pocket cruisers

[petelesperance]

thanks alot everybody, some really good advice. im currently sailing in the mediterranean, which is very nice, a restored cutter from 1892, marigold, beautiful boat. as soon as this seasons over however, ill begin the search in ernest, i reckon its half luck finding the boat. become my own captain of a wee ship. thank you

[nickj]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Off topic:
I want to "take off" and have others fund my Pay Pal account for the trip too.

Hi Therapy.

I just created an account to set some things straight... Since obviously some people are getting the wrong idea about how I fund my trip. To start with, I am definitely not funded by my paypal account, let me assure you. Certainly, there have been some very generous people on the internet who've taken interest in my voyage and assisted me, but I am in no way (not even CLOSE) sailing off random online donations. Generally people pop in $5 or $10 here and there, and I think of it as meeting someone with similar interests and buying them a beer at the bar. I know when I've had money, I've donated a few dollars to people I've never met because I support their efforts.

The reality is, I'm in an exceptional amount of debt, and quite literally only just 'keeping afloat' out here, shifting around what I have to keep away debt collectors and borrowing money left right and centre.

I'm quite certain, Therapy, that if you're 20 years old or 50 years old, and you setup a website and share something people find interesting, you too will attract people who'll metaphorically buy you a beer. In fact, I'd buy you one right now, to show you that generosity runs in circles.

And as an aside, since this thread appears to be about trying to figure out whether you can afford to sail on peanuts - Sure, you can do it if you want to; you simply have to give up a great deal to do it. If you're willing and hard working, you can sail anywhere in anything, regardless of what people say - Do it in a raft made out of plastic drums if you want: It's been done, and it can be done again.

Thanks to the others on the forum that have taken a positive interest in my project, I really appreciate it. I write to you from English Harbour, Antigua, and will be departing for New York in around a week.

Best, Nick
Home » Bigoceans | Tiny Boat

[Therapy]

Gotcha....

[Sailormann]

Look for an Alberg 22...

Alberg 22 - Used Sailboat Market in Canada

or a Bayfield 25...

Bayfield 25 - Used Sailboat Market in Canada

[nautical62]

Another boat I recommend adding to you list of boats to look at is the Westerly Centaur. I owned one for about 8 years and sailed it through many of the Great Lakes and over to the Bahamas on several occasions. It's one of the few 26 foot pocket cruisers that has standing headroom. The shallow draft is handy if you are sailing the Florida Keys or Bahamas. Like many of the heavier boats, it doesn't point incredibly well and needs a good breeze to get it up to hull speed. The standing headroom comes at the expense of a shallow bilge, but I think they are are a great no-frills value. Several have circumnavigated.

Other boats having a good reputation that may come up in your price range include: Pearson, Cape Dory, Bristol, Alburg, Contessa, Morgan Out Island and a number of folk boats.

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by nautical62

Another boat I recommend adding to you list of boats to look at is the Westerly Centaur... Other boats having a good reputation that may come up in your price range include: Pearson, Cape Dory, Bristol, Alburg, Contessa, Morgan Out Island and a number of folk boats.

I think you’ve rounded up the usual suspects – especially good for those who hope to make the leap on a seriously modest budget.

Was just thumbing through John Vigor’s compendium on an offshore boat’s seaworthiness… He’s got a fairly insightful list of factors to consider – everything from rudder placement, to bridge decks, to cockpit size and beam; plus the more usual maintenance matters… he has a sizeable scoring system (admittedly somewhat arbitrary, but quite logical to my eye…), which might be useful once someone is serious about a particular boat, but just the list would be golden I think… Other than overall condition of the hull and rigging, he doesn’t stray too far into surveyor’s territory because he advocates a marine surveyor be engaged, but asks something over 50 questions, many of which a surveyor probably will not address directly… he doesn’t score generators or techno-gizmos, so this really is a back-to-marine-basics list of considerations…

I’m guessing most of the vessels you listed, indeed most of the vessels already discussed in this thread, would score nicely… just for grins I ran our little chunk; and it came out in the category that says “could be made seaworthy…,” largely due to outstanding maintenance issues -- which was nice to see because I’ve got a fairly extensive list of pending projects; most of which were already addressed in John’s seaworthiness factors and will (hopefully) bring the score comfortably into the seaworthy range… granted, one can’t sail a list. Nonetheless, such "crutches" seem to help those of us of the geriatric persuasion get/stay organized…

[barchetta3]

The Pearson Triton is a boat that would be my first choice. The price is right. Google Pearson Triton and you'll find a wealth of information on this boat.