Blue Water Cruising Yacht

[Jordy]

Howdy,

I'm helping someone can help me choose out a yacht.

I'll give you some background so you can advise me better.

It will be me and my partner sailing but I will be doing most of the work. She will be able to help out but I might have to step in. Would like to have yacht that I could handle by myself with or without her there.

Was thinking somewhere around the 32-37 foot mark.

Needs to have a shower, toilet and be wheel steer. Must have hot water. I don't care about this but my partner does!!!

Most sailing will be done around south east Asia. Bali, Thailand, Malaysia etc. Won't go any further than that.

Have around 300 liters of fuel and water available to store.

Handle some decent seas.

Easier to steer, maneuver and sail single handed.

Be around the 50 to 60 thousand dollar mark. I will be prepared to pay more as long as the yacht is fully kitted out with all nav equipment etc and I don't have to do too much to her.

The above things are all negotiable as long as it can be modified. Eg extra fuel, hot water, fridge etc etc.

So far I'm liking the look of

Roberts 34-36

Adams 35- nice boat but maybe not quite set for blue water.

Ganley 34

S&S 34

Swanson 32 or 34

West sail 32 or 33

So far the Roberts is winning my vote. Mainly because most of them seem to be set for solid cruising work, nice and roomy and have most of the things I am looking for. The Ganley is also very similar.

The rest come is all forms of cruising capability with some having all the above items, others not.

Not too fussed on how well kitted they are. I can do that myself.

While I am here, and typing, what would a decent Nav package cost? Would fit ithe boat out with GPS, Plotter and rRadar as well as wind vane auto steer.

Any thoughts on the above boats would be great. If there is anything you might need to know to advise me better, ask away and I'll be sure to reply!

Thanks in advance

Jordy







Gas

[James Baines]

Hi Jordy;


You seem to have done a lot of homework already and given your budget, you should have no problem finding the right boat for you. Like most expensive possessions, boats are largely a matter of personal preference so as long as you have a good surveyor look at anything you would be interested in, you should have no worries.


I sail my Jeanneau 40 footer single handed much of the time and as long as you get yourself organized, you should have no problems handling a boat in that size range.


My fuel tank holds 125 Ltrs and I usually carry another 50 or so in containers, I have never needed more than that. I do have an extra water tank and never run short of that.


Navigation systems are like boats, you either love a brand or you hate 'em. I have both Raytheon and Navman plotters and prefer the latter but that's probably because it accepts the CMap NT Max Wide cartridges. That said, my laptop running OpenCPN with CM93 maps is even better and with its GPS dongle can be used as a backup navigation system.


I realize this is probably not very helpful to you but as I said up front, these decisions are 99% personal preference so get the best boat that fits your needs and preferences then get the BEST SURVEYOR you can find to go over it so that you can negotiate a fair price based upon the costs of whatever work the surveyor turns up.


One thing you must bear in mind is that in the current market, Buying a boat is usually a hell of a lot easier than Selling one so the buyer (YOU) is king, don't lose sight of that, being confident that the market forces are working in your favour will save you quite a few bucks.


Good luck with your search, James.

[Jordy]

Thanks for the reply James. It's hard to know which was to go go when buying a new yacht, especially a blue water crusing yacht at that. I was something safe, reasonable fast and reliable at the same time. Something easy to sail that won't misbehave on me!!

I think I'm liking the look of the Roberts 36 so far. Seems like a good value for money yacht and an almost 'specialist' blue cruiser. This and most of them come kitted with extra large fuel tanks and water, plus the hot shower for the girlfriend!!!

The Nav package is also difficult given the amount of technology out there at the moment but if I could get a unit that I could hook a computer, GPS, plotter and auto steer system up with so it was all in one that's what I would be looking to get.

Thanks again for the reply mate.

Anyone else want to weigh in and throw their years of experience my way?

