Solid/Bluewater Center Cockpit with modern interior?

[JRM]

Originally Posted by ColdCutterRig

@swisscraft

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually like the older (pre Hanse) Moodys. A friend had a 2001 Moody 38 that we liked save for the fact that it was just a bit cramped down below. The big issue was no sea berths and the settees in the salon were a hair too short to be converted - I'm 6'1".

I saw the boat you linked to on Yachtworld and was considering giving the seller a call. We'd have to redo the interior, but at the price it might be worth considering. Not sure of the headaches involved in what would essentially be gutting the interior and redoing it.

Don't know where you are, but there's a 2000(1?) Moody 42 in Alameda which is *really* sweet. It's been on for a while and is just under $200K. The wife and I both loved it, and if we had the scratch we'd be sailing it. It was our favorite boat there regardless of price range.

Met the owner and talked with him for a while. It'd be perfect.

JRM

[Cheechako]

I looked at a Moody in about 2000. I liked the boat (even though the EU forced them to mount the forward hatch backward!) The cabinets were pressure formed wood of some sort though! Kind of like a cheap RV!

[ColdCutterRig]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

Ours is a 42' CC by Bluewater Cruising Yachts in Australia who normally take at least 18 months to finish a boat. In our case, all the basic design features like keel, hull, sail plan, rudder etc are pre-determined because they use the moulds they have sitting out the back of the shed. These moulds are about 15 years old and this is likely to be the case with many custom builders who can't afford to build new ones in today's economic climate. However we wanted the heavy duty features that we think make a more robust and seakindly vessel than today's lightweights.production boat and this is the part that you will enjoy for years afterwards.

Just checked out their website and they certainly look promising, although having a boat built in Oz would present certain logistical challenges for me in Southern California. Your point, however, is well taken. Perhaps custom is the way to go but that almost always translates to BIG price.

[barnakiel]

Not sure how sleek is sleek.

The sleek Najad 410

The airy REGINA 40, Regina af Vindö Yachts (Sweden)

Then you have Malo who build cc boats too.

Plenty of nice sleek and airy boats out there in Scandinavia.

Oyster Yachts | Fleet | 46 | Overview
airy and (?) sleek

Rustler 44
sleek (?)

Cheers,
b.

[ColdCutterRig]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Not sure how sleek is sleek.

The sleek Najad 410

The airy REGINA 40, Regina af Vindö Yachts (Sweden)

Then you have Malo who build cc boats too.

Plenty of nice sleek and airy boats out there in Scandinavia.

Oyster Yachts | Fleet | 46 | Overview
airy and (?) sleek

Rustler 44
sleek (?)

Cheers,
b.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Rustler is too old school inside and not really a CC.

I really like the Oyster but I'm pretty sure it's out of our price range.

Najad are pretty expensive as well and, with the financial issues they've had lately, I'm a bit wary.

There's also Saare - a new builder that's a scandinavia/estonia (?) partnership. They look interesting but the issue with most small scandi builders is distance and after purchase service as we'll be based on the US west coast for a while before departing for a long-term cruise.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I understand where you are coming from on the too traditional front (albeit my tastes cover most things - as long as done well). Indeed I do wonder why many modern boats stick with wood veneer at all (even if lighter and / or used minimally) - if that was the sort of boat I was after I would want something 100% plastic (it comes in all shapes and sizes and textures - not just foam backed vinyl - lol!).

Just a thought, but what about either:-

a) buy a tin of white paint

b) have chat to a yard about "re-finishing" the interior of a boat to your tastes. Not to gut and redo the layout, but the finishes and materials used. Likely not cheap (but will be cheaper than a custom build) and for some removing 5 acres of dark varnish and replacing with Paint (brush or spray) and / or different plastic laminates (instead of wood veneers) would be heresy! but done well, would probably look like it came out of the factory. Done badly and you halve the value of the boat .

Anyway, just a thought.

[ColdCutterRig]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Not sure how sleek is sleek.

The sleek Najad 410

The airy REGINA 40, Regina af Vindö Yachts (Sweden)

Then you have Malo who build cc boats too.

Plenty of nice sleek and airy boats out there in Scandinavia.

Oyster Yachts | Fleet | 46 | Overview
airy and (?) sleek

Rustler 44
sleek (?)

Cheers,
b.

Thanks for the recs.

Rustler is not CC as far as I know - they're like a hybrid cc/ac. Also, they're pretty darned traditional looking below decks.

Najad and Oyster... beautiful but maybe out of my price range.

I'll take a look at Regina.

CCR

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by ColdCutterRig

Just checked out their website and they certainly look promising, although having a boat built in Oz would present certain logistical challenges for me in Southern California. Your point, however, is well taken. Perhaps custom is the way to go but that almost always translates to BIG price.

I didn't realise you were in California. Since many Aussies are travelling to US to buy cheap boats, then you would be hugely disadvantaged trying to do it the other way around. The impression we get is that there is so much choice at such cheap prices (compared to Oz) that you can buy a lot more boat for your buck where you are. I still think that the low volume builders are the way to go because the stuff that you want personalised is probably not structural and therefore easy to vary from their standard plans.

[ColdCutterRig]

@David_Old_Jersey

The paint/redo finishes idea is actually something I was looking in to. As you mentioned, even broaching the subject to "old salt" types usually starts an argument. The idea of stripping off wood/veneer or *gasp* painting over it gets folks unreasonably angry.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by ColdCutterRig

@David_Old_Jersey

The paint/redo finishes idea is actually something I was looking in to. As you mentioned, even broaching the subject to "old salt" types usually starts an argument. The idea of stripping off wood/veneer or *gasp* painting over it gets folks unreasonably angry.

To be fair, on some boats it would be heresy! - but IMO on most things built in modern times along modern lines not. Just a question of personal taste.

