Motorsailer advice needed

[FlippedPip]

Good afternoon all,

Myself and my wife have been looking for a boat the past 6 months and thought we pretty much knew what we wanted, which was something along the lines of a Beneteau Oceanis 350.

As anyone one knows once you start the hunt, many hours go by checking websites, comparing boats, prices, and dreaming, if you could just increase your budget you get the perfect boat…..

Then today out of the blue I happened across this hamble marine 36 on Huelva for £19.807 Used boats Completely different to what we’ve been looking at and has thrown me..

I’m new to the sailing world and know nothing about motorsailer’s, nor about the pro and cons.

The layout of this boat is perfect (Almost too perfect) The use of the boat will be trips out with the family (Wife, 2 kids and the dog) and weeks away enjoying the med (Lucky enough to live in Barcelona) So trip to Menorca, ibiza etc

So looking for some advise and tip on such a boat from the more experienced amongst us.

Oh, and the romance has gotten hold of me as the boat bears the name of my daughter………

Thanks in advance,

[Highland Fling]

Buy the Bennie

[skipmac]

Wood boats are almost always a labor of love. If you have the time and discipline and skills and tools and wherewithal to keep a wood boat AND the boat is in good condition to start with then......... maybe but I've owned one wood boat and I would go with the Beneteau hands down.

[GILow]

Flippedpip,

First the mystic stuff... when you get a coincidence like the name, I reckon it is trying to say something. Yeah, OK, not scientific, but ignore at your peril, I know it would have a big influence on me. Oh yes, and I also think that is quite a charming looking boat.

Motor Sailor vs Sailboat is a HUGE question. It is a question you will be much better able to answer once you have sailed for a while. That's not a lot of help for you, but choosing a direction now is as good as flipping a coin really. It is such a personal taste thing.

Personally, after sailing for 40 years, I am planning on the next boat being a motor sailor because I think I will have had enough of the effort of a pure sailing boat and I like the idea of a boat that is significantly smaller than ours yet has twice as much room inside. Right now, we plan to go to places that a conventional motor sailor would not really be suitable, so we have to put up with the limitations of a sailing boat a little longer.

Finally, if you are new to boating, then wood boat thing is probably not the best way to start, a lot of labour when really you want to be sailing. Kudos to Skipmac for pointing that out.

Of course all of the most beautiful boats at our club are wooden boats... I just settle for admiring them as I plod down to our old block of frozen snot.

Matt

[1234 Thunder]

Sailing can get old real fast for kids if it means working on the boat all of the time. They won't appreciate the beauty. Fiberglass (or frozen snot) by far the better choice.

[brianlara 3]

Hi Guys.
Your decision seems to be wether to go with an open cockpit sail boat, or to buy a "motor sailer".
My next boat, which I'll name soon WILL NOT, sail to windward like a sharp stick. It WILL HAVE large glass areas which in the Southern Ocean ...might..... be a worry. But a 'windows' trade-off is a useful thing for people who may be of fair complexion, are concerned about skin exposure, who just ....hate....being in an open cockpit in bucketting rain and strong winds at 2AM on a 4 hour shift.

Not being an expert I don't know the exact stat's but you guys and your littlie are going to be either on the hook or on a berth a damned site more than you are going to be under sail and a motor sailer with a sitting/table arrangement where you can see out...together...is pretty attractive in my opinion.

To be able to sail to windward like an Americas Cup 12 metre boat is terrific I think. But to be able to crank a decent sized engine to go in the desired direction when the yuk hits the fan is even more terrific.

There are lots here on CF, I suspect, who on many occasions would have loved to have been on a motor sailer rather than on a rocket ship S&S designed (eg...nothing more than eg!) thoroughbred. That said, there are those who will disagree (with many things).

Personally, I h.......no, can't say the 'h' word, ....I thoroughly dislike the sun other than at temps of, say, 20deg C or less. Cloudy, windy (even rainy/snowy) day person am I.

Lots of fuel, strong motor, fantastic load carrying capacity, well sheltered panoramic views, and so many other attributes describe well a Nauticat 33 (1,160 built ?!!?), but then there are many others from the same builder with double the volume. And so many other motor sailers of other brands....Fisher 34/37.
The list of proven motor sailers is endless.

And for what else it's worth, its pretty hard to rip the keel off a vessel where it is an integral part of the hull.

T'were you who raised the motor sailer question otherwise I'd have never aired my views .
You Guys are not envisaging day sails, on the contrary.
So have a look at sailboatdata.com.

