Thought you folks might be interested in this article

[29cascadefixer]

Its an article about a mans circumnavigation in a Cascade 29. I seem to have a " slight" bias for these craft . I will attempt to link it for ya'll
http://solantamity.com/Extraneous/MuggingsPlus.htm
Enjoy the read, I did. This man has HAIR on his chest.

[CSY Man]

Good article, that guy has the right attitude for sure.
Agree in principle to the simplistic way of cruising with no gear, but not with singlehandling..

Some of these around the world solo sailors in their 60 foot fast racing boats could easily run down a kill folks on a smaller boat while they are sleeping.

The Rules Of the Road are crystal clear on that one...

The 600 foot ship in the article did evidently not have a proper look-out, and that is what happens....Collisions.

Reading articles like that makes me want to go cuising again for sure...Did 3 years back in the mid 80s, but are now growing fat and lazy...

[BC Mike]

LOA 29 feet LWL 24 Beam 8' 2" Draft 4' 9" Sail Area 405 sq. ft. Ballast 2375 lb. Displacement 8'500 lb. That leaves 6125 pounds of hull and rigging which is heavy for a narrow boat, so the hull must be tough. Our 28 foot boat which is larger with a 9' 6" beam and 7400 pounds has a 4400 pound hull and rig and it is solid. The Cascade 29 has a quarter berth on both sides. The brochure for the 29 and 36 both refer to the boats as "The affordable circumnavigator. I think it would be one tough little boat in rough weather and very similar to our boat. BC Mike C

[Jeff H]

For what is worth, and just as a comparison to put those hull and rig weights in persective with no particular objective in mind, my 38 footer weighs 10,500 lbs with 4600 lbs of ballast. That leaves 5900 lbs for the hull, rig, half full water and fuel tanks. To round out the numbers for comparison LOA 38'2, LWL 32'8, Draft 6'4, Beam at the deck 12'2, beam at the waterline 10'.

Jeff

[BC Mike]

When I spoke with the factory about our boat they said that they did not have accurate scantlings for the hull as the fiberglass technology was still to new, so they overbuilt the hull to be on the safe side. The result is a lot of boats from that time slot being too heavy. But I suppose it serves them well for offshore work, longivity and stresses from hauling and maintainence work. Jeff's boat, from a more analytical designer is probably a lot closer to what the hull should actually weigh. I am not as afraid of deadheads or running aground as a lot of other boaters.
BC Mike C

[29cascadefixer]

That has to be one of the MOST diplomatic replies I've ever seen. If I ever feel the need to talk to my ex, I'll give ya a call

[BC Mike]

It's what I do in my day job, and the opposite of the way I used to be. With forums it is easy to give the wrong message so I try and be curtious . Alan Bond was described by Ben Lexan as being as suttle as a train crash. I was never that bad, as Princess Margaret has said " One uses different language when addressing a horse than a person"
Jeff has a Farr 11.6 and that is a boat I am fairly familiar with and I happen to like. It is the style of boat that I have always been in favour of rather than the heavier boats so commonly refferred to.
Yet I am not against heavier boats because lots of people enjoy sailing them, and what ever gets people out sailing I am in favour of. BC Mike C

[29cascadefixer]

I have followed Jeffs' reasoning in several posts on why he chose his Farr. Strength versus weight, length versus speed, etc. The techniques used to build his boat , if done well, would lead to a real ripper. Alas, to buy one of these requires a larger pocket book than I have. The Cascade I bought came at a price of around 6 thousand dollars. I have approximately another grand or two in it, counting the custom trailer I built to haul it. Add another grand or two for incedentals when I finally do launch and you have 10 thousand in a boat I can sail the Great Lakes in with some degree of safety. From what I gather, 10 grand would just about buy a suit of sails for one of the modern boats. Yah, mine would have its' " doors blown off" in a drag race with the Farr. Mine would probably top out at 6 or 7 knots. The Farr would probably come close to doubling that output. But the cost of this extra speed would probably buy 5 or 6 older Cascades. I am really envious of people( heck- I'm green with uncontrolled jealousy) who can afford to choose between boats that cost this much and declare " It wasn't that much". Oh Yeah,sure,um-hmmm.
So, ol' me with a thick skull buys a boat half my age with a thicker hull because of like personalities that chunk along at 50 percent efficiency . We both will probably cackle and wheeze doing it.

[BC Mike]

The benefit we ( you and your crew, my wife and I ) have is the ability to sail the boat hard with two people in awful weather and not be afraid. Plus new sails and hardware will cost a lot less. We can still sail anywhere we want in comfort. I have always wanted a bigger boat but I can not get it from here to the ocean behind the farm truck. If I lived at the coast it would be different, I would probably go to NZ and buy a boat similar to what Jeff has. We have been sailing our boat since 1979 when I bought it new. The small boats beat us in light air around the race track but we have some shining moments. BC Mike C