Tayana, Irwin, Beneteau, or ?

[Duckwheat]

Went to the Seattle boat show a month or so a go. Looked at some really nice boats. The quality of the H. Rassey, Valiant, and others were evident along with the price tag.

If you were looking to spend 125,000 to 180,000 what would you be looking for. I am not interested in a project boat. Don't mind upgrading electronics, sails, etc....

Would the Tayana, Irwin, Gulfstar, and Beneteau make it around the globe? Other boats that a guy should look for?

Thanks for your help.

DW

[AnchorageGuy]

I would be willing to bet that question has been ask here on the board a hundred times and there are at least that many answers.

[cabo_sailor]

Of the boats you listed, I would choose the Tayana. Irwins do not have a good reputation for performance, the Gulfstar maybe but the CSY version is also a tank; Beneteau is not too bad but in my mind more of a coastal cruiser. The worst thing about the Beneteau, in my mind, is that huge rudder sticking down unprotected. Another concern with the Beneteau is that they are extremely common in the charter fleet and are a drag on the market when you might want to sell. My dockmate had that problem with his.

If you are willing to look at the Tayana then you might also look at the Hans Christian but be prepared for a lot of bright work in either case.

[Sailormann]

Valiant, Pacific Seacraft, Island Packet, Wauqiez, Amel, Swan, Hinckley, Morris, Morse, Nauticat, Banjer, Degero, Najad, etc.

[TOM]

Have you thought about a Mason 43, I looked at one recently and was very impressed very well built and have a good history of circumnavagating and in your price range.

[Pblais]

If you were looking to spend 125,000 to 180,000 what would you be looking for.

What we found. Take your budget and figure an extra $30 K to make an older boat in great shape really ready. EPIRB, life raft, dinghy, and other door prizes will eat up some money. You'll need a few repairs and maybe want to replace some canvas or upholstery. Unless the canvas is really new the UV will trash it in a short amount of time.

A late 1980's Tayana 42 might fit the price range as would many of the above - but not all of them (most of Sailormann's very nice list). The Mason would fit too. It's going to come down to condition and features that fit the price not the brand name.

Think smaller when you find two you are considering. Every extra foot adds more up keep, repair and blows a little more when trying to aim for a dock. Fees and costs are mostly by the foot. If it has enough space and storage the extra feet won't help that much.

[irwinsailor]

Sailing Magazine

The Irwin 52 will do very well.

[sneuman]

you can look at my profile and take this all with a grain of salt ...

but I think the Tayanas have a lot going for them. In the 37, for example, depending on the layout (and it varies a fair amount), there can be quite a lot of room down below.

I have a couple of thoughts about Beneteaus, having sailed on a couple and looked at many more. And, I'm generalizing here ...

As relatively fast coastal cruisers or to pop down to the Caribbean, you'd be hard-pressed to beat the Beneteaus, however ...

aside from their seakeeping abilities, which I have only second-hand info on (I've only sailed them in more-or-less ideal conditions), the interiors don't seem built all that well. This goes for their more upscale bretheren, the Jenneaus, too. The cabinetry fit is often pretty slap-dash and I just hate the ubiquitous headliners. In nearly every older Beneteau, deck leaks (usually under the genoa tracks), have brought down the headliner inside. I have looked at probably a dozen older (10+ years) Beneteaus while out boat shopping with friends. I could almost lay money on this deck leak/headliner problem before I set foot on the boat. That goes for a lot of other similarly designed boats, mind you. The good news, however, is that problem in theory should be fairly easy to fix.
(as compared to a major drawback on the Tayanas: as the infamous teak deck problem, which is a costly and time consuming fix!)

and there's not much storage on the Benes compared to say the Tayana especially, or the Irwins (which, admittedly, I know much less about) . If you're going to do some serious cruising, you'll want all the storage you can get. I also suspect that, fully loaded, the Beneteaus probably lose a lot of their inherent speed advantage vis-a-vis the others mentioned.

By contrast, the Tayana has a rock-solid waterline. When the water tank is empty, for example, I can fill the 90 gallons (that's 720 lbs of water!) and the bootstripe barely moves. And, of course, the Tayana's ability to handle the rough stuff is legend.

[Pblais]

If you're going to do some serious cruising, you'll want all the storage you can get.

It's more like "pick up truck" than "sports car". Cruising - "the transport of many tons of stuff from anchorage to anchorage."

[Morski Krastavac]

Originally Posted by Duckwheat

Would the Tayana, Irwin, Gulfstar, and Beneteau make it around the globe? Other boats that a guy should look for?

Thanks for your help.

DW

Yes, they would, they did, all of them.

Rather then starting with particular boats, start with a realistic evaluation of what you WILL (not want to) do with the boat. As much as I hate them: for mostly liveaboard in coastal or mid-range cruising, little beats Hunters. I would throw in Bavarias especially for their value (I am aware I may open a can of worms). For an upgrade along the same lines but with higher offshore capability and arguably style: Tartan and/or Hanse (both offer quite different interpretations of the theme).

If it is supposed to be a boat for true blue-water and/or ocean crossing: Caliber for sure.

For more performance oriented boats: Dehler or C&C.

In your price range I would rule out other obvious suspects: HR, Amel, IP or (in the US too pricey: Grand Soleil) all desireable but probably too expensive unless you are really lucky.

However, as mentioned before most important in my opinion is an honest and realistic assessment of your aquatic plans. Good Luck with this exciting project.


Peter

[Duckwheat]

This was helpful. I did not grow up sailing but developed my interest late in life. There is something I like about Banjer. They just look seaworthy. Not you classic sleek sailing rig. Are they going to sail, or are you going to be buying the petrol on my world tour.

Thanks for all your help. There were some boats brought up that I had not heard of.

Dw