Hi all,
I am trying to begin the search for my first cruising vessel, with which I hope to do a pacific crossing. I must note: this voyage is AT LEAST 2 years down the road. I am young, I have time, and I am a cautious person. I currently own an
Annapolis 25 which I bought mostly out of pity. I am in the process of refurbishing it and plan to sell it as soon as I can.
Once I sell it (or even if I don't), I need to choose a vessel for the longer trip. My priorities:
Under 35' -- I know this is small, but while I will have my 2 siblings on the crossing, when it is done they will likely not be joining me for whatever's next. I like the idea of a 27-32'
hull and want the absolute minimum length for a safe crossing. We will be travelling minimally and lightly
Diesel engine- prefer one that is easier to
work on, as my strengths are more in
fiberglass, woodworking and sail
repair
Fiberglass hull-- I completely love those old Hinterhoeller 28s, think they are wonderful and am considering that as an option if it werent for the fact that I have to squeeze 3 people aboard
Would prefer a
monohull to a cat, as I have more experience with the former-- never sailed a cat larger than a hobie 16
About my siblings-- they have less sailing experience than i, but we are all good carpenters etc. We are also very close and accustomed to living right on top of each other. However, I am the "captain" so I will be the one really
training for this.
We do not have a lot of
money. I understand that to go to sea safely, one cannot say "cheap is my goal." If
cheap were my only goal, I would live out of my car until I died. But this is not our way out of the world or
retirement, it is our postgrad, every-penny-towards-the-boat plan.
I am well versed in sailing,
fiberglass repair, sail
maintenance,
rigging and tuning,
boat carpentry,
hull maintenance (for fiberglass hulls) and am in the process of
learning electrical systems &
diesel engines as I restore the
Annapolis 25. Sailed and raced dinghies and keelboats for a few years
I am less worried about navigational/supplies/chart plotting at the moment not because it is not of paramount importance but because I have a LONG way to go before I am at that stage of planning and right now I need to know what kind of hull I am looking for so that I can GET it and then the real
work can begin. Also not worried about a specific listing (living in AL at the moment) because I will probably not buy the
boat until next spring and I dont want to rush in. Plus, I am in a position to retrieve a boat from anywhere along the eastern seaboard, potentially even up to
New england. definitely retrieval from annapolis/chesapeake area would be possible, I just moved from annapolis and have tons of resources in the area, So I am seeking
advice on what to look for.
Speed is WAY less important than
safety to me. I am wary about such a
small boat and since I will only have a year or so to train myself and my crew, I like the idea of a boat that can sail well in some
weather.
For the
record, I LOVE the annapolis 25, but it cant hook up to
shore power, has a beam of only 6'3", and was built in 1969. But I mean, I didn't expect much when I bought it for a grand and found out that the
cockpit drain to the
water had no seacock and was leaking into the
bilge. Haha it is just so very not
seaworthy but its a great knockabout and the size is perfect for
singlehanding. But I put a 2.6hp
outboard on it for chrissake and it has no
head or decent
storage.
anyway, all help/advice would be appreciated on choice of a new home