[mjwarner]

Yes Jordy, I'd like to weigh in.
allow me to introduce myself. My name is Martha, and I am the captain of our boat. The other half of the equation here being Al, my husband of many years.
I'll let all the others advise you on the choice of boat, sounds like you are doing your homework and are going on the right direction there.
I would like to address you on the girlfriend/partner. If you are going to be at all happy and successful at this, you need to involve her in the whole process. That means she will learn to handle the boat as well as you, unassisted by you if necessary. Why? Because, if anything were to happen "out there", she will need to be able to helm, navigate, haul anchor, sail, use the radio and dock the boat. It could save your life. It could save hers. Lessons, joining this or another forum and asking questions, sailing with some other female sailors, anything and everything to learn and absorb what she is going to need to know how to do. I know you didn't ask for any advice about this, but I recently had a friend who, except for the quick intervention of the coast Guard, was in a real jam because she didn't know the first thing about the boat she and her husband jointly own. Encourage your girlfriend to get out there and DO.

[Aussie_Sequoia]

I could be wrong - but I'm going to guess by your boat choices that you are in Australia?

There's been a lot of posts on here about boat prices in Australia and if you believe this forum (which I am still making up my mind about ) then your budget is at the extreme low end of what would be required for purchasing a boat for extended blue water cruising.

I know the Aussie boat websites show 'ready to cruise' for those prices... but go talk to some old salts like I did and those boats often don't come with the kind of gear you're really going to need to be safe on your journey... c'est la vie...welcome to the club.

[Aussie_Sequoia]

And BTW - I'm a huge fan of the Roberts 36.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Jordy

It will be me and my partner sailing but I will be doing most of the work. She will be able to help out but I might have to step in. Would like to have yacht that I could handle by myself with or without her there.

Frankly, you're doomed. At this point, the concept of partnership expressed in the above sentence is more likely to sink your ship than to float your boat.

You might be able to salvage things by asking her to select the boat. Just hope she won't join this forum in the process and read what you've written.

It's not about the boat--it's about the crew. If the crew doesn't have a blue water relationship, you're well advised to stay in port.

[Boracay]

If you're planning to cruise round SE Asia why not buy the boat there.

It could be a case of the grass being greener, but the boats on the Lee Marine website all look good. The may have gotten there on their own bottoms. And they could have highly motivated sellers.

How about this 1982 Bruce Roberts 37.

Or this 1987 Nauticat 33

[Jordy]

Thanks guys.


Yes, I'm am in Australia. I would look at a boat in SE Asia but am concerned about the advice and the boat in particular considering I may not be able to view. Also on getting it kitted correctly before I leave.

As far as taking my partner, I don't intend to take her out blind. She has done some sailing before, just not to the same extent I have. Some nice gentle trips should help her to become more comfortable with sailing.

As far as getting a blue water cruiser is concerned, what exactly do people think makes a good blue water cruiser? Is it the size of the yacht, water and diesel storage tanks, refrigeration, safety, life raft or general storage? Sails or the amount of maybe? This is something that confuses me a little. Maybe someone can shed some light on this?

I have read about many people cruising on small yachts eg 30 feet or there a bouts with no issues and while I understand the value for money in yachts might be better in America the practicality of buying a boat in the USA isn't. So with that being said my best option is buying here in Australia and going from there.

I like the Roberts 36. Good value for money, so it seems and what I would expect a blue water cruiser for two people would do. I guess I'm not going to be at sea for any longer for four or five days anyway. I won't be 2 weeks at a time without seeing land, I just want something on the bigger side, roomy, that can be easily handled but still hold it's own in a storm or in rougher seas.

If I can't get a luewater yacht for 50 or 60k. Hat would be found good in survey, how much will I need to spend?

The boat will be based in Darwin then trips from there to SE Asia would be made from there on a regular basis.

Thanks for the feedback everyone and keep it coming. I'm loving the advice!

[Jordy]

Just to add, a lot of the time I will be sailing by myself and my partner meeting me at places along the way. Eg I might sail to Phuket, she will fly in, meet me, we will do a week long sail to Pattaya then she will go to Bangkok and fly home again leaving me to sail back to Darwin. That's the reason I need a boat to be able to sail myself without having any help.