Cast a vote on three boats

[kabball]

Originally Posted by 7yrsorless

Just out of curiosity..why C&C?

I think just for the reasons I have stated - I know where and how I will be cruising and with whom. That mixed with where I live and boat availability its a good option for me.

I have and still do consider many other boats as options that are not C&C but I wanted to simplify the conversation as much as possible.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

This is a personal bias, but walk through transoms do not belong on ocean going monohulls, so that would eliminate, sight unseen, any boat without a bridge deck to stop the ingress when you get pooped. IMO, duck boards alone are not enough. It won't happen often, but we knew a boat that was lost with all hands from that, and that's one mistake i'm happy to learn from.

Ann

In the past year I was crew on two different passages
1. Jenneau 45 Sun Odessey
2. Hanse 505
Both of these boats had rather open transoms and I felt rather exposed
And a bit vulnerable especially in cold, rainy, bad weather
Just building my own knowledge base
So how would these boats stack up?

[Rex Delay]

Have sailed all of them. They are different, each offering something different. All very well built. For a couple with the occasional guest, the 37+. For offshore racing, the 44. For what we do, we bought the 41. All were on the list, the 41 layout worked best for us.

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by kabball

I wanted to gather a few votes from everyones experience.

There are three boats and I don't want you to worry about how many people, what type of cruising or any of that. Just simply an emotional vote on basically what you would choose should you absolutely need to choose between these three vessels.

In short I have been a power boater the past 9 years, finally got it sold and have spent the last 3 years researching, I know what type of cruising I will do and with who - so please vote.

C&C 44
C&C 41
C&C 37/40+ XL

Assume exact same condition and year is close enough as well. Some votes might be things like:

I would take the C&C 44 as it's the largest and in my opinion the most offshore capable.

I would take the C&C 41 because I think it's the best sailing boat C&C ever made.

I would take the C&C 37/40 for the walk through transom and Kevlar reinforced hull and seperate shower.

Anything is valid and again consider all in the same condition and with perfect Hulls - no cored hull concerns.

I think there is alot of value in hearing opinions expressed like the exampled above - I hope you will play along if you have any knowledge of these three boats.

I checked out a 37/40 a couple of years ago. It looked like a race boat my son and his friends would have drooled over. But I got tired thinking about all the work it would take to keep that beast going.

[7yrsorless]

Originally Posted by kabball

I think just for the reasons I have stated - I know where and how I will be cruising and with whom. That mixed with where I live and boat availability its a good option for me.

I have and still do consider many other boats as options that are not C&C but I wanted to simplify the conversation as much as possible.

That makes sense

[lifeofreilly57]

Using Kevlar in the layup will add strength in high stress areas as well as impact resistance but doesn't have anything to do with blister resistance. The type of resin, quality of layup and quality of gel coat has more to do with blistering. On the good side I haven't heard of any blistering issues with C&C hulls. I owned a 1979 38 for 10 years and had no hull or core issues but it was well maintained by its first owner and me. If you don't know the history of the boat your looking at make sure the surveyor is familiar with cored hulls. C&C made good quality layups but good maintenance means a lot on an older boat.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[kabball]

Thanks - great advice. Similar for me the 41 seems to have the most desirable layout for me - although I have seen some 44's laid out the same way



Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[japarker11]

Chased or lusted after C&C 35 MK III, 41 and 44. Money changed hands a couple of times, even. But never made it. These days it would be the 44 for your reasons; cruise location, crew, and availability. You can always find uses for the cabin space, very expensive to add!

However, I apparently like to hit things while cruising. The cored laminates below waterline are difficult to repair and skegs do work!

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[lifeofreilly57]

I cruised the Northeast and a little farther down the east coast with the 38 as well as some racing and found it was perfect for my use at the time, the previous owner raced it in the Newport/ Bermuda race through some pretty challenging conditions and we both found it to be quite seaworthy, C&C designed better balanced boats than many of their contemporaries in the IOR era. You can slow a fast boat down, you can't speed a slow boat up. I just reefed down and used the appropriate sail setup in poor conditions and found it no harder than any other boat to handle. That one also had a removeable inner forestay added to hank on a storm jib, another thing to consider if your buying one of the models in question. It's not hard to add as long as you do it properly. Only used it a couple times but was damn glad I had it, the storm jib allows you to make way in poor conditions and maintain good control of the boat.
It's ability to go to wind, sail in light wind as well as heavy weather and overall good sailing characteristics made it a very enjoyable boat.
I was quite aware of the draft on it though, mine had a custom keel and drew 7-1/2' from the waterline, this made me very aware of the depths in unfamiliar ports and was the reason I always carried paper charts and made sure the depth sounder was in good shape.
One other issue was lack of a decent bow roller, I added one myself to help anchoring become less of a chore, although it had a decent anchor locker the space at the bow was limited and I had to make a custom bow roller setup to accommodate anchoring gear.
You might want to take a good look at the anchoring setup on the boats your considering and see if it's possible to add a bow roller setup if one doesn't already exist. If they don't have one you may also want to add a windlass, most of the C&C's I've been on had an actual anchor locker, which seems to be an afterthought on many of the newer racer cruisers I've seen. Adding a windlass to the anchor locker wouldn't be too hard depending on how it's set up. I always pulled my anchor by hand on the 38 but found it was pretty much at the limit of my ability and wouldn't want to do it with anything larger with the appropriate anchor gear. At the time I was pretty stout and worked out 5 days a week, don't know if I'd want to do that these days, the windlass on my current boat is a nice benefit.
Good anchoring gear is a must.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

This is a personal bias, but walk through transoms do not belong on ocean going monohulls, so that would eliminate, sight unseen, any boat without a bridge deck to stop the ingress when you get pooped. IMO, duck boards alone are not enough. It won't happen often, but we knew a boat that was lost with all hands from that, and that's one mistake i'm happy to learn from.

Ann

Looking at the photos the 37/40 (which is a 40'er) has the open transom but it also looks like it has a bridge deck. If my evaluation of the photos is correct, the the open transom my be a slight plus, cockpit drains faster but bridge deck keeps water from going below in the mean time.


Adelie

[westsail374]

Sorry, can't provide feedback. Do not regard C&C as suitable for blue water.

Others have strong feelings to contrary. Good on ya.

Best of luck with whatever boat you end up with.

[Cheechako]

Whichever one is not cored hull....

[kdarling]

C&C 41 Good layout, easier to maneuver then the 44 and will handle the open water better then the 37/40

[Cheechako]

A boat I buddy boated with for a short time I think was a 41.. great sailor... fairly deep draft though...?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by kabball

Hi Steady,

Look I agree but the reason I stated to not worry about those things is so that we could really simplify the conversation. Essentially I feel I have done my research.

1) I do know who I will be sailing with
2) I do know the type of cruising I will be doing
3) I do know where I will be cruising.

With that in mind I simply was hoping I could get some people to vote as many have with.

Steady's right. These three criteria in and of themselves begin to answer your question.

3 people is 50%more than two. I don't know the layout of any of the three boats, but personal "space" becomes important.

Where you go and type of cruising MAKES A HUGE difference. An Atlantic crossing to the UK is quite different than going to the Bahamas. UK: closed transom, for example, Bahamas walk through is great for the dinghy.

Anchoring gear was mentioned. If you're marina hopping, gee, ya think anchoring would be at the top of your list? If anchoring out, it just might be.

Another example: some have said bigger is more expensive. I have also heard that small gets real old real quick.

See the pattern here?

Being argumentative when receiving replies that note that your limitations are unreasonable doesn't help either.

Good luck.