And remember that there are many well found older fibreglass boats so you don't necessarily have buy a youngish Oceanis 350 or one of the thousands of similar boats.

Finally, I LOVE the layout of the O' 350 but for longer trips/live aboard etc a motor sailer is more me. And it sounds more like you. And no, I have nothing for sale.

Happy hunting, expect to make plenty of mistakes but a mistake shared with a loved one can sometimes be pretty bloody wonderful when reflected upon.
Cheers.
Brian.

[Paul L]

Do you enjoy sailing? You will get a lot more opportunity with the Bene - it will even sail when it is not blowing a gale.
Do you enjoy motoring? The Hamble will give you plenty of opportunity.
Do you enjoy endless boat maintance? All boats offer this, but the wood Hamble will excellent.

[Schooner Chandlery]

By the age of the boat, it will be in a position to have maintenance. It states something about well maintained by the previous owner -- that MAY include frequent hauls and surveys as well as records about when they did what to the hull. A good surveyor would help. Iroko hull is nice but if really strip planked that could be a problem (edge nailed and hard to maintain vs carvel planked which is constructed differently). Back to the good surveyor and good records maintained by the previous owner.

There are other motorsailors out there constructed of all fiberglass if a motorsailor is what you want. IMO 90% of "cruisers" motorsail, so don't worry about that bit -- just concern yourself with whether there is enough sail to actually get in the "sail" part of motorsailing.

Best of luck!
Brenda

[ausnp84]

Howdy,

Have owned both "traditional" sailboats and a motorsailer - here's my 2p. We've been thankful on more than one occasion for our wheelhouse, twin engines to punch through the rubbish stuff, and altogether better accomodation in the motorsailer that we didn't have on the "traditional" sailboat. If you're planning on tearing around the Algarve & Med at 8kts, that just isn't going to happen on a motorsailer. If you're planning on cruising here, there & everywhere, taking your time and motoring when the conditions aren't right, this boat could very much fit the bill!

n

[Schooner Chandlery]

Yes--an inside steering station is indispensable. We've enjoyed high latitude sailing from inside the warm charthouse and it's soooo much nicer than being out in the rain, sleet, or snow. It also makes shorthanded sailing easier--less energy spent when you're not out in the wind but you're inside instead. Our boat is flush deck with a very low charthouse that does the trick nicely for inside steering.

The cat helping my husband stand watch in the charthouse

[FlippedPip]

Thanks so much for the input. It all has really helped me understand a little more and work out that for a first boat something wooden would not be the best thing as I have 2 young kids and an understanding wife that I don't want to turn into a non-understanding version due to me working on the boat every waking moment
I'm going to see a Bénéteau 320 tomorrow that came on the market just up the road.
It feels the more sensible option for now.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by FlippedPip

Thanks so much for the input. It all has really helped me understand a little more and work out that for a first boat something wooden would not be the best thing as I have 2 young kids and an understanding wife that I don't want to turn into a non-understanding version due to me working on the boat every waking moment
I'm going to see a Bénéteau 320 tomorrow that came on the market just up the road.
It feels the more sensible option for now.

But remember there are lots of other motorsailers that might not require quite as much TLC as a wooden one... but which might ring your chimes when it comes to layout, usability, etc. Nauticat comes to mind...

IOW, you might find many more options than just a couple Bénéteaus and a Hamble.

-Chris

[brianlara 3]

My God, how I hate having to eat HAmble pie.
When I read Beneteau 350 Oceanis I imagined that in the Med/UK they would be C. 60,000 quid because in Oz that is the kind of money we are paying, sort of. And I was at a loss to understand why you might also be considering a 20,000 quid timber boat which would usually bankrupt a media tycoon and have him permanently shackled to a chisel & mallet. And with 2 !!! X engines as well.

Despite exposing my tender throat to further gnashings I'd strongly suggest to you that Beneteaus are very, very nice and I really hope you find yourselves owning one. Were I not intending to cruise the 40's latitudes I would also get a Bennie or similar.

You'll let us know huh?

Cheerio.

[FlippedPip]

Yep, I'll keep you posted as to how things go.

Agreed, we're lucky here with the prices of boats

[brianlara 3]

Originally Posted by FlippedPip

Yep, I'll keep you posted as to how things go.

Agreed, we're lucky here with the prices of boats

Thanks re:keeping us posted.
Very lucky in Europe, cruising grounds, history, scenery......and not a largely barren island in the middle of nowhere.
Cheers and heres hoping on that B320. Fingers X'd.