Is this a potential Blue Water Boat? Help!

[Steve Wallace]

Hello Folks,
Need some help.
I live in Campbell River, BC. (Vancouver Island) I have been looking for a sailboat for some time now and have found two that may work but need some advice.
I plan to live aboard and sail down to Mexico and possibly the south Pacific.

I have been aboard this boat:
Advance Yacht Sales (Sidney, BC)&

I really like this one but don't know if it could be a bluewater boat. I am willing to upgrade rigging, gear, and others but my concern would be hull design and sailability.

The other boat I am interested in is:
Home Page

Once again, I am willing to upgrade the boat as needed, but not sure about hull design and sailability.

The Question: I would love to hear your opinion on either or both of these boats as to whether they could be GOOD Water boats">blue water boats.
What are your thoughts? I obviously like the pilot-house design.

Thanks in advance,
Steve Wallace
Campbell River, BC

[Rangiroo]

while pilothouses are nice and comfy at the marina and sliding down the coast....what I see when I see those big windows is a great big hole the ocean can pour into.......

[S/V Illusion]

These are either uncommon or on-off boats which makes it almost impossible (for me) to tell anything without a close inspection. Pictures really don't tell much

[mickmul]

Steve, This thread is posted in two different forums, going to dilute your responses and cause confusion. . . .

[dcstrng]

I’ve never owned a pilot house, but thought very seriously about one some years back – Steel hulled; Kanter as I recall… I share the concerns of others where the house itself is concerned… even if lexan, that’s a lot of glass area where the sea could enter… Ultimately, the only arrangement that I found I really liked was one where there was a smallish pilot house, but also drop-boards for the entry to the main cabin… the pilot house was more of a 360-deg dodger around a modest volume cockpit, with scuppers and all…

Still, pilot house vessels cross the oceans regularly, so it is impossible to say they aren’t seaworthy – as always, a huge proportion of a vessel’s seaworthiness is the crew’s ability…

[rtbates]

I'm always sceptical of ports in the hull sides...

I'd doubt very seriously if this was a good sea boat..

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by rtbates

I'm always sceptical of ports in the hull sides...
I'd doubt very seriously if this was a good sea boat..

And, look carefully at the hull/deck joint.

[Nauticatarcher]

just because you can see through it doesnt mean its not strong, I ve seen decks of yachts stoved in because of breaking waves, as an owner of a pilothouse Motorsailer I am a bit biased and feel the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, we carry ply blanking boards for windows just in case and if sea state is bad enough to cause concern we dont push on but sail defensively, eg, Heave to or sea anchor

[easterly]

go to gosail.com and put in as much info as you can. It will give you the capsize ratio. If it's over 2.0 it's not a blue water boat.

[GordMay]

See also
Carl's Sail Calculator:
Sail Calculator Pro v3.5-beta
You can use it to look up sailboat parameters in a large database of boats, or enter your own boat and compare to the others. In addition, for any boat you can calculate a set of quantities that will help you measure how it will perform.