I'm ready to
purchase my next
boat and would love some opinions to keep my romantic eyes on track.
Where I'm coming from:
Grew up sailing the
great lakes on a Hunter33, CNC32, Mega30. Spent much of my childhood grinding
fiberglass and doing bright
work.
Lots of dingy sailing. Owned a Laser for a bit.
Did some crewing/boat hopping in the
Caribbean on some custom boats, 57'
ketch, 44
aluminum french
boat (cant remember the make). Made a 6 day crossing from St. Martin to
Cartagena, up through the san blas and through the
canal. 14 day crossing from
Panama to the
Galapagos.
Moved to the
PNW. Purchased a
Newport 30 and sailed it extensively around the gulf islands including
single handing around Van Island. Lots of boat upgrades and
maintenance. I can fix or figure out most boat stuff, including
engine rebuilds,
electrical, glass, etc.
Wood is probably my weakest point but I can learn. Lots of
mistakes and lessons learned.
Sold the boat a few years ago and now the ocean is calling me again.
The
Newport was far too
tender for me. I was constantly worried about snapping a
shroud or the backstay, or wondering if the keelbolts where going to fail or if the
rudder was going to snap off. In hindsight I should have never exposed it to the open ocean for days at a time, and the stresses I could feel on the boat is what led me to sell. I knew I wanted to go further, with more confidence. I want to be able to untie with less stress and get out and sail on a moments notice.
So I started looking at the opposite end of the spectrum. Eyeing up Westsail32s and Southern Cross 31s. Ingrid 38s, Tayana 37s.
Alberg 30s. Big heavy
displacement boats with full keels, lots of
bronze, thick chainplates... Boats that break things, rather than being broken. I want something that is reasonable as a
liveaboard as I plan to live on my next boat most of the year, and something that can take me accross the pacific, or up to
alaska, or maybe someday cape horn or the NWP (big dream).
I was completely set on a westsail 32 or similar, until recently when I stumbled upon a Centurion 32. It had much more in common with my newport being a fin
keel, with a spade
rudder, modern
portlights,
aluminum hatches and slick
interior. I read up on it and all the
reviews were super positive, saying that it was a great
offshore boat, that it tracked well and excelled in high
wind. But wait... its not a heavy boat, and doesnt have a
full keel. Could the hype be true? Would it be way more comfortable as a
liveaboard than a thick double ended bathtub? Would it sail that much better? Could it handle big open ocean and the big adventures I long for?
So now, my mind is a bit more open, and with that comes more options. So I look to the forum, most of you have far more experience than I and I'm wondering what you feel are the fundamentally important features of your
offshore homes and what you might recommend I look at.
Price is a factor, I'm not rich, and most of the boats Im looking at are under 25k. It seems most westsails hold their value really well and are closer to 40k, but I've found a few projects collecting dust ranging from free to 10k. A SC31 for 19k, grampion 31 for 10k. Seafarer 35 for 20k.
Alberg 30 for 10....
Things that I'm assuming are important are:
Self steering vane
Refrigeration
Full keel
Cutter Rig (the centurion is a
sloop but I immediately started scheming on how I could fit an inner stay)
Newer
Engine
Mast Steps
Cockpit cushions... oh the luxury.
Roomy
interior for liveaboardability.
Any insights to this ramble?