while learning to drive, but I did learn to drive.

I didnt want to do aerobatics to learn the extremes of flying. I dont like it and will never do it. If my plane is upside down then I have a problem which is way beyond aerobatic training..... Id probably rip the wings off in the models I fly, and if my knowledge of how to right the aircraft dont work then the problem is moot.

No one said to NOT learn how to sail. I would have given up if I was forced to learn in a dinghy. I dont want to sail Dinghies. They have different characteristics to the boats I sail now and a lot of the techniques in a dinghy would not have any effect in the luggers I play with. Especially on Catamarans. I can learn EVERYTHING on a larger boat the same as a dinghy.

Your experience is welcome. As you obviously have been told several times, your strong opinions are framed in a targeted and strong delivery which leave no room for other peoples opinions or reasoning. Nobody disagrees that small boats allow a person to feel how and when. But I personally disagree that it is the only way or the way I would want to learn to sail. Not everyone wants to make sailing their lifes mission but do want to learn how to sail their $300K boat they have just bought.

[FamilyVan]

OP, you might be well served by an early 2000's Hunter 32. All boats are going to have a few compromises, but the Hunter 32 is a good light air boat, and more importantly, Hunters probably make the best use of space when it comes to entertaining, which I gauge to be of value to you. They have the second cabin available to you for your occasional over night guests, big spacious salons and cockpits.

This model will be relatively easy to learn to sail in and fits nicely within your original range of 25-35'. I think you are wise to stay within that original range as boats north of 35 start to get hard to single hand, especially docking in crowded marinas.

They might not be the best boats for offshore- but the best boats for offshore, won't be the best boats for short coastal stuff, so I wouldn't even worry about that.

I know I avoid offshore sailing the same way some posters avoid dinghy sailing, it just isn't for me. A friend recently asked if I'd help bring a 40 something Hanse across the Atlantic, before I could even form an answer my skin started to crawl, my back got itchy. Weeks stuck on a 40 something foot boat? No beaches? No Tiki Bars? No Thank you!

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[weavis]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

OP, you might be well served by an early 2000's Hunter 32. All boats are going to have a few compromises, but the Hunter 32 is a good light air boat, and more importantly, Hunters probably make the best use of space when it comes to entertaining, which I gauge to be of value to you. They have the second cabin available to you for your occasional over night guests, big spacious salons and cockpits.

This model will be relatively easy to learn to sail in and fits nicely within your original range of 25-35'. I think you are wise to stay within that original range as boats north of 35 start to get hard to single hand, especially docking in crowded marinas.

They might not be the best boats for offshore- but the best boats for offshore, won't be the best boats for short coastal stuff, so I wouldn't even worry about that.

I know I avoid offshore sailing the same way some posters avoid dinghy sailing, it just isn't for me. A friend recently asked if I'd help bring a 40 something Hanse across the Atlantic, before I could even form an answer my skin started to crawl, my back got itchy. Weeks stuck on a 40 something foot boat? No beaches? No Tiki Bars? No Thank you!

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Made me laugh.
Jes sayin'

Experienced sailors will tell you that some of the worst sailing is in the Bay of Biscay when its blowing. Ive only ever experienced the edge of a blow there, but have treated sailors who were not so lucky...........Their sad gaunt features and dead eyes indicate things that can never be spoken of..
I believe all of them would have prefered to cross the Atlantic.

Oh, and there are no Tiki bars either. bummer.

[FamilyVan]

Originally Posted by weavis

Made me laugh.
Jes sayin'

Experienced sailors will tell you that some of the worst sailing is in the Bay of Biscay when its blowing. Ive only ever experienced the edge of a blow there, but have treated sailors who were not so lucky...........Their sad gaunt features and dead eyes indicate things that can never be spoken of..
I believe all of them would have prefered to cross the Atlantic.

Oh, and there are no Tiki bars either. bummer.

Weavis, its not heavy weather I that makes my skin crawl, I love heavy weather sailing, big boat and small. Its the isolation that I don't like.

I'm occasionally questioned on why I have a heavy displacement double ender for lake sailing, I take that to mean the questioner is unfamiliar with sea conditions on the Great Lakes and gulf of St Lawrence.

When I was in my late teens and early 20's I have was a tall ship enthusiast and made lots of longer passages, but there was a crew of 20-30, half of them young women! Its different when you can bring the party with you

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[weavis]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Weavis, its not heavy weather I that makes my skin crawl, I love heavy weather sailing, big boat and small. Its the isolation that I don't like.

I'm occasionally questioned on why I have a heavy displacement double ender for lake sailing, I take that to mean the questioner is unfamiliar with sea conditions on the Great Lakes and gulf of St Lawrence.

When I was in my late teens and early 20's I have was a tall ship enthusiast and made lots of longer passages, but there was a crew of 20-30, half of them young women! Its different when you can bring the party with you

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aah.
Im happy enough on my own with occasional forays into civilisation to reinforce my decision to be solitary. (And the occasion beer or wine)

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

1) people coming into the sport should first learn to sail. I mean the basic blocking and tackling: how to sail a beat, reach, run. How to tack and jibe. How to steer, how to steer a compass course. How to set and trim sails. How to sail in light, moderate, and heavy air. Etc.

I always had a hard time even finding the compass on a Laser, maybe it was just me...

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

PS: the advice to look into an Album Vega was good advice, in my opinion.

P.

WAIT!

You didn't say which one???

[brownoarsman]

Obviously this vega (street fighter). Wouldn't you feel safe?




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[evbeck]

Looks like a thick skin is required for this string today. All too heads and electric wenches means is a bigger boat - which is not the question you raised. Consider a Tartan in 34-37 range or a C&C in same range. Pearsons also affordable and trustworthy as a general rule. These will be older boats, but most have stood the test of time. Good luck.

[coolboat30]

I think you should heed the early advice and get a lot more experience in the area you plan to cruise before you buy a boat. Take some more classes. Join a club and sail some different boats. I would bet a bunch of money that you will come to realize that two heads and two "cabins" are not necessary for what you will be doing and are hard to find in a 33 foot boat, even a cat.

[sjenner]

Great advice on this thread and with all due respect to Paul, I will take his advice with a grain of salt. Sailing cruiser boats takes more than just knowing how to sail. One must know systems and how to maintain basics of the engine, bilge pumps, and so forth. I can settle for one head and two cabins and non-electric winches if they allow me to sail the boat single handed by myself.

[wolfesmy]

Seriously 2 cabins and 2 heads for a first boat. This sounds like a want to have and not a need to have wish list. Not to be critical but as you say you have limited experience you may want to try a smaller boat first to see what you can comfortably manage with or without. Once you get some sea miles under your belt you will have a better understanding of what you actually need. We comfortably cruise with one head on a 38 ft boat with 2 to 4 people. Accomodating 2 in the v berth and 2 in the saloon.
More parts and options more potential issues.
KISS is the best principle for cruising.

Cheers