Is this Hull Bluewater Capable ? (Pictures / Finessa 33)

[manitu]

I'm looking for a bluewater capable sailboat , to go cruising on a budget.

I recently came across this sailboat at a giveaway price.
The hull is in good shape and it comes with a solid proctor masthead rig.
The sails and interior needs fixin' but...

My question: Do you think this design is a good one for bluewater cruising?
First up will be the norwegian sea , scandinavian sea , and bay of biscay.

http://cache.finn.no/mmo/2011/9/9/4/..._331278391.jpg
http://cache.finn.no/mmo/2011/9/9/4/...1776279432.jpg
http://cache.finn.no/mmo/2011/9/9/4/...-855643657.jpg

I know this is a narrow boat with little freeboard(?), but it has a deep v hull shape so I hope it is up for the job.

.manitu

[manitu]

Pictures:




The boat is a swedish built finessa 33 built in 81. I can't find much info on the net , and it seems that not many were built. The hull is rock solid and much thicker than todays boats (but not as thick as the early 70' boats).

Is it impossible to edit posts in this forum? wanted to change/put this in the OP , but could not work out how.

.manitu

[hummingway]

You have a limited window in which to edit a post yourself.

[zeehag]

cute lil boat--looks like a funsail.

[SaltyMonkey]

Very cute

LIKES:

body lines
nice rudder

DISLIKES

skinny arse
hatch on foredeck
big and flimsy windows?
large cockpit?

but would need to see in person for anything though...including really structural (in and out)

outside of hull shape, contessa spinoff? (contessa vs finessa)

heh

[manitu]

Yeah , it's a cute boat.

I know of the problems in the deck design.
I plan to redesign parts of the deck , making a longer saloon, with small framed windows.
this ofcourse makes the cockpit smaller.The cockpit isn't actually that big , but strangely designed.

I will try to lower the rear part of the saloon roof a bit , but I haven't got the boat home yet , so I'm unsure if it will work
The deck hatch is for the sail locker , wich will get a watertight bulkhead.

Structural: there is one main bulkhead straight under the mast and bracings around the main hatch area. the other walls appear to be of no structural importance. The rest of it's strength lies in a hull , up to an inch thick.

What I'm unshure of , is the bluewater capability of the hull design.
I understand that it is hard to answer without more ship data , but an educated guess from a trained eye would help a lot.

In my layman eyes , it looks wery similar to other swedish "coastal crosser's" wich are long narrow boats with high ballast ratio , some times more than 50% keel weight.
They are known to be a wet ride to windward but seaworthy boats and a soft ride in bad wheather , considering the size.

.manitu

[Cheechako]

general appearance looks cabable, albeit unusual..... hard to believe she's 31 ft...

[SaltyMonkey]

Theres a gazillion variables that goes into what makes a boat Bluewater Capable besides a few scant pictures reflecting "hull design".

Certainly the work you do on a boat will make it more blue water capable and that might include: hull to deck joint, hatch replacement or removal, cabin strengthening and window replacement, bulkhead work, and so on and on and on...but...

Bottom line - I don't know any professional surveyor or designer worth their weight who would commit to blessing a boat as blue water capable on the hull lines alone, so why should I?

[SabreKai]

I'd say she might make a good training boat. Good for a week or so aboard, but not for a long distance voyage unless you and your crew are on really good terms. She's too small in the living area. But making major mods to the boat in order to make her "sea worthy" might be a bad idea because you will kill any resale value.

Better to buy her, play with her and send her on to the next person with the dream, and get a bigger, better boat a couple years down the line.

[SaltyMonkey]

for a 33 or 31 ft boat, she certainly does look small. I thought she was 26 from the looks of er...

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

general appearance looks cabable, albeit unusual..... hard to believe she's 31 ft...

Agreed. Looks a lot closer to 21 feet than 31 to these eyes. I just wouldn't want to try to outfit a boat that small for long passages. It doesn't appear that she'll handle the weight well.

I'm not crazy about labeling boats "bluewater." It began as a marketing ploy, and then became a way for boat snobs to cast aspersions on production boats. Regardless, very few boats with as little waterline as the one shown are fit for long offshore passages.

[capn_billl]

Blue water or not, the first thing I will do on any boat I own, will be to add lockdown screws to all floorboards, lockers, and hatches. I saw the video of what happens when a boat rolls, a real eye opener. Basically anything not nailed down became a missile.

Those are some brutal stretches of ocean you mentioned. I'm not sure I would want to cross any of them with any boat I've seen so far.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Bash

I'm not crazy about labeling boats "bluewater." It began as a marketing ploy, and then became a way for boat snobs to cast aspersions on production boats...

Very good point!

[zeehag]

sail her and see how she behaves, if you like her action, buy , if not-- aint for you. dont be a slave to labels and naysayers. aint made of paper, so look at her. sweden has rough water and big winds-- i figger swedish designs are made for either lakes or for north sea... is all up to how she SAILS and how YOU like her.
btw--narrow boat butts are for surfing following seas. so are heart shaped transoms. they behave similarly to canoe/rounded, double end sterns. have fun.
the design of her aft third looks like it could take a following sea and divert it from cockpit, and cockpit is small enough to empty rapidly. so what is the problem??

[Hillbillylad]

The boat I eventually bought was built for the rigors of the North sea. Is it blue water capable? It surely is. After reading tons of advice on here and other places it was, for me, the obvious choice. Knowing my inexperience and limitations I bought a marine version of a Dodge Ram rather than a Mustang. Good news boat wise but what about me? Am I "Blue water capable" ? Hell no. Although the boat is totally capable of crossing the Atlantic I'm certainly not. So the other question you need to ask when pairing up with your new love is, what part of "Blue water capable" are you going to contribute to the equation?
I have a feeling that if you are asking if the boat is able, you yourself, like me, probably aren't.