Seaworthiness - Narrowing down choice

[CaptHurricane]

Hi All,

Just joined the forum. So, my wife and I are embarking on a round-the-world cruise next year and of course I am looking for the right sailing boat. I am a professional Merchant Navy seafarer holding a Master Mariner, unlimited tonnage, foreign going license and I am Captain of a ship so naturally my main concern is seaworthiness having seen my fair share of inclement maritime weather.

So I have started to narrow down my search and my preference is for a very tough motor sailor, however I am open to a couple of tough yachts if there is enough weather protection in the cockpit. My other priorities are redundant systems, space for 4-6 with ease, length preferably over 37'. My budget is only 130K (GBP) and so far I have narrowed it down to these models: Fisher 37, Nauticat 42 - 44 for the motor sailor's and Valiant, Tartan, Hans Christian and Bristol for regular sail boats.

Any idea's would love to hear them.

Captain Nathan

[Chotu]

In addition to your list, you may want to scour online listings in your price range for custom boats as well. You're looking for something fairly specific and all production boats are built for profit.

You may find an amazing purpose built boat exactly as you wish for, but higher quality, in a custom.

[BCG]

Hi Nathan,

First time poster, sorry if the lunk does not work.

I have recently seen a Sirius 42 for sale in Greece that might suit you. She is a Steel cutter with a pilot house.
Below is a link to a YW article on the boat for your reference.

URL="http://www.yachtisola.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Yachting-Monthly.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiA79qo3d_hAhV6TBUIHSUtDYMQF jAEegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0lCYM_B30NGnVN01wywZpP"]http://www.yachtisola.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Yachting-Monthly.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiA79qo3d_hAhV6TBUIHSUtDYMQF jAEegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0lCYM_B30NGnVN01wywZpP[/URL]

I have no association with the vessel, I have not even seen it. I just liked the look and feel of it.

Good luck with your search.

Bill.

[Don C L]

Welcome aboard Nathan! You might also peruse the boats shown in Sailboat Reviews of Offshore Cruising Yachts : Bluewaterboats.org
but just be aware it is not the final word on all craft bluewater. My guess is if you want comfort for 4 -6 you'll be over 40 feet. And I'd say don't assume you need to go heavy or give up performance to be "bluewater" seaworthy. I've always had a fondness for the Peterson 44, but that's just me. I'd give it a look though! Good luck!

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by BCG

Hi Nathan,

First time poster, sorry if the lunk does not work.

I have recently seen a Sirius 42 for sale in Greece that might suit you. She is a Steel cutter with a pilot house.
Below is a link to a YW article on the boat for your reference.

URL="http://www.yachtisola.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Yachting-Monthly.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiA79qo3d_hAhV6TBUIHSUtDYMQF jAEegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0lCYM_B30NGnVN01wywZpP"]http://www.yachtisola.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Yachting-Monthly.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiA79qo3d_hAhV6TBUIHSUtDYMQF jAEegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0lCYM_B30NGnVN01wywZpP[/URL]

I have no association with the vessel, I have not even seen it. I just liked the look and feel of it.

Good luck with your search.

Bill.

Welcome aboard Bill!

[AndyEss]

The HC 38s are probably too small for your needs of accommodating 4-6 people for lenghty cruises. Three is about tops for me with any comfort, though I've done 6 for three or 4 nights. Weather was good, so sleeping in the cockpit or on deck was possible.
Lovely Water boats">blue water boats, but a bear to maneuver in many marinas. I'm usually on anchor, so not that big of a deal for me.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Nathan.

[Eder]

If I went cruising on a 37' boat with 4-6 people at least half of them will have been thrown over board after the 1st week at sea.

[kitrob]

I agree with Eder. I have a 37 foot sloop. It can barely accommodate my wife and I let alone others.

[gmakhs]

You are an experience mariner but not an experienced sailor and that's something I judge from your list .
There are cheaper and better quality build boats than the one you list for less money .
First design your cruising ground and then the decide boat, if you plan to do the trade winds zone and the milky route (ARC) you can do it even with a cheap Bavaria,.so.first consider the ground and then the boat because the options on the design vary a lot and the boats you list are only famous by name and not travels .
Spent your money wisely, and don't just follow trends .

