Swanson 28 ?

[naggi]

Hello all,
I'm looking at my first up grade after 3 years of sailing. I have my eye on pocket crusiers, I'm ready to get out of the bay and into the ocean abit. The models that I'm mainly interested in are Australian made glass boats,
Swanson 28' and Clansman 30', around 30K.
Has anyone sailed or owned either of these boats?
In good condition would either of these boats cross bass straight ok?
(I live in Tassy)
I have found alittle positive info on clansman on the internet but nothing on swanson 28'
cheers Naggi

[olaf hart]

They are both good boats for coastal cruising, but you would want one with a good motor and a new rig to cross Bass Strait.

So you are probably looking at $10K minimum in work on a normal used boat before it would do the crossing.

It would probably be better to wait for a good boat in Tassie for that size.

I just took our 30 footer from Sydney to Hobart with the bride as crew, but it was an order of magnitude more seaworthy than the boats you nominate, had a new motor, rig, two autopilots (both were broken by the time we reached Hobart), new GPS, wireless internet, liferaft, EPIRB and an SSB.

We also had previous experience in a Bass Strait crossing and over forty years sailing experience.

If you want a boat ready to make the crossing it would cost a lot more than the amount you want to spend.

[naggi]

Thanks for your input,
40 years,Yeh I hear you, not looking to become a statistic.
sounds like you and your partner had an interesting trip.
My plan was to sail down the coast from Sydney to Willsons Prom and from there, island hope to Deal,to Flinders, to Wineglass Bay and through Dunally Cannal to Hobart.
What do you reckon?
Priced a road delivery (Sydney to Hobart) for much the same boat @10k, 3 grand to Melbourne from Sydney and from there 7k to Hobart.

The selection down here is a bit limited if you are chasing a particular model, but something around my budget do's come up now and again

[olaf hart]

Get a boat with a new motor, take an experienced mate, Load a LOT of diesel, motor across in a favourable wind and swell. Wait the weather out in Eden, use a wireless connection to Telstra and the Passageweather site to pick your window.
With a reliable autopilot you will make Eddystone in two days and nights, and anchor in Bicheno for the third night, St Helens is effectively closed at the moment.
That is assuming everything goes to plan. If it doesn't I dont think it matters if you are offshore or island hopping in Bass Strait, you are still efffectively on your own in one of the worst bits of water on the planet.
You will also need a lot of charts of you want to island hop, these are tricky waters to navigate.

[ShaunJ]

Not much to add but I wish you luck. i think you are on the right track.

ShaunJ

[naggi]

Thanks Olaf, If this go's ahead the boat will get a good test out and be geared up. I would intend to take about 4 weeks to do the cruise.

My preference is a Swanson at this stage

This all depends on the sale of my existing boat,
they certainly ar'nt flying of the shelf,
but I've had a couple of nibbles this week