Good 30' Sailboat for the Pacific?

[jayb]

Both my partner and I are planing to sail through the pacific. We are looking for boat around the 30ft mark and due to finance restraints (35-40K) the boat would be in the 1980-85 year range. We would be sailing up from Sydney Australia and plan on spending at least one to two years sailing.

Can anyone suggest any appropriate brand and styles of boat I should look for. I don't mind spending some time working on the boat before we leave, so what im looking for is a boat that is a solid starting point.

Thanks for your help

[Pathfinder]

Send me your email and I will send you an Excel spreadsheet with some sailboats I have found for sale in the past 6 months which you might find yourself considering as they are fairly common. There are about 200 sailboats on this list. I have sorted them out by price, then some other things which are important to me, such as Comfort Ratio above 30, Ballast / Displacement Ratio above 38%, full keel... You can put them all in one column by sorting on Column A - Name, then do your own sorting out per your wishes and criteria. The focus is on 30' - 35' range, and most of the prices in the "Price" column are for boats which probably "need some fixing" as they are at the bottom of their model group by price, but not in bad condition. Get anything you are serious about under contract with an inspection contingency for a survey. Get a GOOD surveyor who has a good reputation and good references.

[David M]

Have you searched through YachtWorld?

Advanced search for new and used boats and yachts. - YachtWorld.com

[jayb]

Thanks pathfinder for your help

[jayb]

yeah i have looked at yacht world, basically i just wanted some recommendations on what boats im my size and price range are well regarded by others.

[Weyalan]

If your budget is fairly limited, you could do worse than an Eastcoast 31. It is, from memory, a Joe Adams design. There are a few of them on the market (in Australia), and they are great boats.

[Kanani]

The bigger the boat, the more that you need to be concerned about the strength of the boat. Heavier boats tend to try to resist the sea more than light boats.

IMHO, most any 30' production boat (that doesn't have a hole in it or structural damage of some sort) should be up to the task that you are talking about.

If I am reading you right, you're talking about going up the Barrier Reef and possibly Solomons or other Western Pacific or Indonesian Islands. That's pretty calm sailing as long as you stay away from cyclone season.

If you are talking about heading over to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji/Tonga, you will want to be a little more picky. That's working to windward a lot. You would want a boat that can take a beating.

[Pathfinder]

Here below is a link to a nice website about cruising and smaller sailboats (30' range) with a number of great links to articles by Don Casey, John Neal, Beth Leonard and others. There isn't much on the net by/about Hal Roth (God rest his soul), but his books are truly a great resource.

Chalupa-Index.htm

Best - P

[jayb]

Hi kanani

Thanks for the reply, i am looking to head in the direction of tonga, fiji and so on.

Last year I did a trip up to Indonesia and sailed around Lombok and Sumbawa, with a local crew, every day when we would anchor the local police would motor out to the boat and jump on board with there guns. It was never a problem as the local crew would just show them our passports and then give them a few dollars. However I feel that without the local crew the situation would been a little harder to get out of and most likely a lot more costly.

It was an amazing trip and I would love to go back but perhaps not on my own boat. Lombok is especially amazing. One thing that does stand out is how strong the currents are around the bottom of lombok. Presumably this would have something to do with how deep the channels are there, but i could be wrong.

Thanks

[Steve Pereira]

I put up a similar post, i'm looking closer to $70k, however you still may find it interesting... some cheaper boats have been recommended also.
All the best,
Steve
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ing-21856.html

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Weyalan

If your budget is fairly limited, you could do worse than an Eastcoast 31. It is, from memory, a Joe Adams design. There are a few of them on the market (in

Originally Posted by Weyalan

Australia), and they are great boats.

It was a Peter Cole design, actually, and a very good boat. Did Sydney to Hobart races each year in the late 70's and 80's. One may have even won on handicap in that time.

I would have thought they would still be in the AU$60k range. (Reminder to our USA readers that AU$ is 66cents US so $40k = $26,000.)

Having just floated over the pacific and having seen a number of 30 ft range boats being cruised, may I politely suggest that you really strongly sail the boat off Sydney for a while till you are completely comfortable with it? Perhaps even race it if possible.
The Sydney weather is worse than what most of the pacific is most of the time and the swell is more fractured and unforgiving. Its a great place to put your boat (and crew) through the hoops.

In general I found the Pacific appeared pretty borderline for the smaller yachts. The Trade Winds are strong, the seas unrelenting and the passages long. Many boats of the smaller budget appeared to be held together by gasket goo and sticky tape. It is a tough way to go, but not impossible. There are, as I say quite a number doing it, but even I would think about working for an extra year

All the best for your search and adventures!


Mark

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by Kanani

IMHO, most any 30' production boat (that doesn't have a hole in it or structural damage of some sort) should be up to the task that you are talking about.

the problem with being out in the big waters is that one almost always runs into the situation where one wishes they had a heavy bullet proof boat. build or purchase your boat with the worse case that can be handled in mind. that way no surprises.

[avinsa]

hi
my name is marco, I would be interested in a copy of your list (30 feet sailboats to consider), I am in guatemala far from boats (except rio dulce)
many thanks and kind regards
marco gross
infotikal@itelgua.com

[pwheatla]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder

Send me your email and I will send you an Excel spreadsheet with some sailboats I have found for sale in the past 6 months which you might find yourself considering as they are fairly common. There are about 200 sailboats on this list. I have sorted them out by price, then some other things which are important to me, such as Comfort Ratio above 30, Ballast / Displacement Ratio above 38%, full keel... You can put them all in one column by sorting on Column A - Name, then do your own sorting out per your wishes and criteria. The focus is on 30' - 35' range, and most of the prices in the "Price" column are for boats which probably "need some fixing" as they are at the bottom of their model group by price, but not in bad condition. Get anything you are serious about under contract with an inspection contingency for a survey. Get a GOOD surveyor who has a good reputation and good references.

Hello,

I have just registered to the forum and looking for a suitable cruising boat. Wonder if I could also get a copy of your spreadsheet.

Regards
Phil
Email philip.wheatland@adm.monash.edu.au

[Celestialsailor]

Hi jayb...I was in your boat(pun) last July. I sold my Ingrid 38 for reasons I will tell you if you really want to know and started looking for a boat 28 ft. to 32 ft. I have years of experience with what is well made, strong and fairly well sailing. Basically it is always a compromise with those 3 criteria. I came up with a Yankee 30, Rawson 30, Pearson 28-32 and Cascade 29. I settled on the Rawson based on price and the fact this one was a Pilothouse...Good luck on your hunt.