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Old 24-07-2018, 08:18   #1
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Boat Recommendations for Channel islands(California)

Please recommend the best boat to buy per the following parameters:

1. Please only comment if you have first hand experience sailing the Channel Islands National Park.

2. Budget $200K ($150K for purchase of boat + $50K to have in reserve for the expected unexpected, any refitting to suit me, etc.)

3. Newbie sailor. Age 61. Previous experience includes limited small boat / day sailing experience as a kid. Several bare boat charters with friends as crew for 1-2 weeks spread out over 35 years. Recently ASA certified to bare boat charter. To start out, and until my skills and confidence are up to snuff I will have a very experienced crew member with me.

4. Game Plan: Sail 6-8 weeks a year, 1 week at a time, based in Channel islands Harbor (Oxnard, California) in order to explore and sail the Channel islands National Park.

5. Typically will be double handed. My wife does not sail. Maybe she will sail with me 1-2 times a year only as passenger, maybe not at all.

6. I am not local to Southern California. I will be flying into LAX 6-8 times a year to go sailing for 1 week, evenly spread out over the year. That means I will be doing some sailing with temps in the 50's F.

7. I want to spend as much time sailing as possible(not at the dock doing repairs), and a lot of repairs, maintenance I will have done by others since I am not local. I want basic comforts, but I am definitely, firmly in the less is more camp. Definitely, no generator, no air conditioning(but ventilation is important), must have hot water, will wait to see if water maker makes sense, prefer as little teak as possible.

8. Each week will be scheduled in advance. Therefore, I won't know what the weather will be. I understand that means that it is possible in order to be safe I won't be able to leave the dock or my itinerary will be limited. But I want a seaworthy boat that I will be safe, that I can have confidence in, and be comfortable in if conditions get a bit rough, so I can do as much sailing as is safely possible, not sitting at the dock waiting for conditions to improve.

9. Since I will need to catch a flight at the end of each week of sailing, having at least decent performance under sail and motoring matters so I can have more flexibility in my itinerary. Having decent light air performance matters since there are a lot of light wind days in Southern Cal.

10. I am happiest when under sail in a responsive, fun to sail boat.

11. If I missed an important parameter ask me and I will provide.
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Old 27-07-2018, 14:30   #2
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Re: Boat Recommendations for Channel islands(California)

Hi Augi, I have my boat at Channel Islands, I'm of your vintage and I have quite a few island trips behind me, in fact just got back from 2 weeks with the kids. Feel free to PM me for more info. I can recommend certain places and perhaps boats in the Channel Islands harbor area. The good news is that the Channel Islands are a very good place to develop your skills, there is a very good anchorage only 17 miles away to start off and lots of options. One nice thing about basing in Channel Islands harbor is that you are (almost) always running or reaching for home which means your workable range of weather/sea conditions for going home is greater, if that makes sense. Your budget is a very healthy one. Given your desires in a boat I'd say to plan 50K for the boat (but you could get one heck of a boat for 150K IMO!!!) and save the rest, unless you are looking to a catamaran. I have what I consider the perfect boat given my preferences, but it might be on the small side for you. My buddy wanted to get a good island boat to singlehand around the islands and I helped him get a Cheoy Lee 30 which is a tough, seaworthy boat too, and roomy for its size, but probably small for your tastes too. A smaller boat is nice for the smaller coves and for general handling. Hot showers for my boat is a pot of water heated on the stove and poured into a 2 gallon pressure sprayer bottle. Works great! BTW feel free to look through some of the pics in my albums if you haven't yet. The best months for sailing here are typically June to October, but lately November and even December have been nice. Spring is usually blustery, but this year that weather came later. In general, it's a fair bet you'll be able to sail out of Channel Islands harbor and be able to cross comfortably to a nice anchorage on most of the times in your visit schedule... and you'll probably see some great wildlife along the way! Huge pods of common dolphins have been out there lately, we saw a Blue Whale a couple weeks ago and a couple of Mola Mola fish. We even had a good sized Great White shark come up and check us out last year (in the channel, not out at the islands! Never seen one out there.)
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Old 12-08-2018, 14:27   #3
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Re: Boat Recommendations for Channel islands(California)

Quote:
Originally Posted by roblanford View Post
Hey Augi!
I lived aboard a Peterson 44 and sailed the channel islands for 8 years out of Ventura Harbor. Channel islands harbor is a good choice as it puts you closer to Santa Barbara, Catalina, and San Clemente islands further south. Have you been to the channel islands? I love it there. Be aware the only island that has any services, moorings, or other civilization is Catalina. You are right about the light winds but there are times where the channel blows up.When the 'Santa Ana' winds blow offshore it is no time to be trying to anchor on the near side of the islands but a great time to be ripping along the beaches of Oxnard and Ventura in flat water and big wind. The passes between the islands can get a lumpy too. All in all the perfect place to gain sailing experience.

Since you will only be using the boat for 8 weeks out of the year I would consider chartering. That way you can try out different boats in different locations and not have to deal with all the mundane and expensive aspects of ownership.

If it flys, floats, or faces the ocean, rent it. (not like I haven't)

If you HAVE to own your own boat and don't mind a deep keel, there is a J-130 for sale in the channel islands harbor. That should get your sailing ya-ya's out.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...g#.W3Cc7OhKgbU
Hi Rob Lanford,

Thanks for following up.

I agree about the renting / chartering versus owning for my MO. I can rent a fractional share of a Beneteau 40 with a company called SailTime. It will allow me to use the same Beneteau 40 out of Channel islands Harbor, 6 weeks a year, and as much as I want on short notice if the boat is not booked for $800 a month. The $800 dollars a month covers everything including the first tank of gas and water. That works out to about 1/2 the cost of chartering from Marina Sailing and other usual suspects based on 6 weeks usage and a lot less per day of usage if I book and sail on short notice when the boat is free. It is only a year commitment and has the advantage versus chartering that I will be always using the same boat. Not much different than owning, for a fraction of the cost and without the hassles / worry.

My experience of sailing in Channel islands consists of a 3 day, 2 night sail to Catalina and back. I likely will start the SailTime deal early next year when my schedule opens up. Being a newbie, I will only sail with experienced crew until my skills, ability and confidence are sufficient. As Dirty Harry put it, " A man has got to know his limitations." I am no rush. I am just looking to safely have some fun out on the water. The year around sailing season and natural beauty make up for the disadvantages of So Cal and Channel Islands sailing.

Regards,

Augi
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