Downsizing and a Return to the Light ?

[speciald@ocens.]

I've got a 58 Taswell AS for sale (see avitar). I'm sitting right next to a Norhavn 47 right now in Annapolis. My boat is a lot better looking. It is also faster under sail and burns less fuel under power. And it is less expensive; now listed at 899K. Of course, it was made in the same yard by Ta Shing and has the same teak interior and trim. The boat is setup for easy handling; we travel to the Caibean every year. See the listing on YachtWorld. Bernie at Rogue Wave is familiar with the boat and can show it to you.

[Bash]

Downsizing is good if it means not being dependent upon crew.

Have you looked at the new Nordhavn 56 motorsailer?

Motorsailer

[DeepFrz]

Norhavn 56, only about $1.5 US

[Stillraining]

I suspect the seeds were planted for a smaller boat a while ago and this all brought it to a head..

I don't know how old you are but Im sure your in great shape, an important consideration for sail power...nothing beats Sail for pure enjoyment of getting across the water...as long as your not in a hurry...all this you already know...just don't leap out of the frying pan into the fire due to one bad experience...make new crew friends if necessary...is my .02 worth....People move on in life.

Take your time and really shop...I doubt finances are too much of a concern from the sounds of things...the fuel bill and maintenance for 67 foot trawler cant be cheep.

Try and get rides on some boats that blow your skirt up and see if the motion is to your liking and the amenities work for you on a heal.

[Ocean Girl]

I second the fisher, fine vessels and a work of art in many ways. Also consider a Little Harbor 51/52, I sailed one from St Thomas to the Bahamas and she was a joy to handle. At night, sailing down those 15 footers with a billion or so stars twinkling down on me, what a sweet ride!
Erika

[witzgall]

With that budget, I would look seriously at Amels. Fantastic boats, with pushbutton systems to make singlehandling easy. Comfortable, and (for what they are) low maintenance. Call the US agent in the US, Joel something, he knows the boats and the market like nobody else, or so I have been told.

Chris

[blgklr]

Seems like downsizing wheather power or sail or motorsailer is still going to require some form of crew. Perhaps you would be better off chartering crewed vessels in destinations you are interested in. No maintenance issues and no long empty passages , just fly on to the next cruising area. A lot less to worry about and easy to change plans.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by fishwife

The price of a used Nordhavn 47 is listed around $850,000 to give some idea of the price range. Less is GOOD

P.

You gotta just love that idea of less. I know envy is an ugly thing, but I've got it in buckets...

[Boracay]

Would it be possible to stick with what you have already, or maybe a little smaller and spend the difference on having casual paid crew professionally screened?

[gbanker]

Some good bargains on Hallberg-Rassy 53s around. Excellent boats and in-mast main and hydraulic furling foresails.

[DannySt]

This looks like a nice small boat within your price range

[Pelagic]

Hi fishwife,

Since you are already an experienced cruiser I think before any of us could offer any useful advice you would need to realistically evaluate and answer these basic questions and share them with us.

1. Is the boat seen as an alternative residence 2, 3, 6 months of the year, or is it primarily used for local cruising with the occasional offshore jaunts away from the UK during the season?
2. Do you have in mind a longer transoceanic journey away from the UK, with winters in the tropics?
3. Regardless of size, cruising boats have maintenance issues. Are you comfortable and capable of doing your own, or would you prefer to develop an infrastructure where the boat is well maintained where-ever she might be, without your need to be always hands on?
4. Is that the primary reason you return to the UK?
5. In a scale of 1-10 (ten being highest priority) …How important are the creature comforts you enjoy on your present boat?
6. Other than the complexity of yacht management for your present boat, what are the things you do not like about her, that would justify a change?
7. What is your “pipe dream” as far as what a new boat could offer you?

I hope the above will give us some clarity in what you wish to achieve

[fishwife]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Hi fishwife,

Since you are already an experienced cruiser I think before any of us could offer any useful advice you would need to realistically evaluate and answer these basic questions and share them with us.

1. Is the boat seen as an alternative residence 2, 3, 6 months of the year, or is it primarily used for local cruising with the occasional offshore jaunts away from the UK during the season?
2. Do you have in mind a longer transoceanic journey away from the UK, with winters in the tropics?
3. Regardless of size, cruising boats have maintenance issues. Are you comfortable and capable of doing your own, or would you prefer to develop an infrastructure where the boat is well maintained where-ever she might be, without your need to be always hands on?
4. Is that the primary reason you return to the UK?
5. In a scale of 1-10 (ten being highest priority) …How important are the creature comforts you enjoy on your present boat?
6. Other than the complexity of yacht management for your present boat, what are the things you do not like about her, that would justify a change?
7. What is your “pipe dream” as far as what a new boat could offer you?

I hope the above will give us some clarity in what you wish to achieve

Thank you for the post, I've already given serious thought to the questions you pose. I'll answer them, but first some background on the reason why I have my present boat.

At Uni and in the forces I met up with a group of women who became my life long friends, a couple of them had cruised with me over the years and the other three had dreams of doing so but life always got in the way. When I bought New Horizons she was to be the vessel that took us all around the world in style. We were all available and keen to get about it. The past 18 months has been in preparation for that, mainly teaching my friends seamanship skills and me learning how to fix everything on the boat. In that regard I already considered myself reasonably competent but some systems I'd never encountered before. Electronics is still a closed book but redundancy has gone a long way to quell any worries in that department. I've also still got my trusty sextant and paper tables

Last February one of my friends died after a battle with cancer and shortly after another had a very serious car accident which has left her with great difficulty walking. She's very unlikely to ever cruise again. The contretemps on our last shakedown cruise has convinced two more of the crew that they don't want to cruise. We are down to two and whatever the builder has to say about a 67 foot boat being handled by two people, it's not going to be ideal.

The boat is my only real home, I have a cottage that I rent out on a long term lease, as does my sole remaining crew.
As I've mentioned above, we planned a long term circumnavigation and our last trip was supposed to be the start with a haul out in Spanish Morocco for new bottom paint and prop speed, with provisioning in Gibraltar around late October.
I don't need or want to be dependent on others to do routine maintenance and if need be, I can almost rebuild the main engine from spares on board.
Creature comforts would be around the 5 mark for me, probably around the 7 mark for Sue.
It's hard to say what I don't like about my present boat except for the number of complicated systems. Is it possible to fall out of love with a boat? The last trip changed my feelings about her and I suppose there is some transference taking place but she doesn't delight me any more.
New Horizons is a compromise, ocean capable but no heeling, a condo on the water bought specifically with the rest of the crew in mind.
My dream boat – I'm very taken with the Fisher that 'DOJ' found and I'm arranging a viewing mid way through September.


P.

[donradcliffe]

I'm delivering a 58' sailboat whose owner wants to go over to the dark side-maybe you could do a swap. The boat (Abel Apogee 58) is ocean capable and in your price range, but as with all boats this size it has complex systems. I would think you would need a minimum of 3 on board. The third person also makes a huge difference on passages--think 3 on, 6 off watches vs 4 on & 4 off. PM me if you are interested.

[Mimsy]

Is it possible to fall out of love with a boat? The last trip changed my feelings about her and I suppose there is some transference taking place but she doesn't delight me any more.

There's your answer. A boat requires far too much care and feeding for you not to love it. If you can feel comfortable living on a smaller boat, I would downsize and spend the extra funds having it set up to really be easy to sail. Good luck with the search!