An example:
Hans Christian boats have a good reputation and they are rigid but they where build as cheap as possible in taiwan and if I remember correct they changed factory a couple.of.times so the workmanship varies .
With your budget I propose a beneteau first 42.or 46,.they are strongly build.boats and fast .

With all respects a fellow mariner and sailor

[AiniA]

There is a very BIG difference between cruising with four and cruising with six.

You may know this already but Bristol have two series of yachts. The ones with decimal designations, e.g. 45.5, 47.7 etc are newer and more upmarket than the earlier ones. In any case I don't think they made earlier ones big enough for the crowd you want to accommodate. We did many miles with a 45.5 and could imagine cruising with four (2 or 3 is better) but not more. Very solid, seaworthy boats for sure.

[AndyEss]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

You are an experience mariner but not an experienced sailor and that's something I judge from your list .
There are cheaper and better quality build boats than the one you list for less money .
First design your cruising ground and then the decide boat, if you plan to do the trade winds zone and the milky route (ARC) you can do it even with a cheap Bavaria,.so.first consider the ground and then the boat because the options on the design vary a lot and the boats you list are only famous by name and not travels .
Spent your money wisely, and don't just follow trends .

An example:
Hans Christian boats have a good reputation and they are rigid but they where build as cheap as possible in taiwan and if I remember correct they changed factory a couple.of.times so the workmanship varies .
With your budget I propose a beneteau first 42.or 46,.they are strongly build.boats and fast .

With all respects a fellow mariner and sailor

Hans Christian's built as cheaply as possible?
They are heavily built to very high standards, with features far superior to most production boats. Even as 30-40 year old boats, they command s premium in terms of purchase price to this day. Free market valuations never reward "cheaply" built products, especially over significant periods of time.
Have you ever owned and sailed an HC? I'm rather sure you haven't to make such a preposterous statement.
They are not for everyone as, IMO, their esthetic is as close to a beautiful, classic wood as possible in a glass boat. They are heavy. They do need electronics upgrades, as do any boats that were built in pre-GPS days.
As you note, the last production in the later 80's was suspect with molds taken by unlicensed builders and with no compensation to the designers.
Other than the few that were produced as essentially "knockoffs" the main production line was excellent for the time, and if anything overbuilt, rather than, as claimed, cheaply built.

[maxingout]

Hans Christian and Tayana both work for me.

[lifeofreilly57]

Hmmm...cruised on a 38 foot boat with my wife, then thevteo boys came along, now we cruise on a 47 foot boat that weighs 40,000lbs with all gear aboard and sometimes feels "small". If you want to stay married that is.
6? Hmmm..at least 44 in a monohull, then you all better be related or really friendly.
As for boat type? Depends on your experience and expectations, what's your cruising budget. Diesel ain't cheap in most places outside the developed world, when you can find it. Better find something that sails well.
Want to circumnavigate? How much storage? How much fuel capacity? How much water capacity? Water maker? Solar? How "rough" can you rough it? We carry 125 gallons of fuel, 150 gallons of water, have a generator and water maker. But full fresh water body washers are a luxury, we've become "salty".
It all depends on your expectations of comfort. Nothing id free.
Decide on what your comf byortable level is, in a very realistic fashion, then start to focus on what type of boat you need.
Our boat was within your price range but needed another $25,000.00 in stuff and about 1500 hours of my extremely skilled labor to get it to what I feel is an acceptable level of offshore competence to do what your looking to accomplish. Of course it all depends on what your expectations are. What's your skill level at boat maintenance? What's your technical skill level? You never want yo step off on a boat with systems you can't troubleshoot and fix. This is the major limiting factor for most people in cruising boat selection.

[Wayne hoath]

HC are lovely boats. Can’t fault the aesthetics. I own a Fisher 37 and it’s perfect for me and how I use it but would be too small for 4-6 people for prolonged voyages in my opinion. If you do look at these then make sure you go for the cutter ketch rig which gives you the most sail and most sail options.