Although on a different scale and end result from what you intend, on my boat 30' (built in 1970 along fairly traditional lines in GRP, albeit modern for it's design time - early 60's!) one of the mods I have done that has had the biggest effect visually was to remove a bulkhead wall cabinet (varnished) from the galley and then to paint the 1960's style grey checked! formica white.

The removal of the cabinet (that was also over deep due to also hiding part of the gubbins of a long dead autopilot) physically created more space over the sink - but more importantly (and especially with the white painted bulkhead and Galley cabinets) visually opened up the space and made the whole look a lot "cleaner" (including into the saloon - somehow that cabinet seemed to dominate the saloon as well!). The Paint on the formica is surprisingly robust (sand first, decent primer and then paint) and although not living aboard, as still (Lol!) working aboard has stood up well to a fair share of knocks and bumps over recent years.

No pics to hand I am afraid, but in any event the pics don't really capture the overall effect - I guess what I am saying is that don't always need to do a lot to fundamentally change the look and feel.....of course for a clean / unfussy / uncluttered look one of the secrets is also lots of storage!

IMO paint, if done well, can look as good anything else - and if the original was wood (veneer or solid) and varnished (or lacquered?) then the durability with paint will be as good as if not better.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by ColdCutterRig

Hi Folks,

Long time lurker, first time poster with a question that's sure to rankle.

After over a decade of daysailing and doing short weekend cruises to nearby locations - CA Channel Islands mostly - on our Newport 30 MkII, we've decided to step things up with a larger boat that can handle guests comfortably and has the potential to make long passages in the relatively near future. I'm about four years away from an early retirement and would love to grow into a larger boat so that we can hit the ground (sea) running when I'm no longer office bound.

We've decided on a CC (and please, no arguments of CC vs. AC or recommendations of boats that are not CC monohulls) in the 41-46 foot range. One requirement is that the boat have decent passage berths - an attribute that is strangely hard to find. Another, and this is something that both the SO and I agree on, is a modern, sleek interior.

Contrary to prevailing taste, we tend to like the "european apartment style" look employed by Dehler and Hanse and have absolutely no issue if some of the interior work is done by machine. Unfortunately, the hull forms, relatively light displacement and cockpit orientation of these brands don't work for us. If we're going bluewater cruising, I'd prefer not to have a giant aft cockpit with dual wheels and a boat that bobs like a cork in a swell.

Can anyone recommend a CC boat in this size range that offers such an interior? This is an "all things being equal" type of question. It goes without saying that the boat needs to be seakindly and beefy. I'd prefer a sharper bow entry as opposed to the flatter bottoms we're seeing these days. It'd also be great to have the option for a cutter/dual headsail rig.

While I know that boats like Hylas are semi-custom, does that extend to the look/design of the interior fit out? Everything I see on the websites of makers like Hylas, Passport and even HR looks a bit too old fashioned for our tastes.

Also, both cost and sheer size come into play here. We'd like to keep the price below seven figures if possible and the size under 46. As someone who grew up sailing of and on, I'm stunned at how large cruising yachts have gotten. I'm neither a pauper nor an ocean racer but the fact that Hylas' smallest model is a 46 is pretty intimidating.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
CCR

I think an Amel would be what you are looking for ...AMEL - AMEL Yard.

They made a 46 footer in the past (Mango or Maramu ??) but the smallest now is a 55. The current crop has a fairly modern interior that would probably suit you, not sure about the older 46.

Fantastic boats for blue water cruising for a couple ... what they were built and designed for. Check them out.

[Kimarah]

Island Packets have lighter interior wood, but perhaps still too traditional for you?

Carrie

[sabray]

Originally Posted by gjordan

I may sound like a broken record, but look at a Peterson 44. The interior would be too dark for your taste, but everything else seems to fit your requirments to the letter. Medium displacement, fin keel , skeg hung rudder and great lines. These boats sail wonderfully and are comfortable at anchor or on a passage. Even though I liked the Teak interior on the one I used to own, I agree that less Teak and more white would make for a lighter airier living space. If you are in the close to 7 figure bracket you could contact Doug Peterson and find out if the molds are still available, and have one built with the interior cosmetics suited to your liking or, for a whole lot less, buy the best used one on the market and have the interior cosmetics changed and new systems installed to suit you. Something that came up in one of the cc vs ac discussions(arguments) is that some cc boats dont have bridge decks in the cockpit. The P44 does have them and I consider them important. Hang an Aries on the back and a below decks auto pilot and you have a good 2 person passage maker with room for more people if you choose.___Just my highly opinionated opinion!____Grant.

I'll sell mine I'll be sad but hey for < mil Ill throw in the dinghy and 2 outboards , 3 tons of blue stone, a play ground set with 2 slides, a nice but irritable old cat, and uhhh okay my job too.

[ColdCutterRig]

Originally Posted by Doodles

I think an Amel would be what you are looking for ...AMEL - AMEL Yard.

They made a 46 footer in the past (Mango or Maramu ??) but the smallest now is a 55. The current crop has a fairly modern interior that would probably suit you, not sure about the older 46.

Fantastic boats for blue water cruising for a couple ... what they were built and designed for. Check them out.

I love the new Amels but they're much bigger (and I'm guessing much more expensive) than what we're looking for. Also, I've never sailed a ketch so not sure how comfortable I'd be with one. The older ones are a hair too "eccentric" looking for us.

[gjordan]

Much has been said about painting the interior, and I agree. Careful masking, sanding and painting can make a dramatic differance in a boats interior. With new upholstery and counter tops, you would think you were in a completly differant boat. As far as the comments about a plastic interior, I have been aboard an early Bounty 41 with an all plastic interior. TACKY TACKY TACKY. ___Just another opinion.____Grant.