Nor'Sea 27 as Liveaboard ?

[Delezynski]

Originally Posted by roverhi

The aft cabin on the NorSea seems to be a joke. Is it really usable or does it just turn into a large lazarette?? They did make an aft cockpit deck for the NorSea which is a much better design to my thinking.

Aloha
Peter O.

Peter,

The aft cabin is not a joke by any means. We had 2 teenage boys living in ours at one time (photos on our cruising prep web pages). When we had relatives visit us, they stayed in it. A lot of owners use it as the bedroom. It can sleep 2 very well with room to spare for stuff.

We have been out cruising now for over 4 years. Yes, it is used as a garage for us now. But we like to sleep in the V birth in the forward cabin, that is why we store stuff back there.

We have been aboard MANY MANY boats out here cruising, some have been out for as much as 17 years, NOT ONE, read that as NOT ONE SINGLE BOAT, didn't have an area that is now strictly storage! Most, use the V birth, we have seen a few that use the aft cabin. Some that have a center cabin designed for sleeping, even use that space. It seems ALL of the long term cruisers we meet have more stuff than the boat was designed for aboard.

In the aft cockpit Nor'Sea, the aft quarter births (one on each side) normally become that storage space.

Greg

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Delezynski

... We have been aboard MANY MANY boats out here cruising, some have been out for as much as 17 years, NOT ONE, read that as NOT ONE SINGLE BOAT, didn't have an area that is now strictly storage!
... It seems ALL of the long term cruisers we meet have more stuff than the boat was designed for aboard...

STUFF is the only COMPELLING reason for a bigger boat.

[Delezynski]

Originally Posted by GordMay

STUFF is the only COMPELLING reason for a bigger boat.

Gord,

The boats I am referring to ranged in size up to about 65 feet! fully 75% of them them were in the 37 to 45 foot range. Actually, the 17 footer we visited cruising in the Sea (with a family of 4 aboard) had the least "stuff" aboard.

We were aboard some power boats in the 200 foot range that had set aside full rooms just for storage. But it was only the crew that were cruising. The owners were just visitors.

We all seem to grow into and fill the space we have, big or small.

Greg

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Delezynski

...We all seem to grow into and fill the space we have, big or small.
Greg

With apologies to C. Northcote Parkinson,
“Stuff accumulates to (over) fill the space allotted for it's storage.”

* Parkinson's Law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
Parkinson's Law, by Prof. Cyril Northcote Parkinson

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by Delezynski

I LOVE the part about him being chased down the beach...

Yeah, that is quite a hoot... Sorta seems like the event where they realize metro-life is finally behind them...

[Sundance]

What about wintertime? What do you do for heat?

[Delezynski]

Originally Posted by Sundance

What about wintertime? What do you do for heat?

When we were in an area that had snow on the dock, all the foot prints led to OUR Nor'Sea. We just light the fireplace, had hot Coco and hot buttered rum!

It was great sitting, watching the the fire burn and staying warm on cozy!

Greg

[FloridaWriter]

Originally Posted by Craftsman

We're thinking of selling the house and dividing our time between our 2007 Airstream and and the Nor-Sea 27'. What attracts us to the Nor-Sea is the advantage of storing the boat when not in use on a trailer and the ability to take it almost anywhere. We are just starting out learning to sail so I'd like to get some opinions of this plan.
Jack

You'd be hard pressed to find a sweeter boat. A Lyle Hess design, the aft cabin along makes her worth the price (if you can afford one). The fact that they are so easily trailered makes the Norsea 27 even more desirable.

Good luck,

[Pblais]

The fact that they are so easily trailered makes the Norsea 27 even more desirable.

I wouldn't call it easily tailerable. It is a lot of boat in the water. It also will take a lot of trouble. One of the first boats I saw on a trailer and wondered just how big it was. This in not a boat you pull with the Ford Focus.

[FloridaWriter]

So which 27 foot cruising sailboat do you think you CAN pull with a Focus?

[Pblais]

So which 27 foot cruising sailboat do you think you CAN pull with a Focus?

None. Many trailerable boats wil require a substantial towing vehicle. If you don't have one, it changes the cost of ownership a whole lot. The farther you have to travel the more substantial the vehicle.

[FloridaWriter]

That is absolutely correct. You have to have a tow vehicle. And, you have to have a trailer. But with the two, the Nor'Sea is a nice package. Down here in Florida every other driveway has a Sea Ray on a trailer--much larger than the little Nor'Sea in comparison. The builder sells a trailer specifically for the boat, and used Nor'Sea's can often be found with these trailers. The displacement of the yacht is within the towing capacity of a Suburban 1500. To me that sounds like a great alternative to paying slip rental or yard storage.

[Pblais]

the Nor'Sea is a nice package

I don't want to leave the impression I don't like the Nor'Sea 27. It is a lot of boat for a trailer sailor. People do cruise with them. The cost of the rig to travel just changes how it might work out in terms of costs.

If you are living aboard then the issue of a trailer isn't important since that isn't what you are doing. Living aboard is not trailering unless you only do it part time.

[FloridaWriter]

Since "Craftsman" mentioned that they will be dividing their time between a trailer and sailing--meaning they have the towing vehicle and will be living ashore half the time in their trailer and aboard half the time in their boat, I think the Nor'Sea 27 is an idea solution for them: An easy boat to learn to sail, safe and easy in a seaway, very protected cockpit, lots of room for gear, and a guaranteed market for resale if they decide sailing is not for them.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by FloridaWriter

. . . in Florida every other driveway has a Sea Ray on a trailer--much larger than the little Nor'Sea . . .

I mean no offense, FloridaWriter, and I take your point, but the Nor'Sea is only "little" when you see it on the water, in my opinion. Here's a pic http://www.norseayachts.com/images/Photo07-500x396.jpg from the Nor'Sea 27 website that I've always suspected was a posed photo designed to show, I guess, how simple towing one is. Sitting on its trailer, it doesn't look "little" to me, and towing one with that old sedan in the pic is probably possible, but I wouldn't want to have to tow it that way very far.

The photo also illustrates one of the complicating factors with such a vessel - handling the mast. I've wrestled the mast on a Nacra beach cat I used to have, and I can state that doing it alone is one of the least fun things you can imagine - if you lose control of the forestay before you have it secured, the mast can fall and narrowly miss another car pulling into the ramp. Don't ask how I know this.

Anyway, the Nor'Sea is a great vessel, and if you move from, say, Seattle to San Diego, then that trailerability is priceless. But you sure wouldn't want to stop and put in every other day, exploring the coast as you travel south.

You might do that once.

TaoJones