The Monkey Boat List

[Ken on Satori]

Just try this on for size. Just under your max but you could get it for less.
Mustang Island Yachts (Rockport, TX)

[SaltyMonkey]

Thanks Ken. Had this in my radar, but over my optimal budget right now even at discount. If I don't buy, more money in the sack for one of this beauty. Damn wonderful looking boat! *sigh I feel pain.

[Yachts66]

A day late and a dollar short seems to be the story of my life lately, but I'll jump in here anyway. Monkey, you're a numbers guy, numbers are cool, I like numbers too, but when it comes to boats, heart always over rides numbers. When you step on her for the first time, and your heart skips a beat, when you sit in the salon and can't help but touch her joinery, when you walk away and can't help but turn around for "just one more look." That's when you know you've found your boat. Trust me on this, been there, done that.

Confession time: I don't like plastic boats, never have, never will. I've owned three, I hope to never own #4. When I think blue water cruising boat, the last thing I think about is speed. What's the point? If I'm in a hurry I'll grab the next flight out of SFO, right? I've lived aboard two different boats for years. Even the most die hard cruiser spends less then 10% of his/her time going from point A to point B. The rest of the time is spent on the hook or at the dock. So, the first thing I look at is livability. I want comfort. Let the crazy race guys fight over a half knot of extra speed, I want to enjoy my gin and tonic as I watch the sun set into the sea, just outside the reef. I want a great nights sleep with plenty of room for a BTB or two or even three. I want to enjoy life, not set records. Most importantly, when I head out, to go from A to B I want to be pretty certain I'll arrive at B no matter what mother ocean throws at me along the way.

If I hit a container in the middle of the night, when it's so damn dark you can barley see your hand in front of your face; when it's overcast and there's no moon or stars, on those nights I want to be sure I've got the best possible boat under me. Because those nights happen at sea. Because boats don't have headlights. Two Oysters have sunk in the past couple of years under those very conditions. Oysters are really nice boats, but I wouldn't own one, because of those very dark nights, and those 10,000 unaccounted for containers floating in the ocean or maybe sunk, no one knows for sure.

So, my ride is steel. Sure she's not the fastest boat afloat, but she gets me there every time and on those very dark nights, I worry, but not near so much as if I was on a glass boat. When I do arrive in port, I live a comfortable life. I enjoy my evening drink in peace and comfort. I sleep well at night because I've got a 110# Manson connected to the boat by a 1/2" HT chain. I sleep very well. Besides all those things, plastic boats smell bad to my old nose, but I think water from plastic tanks tastes bad too. So there!

Regards,

Thomas

[SaltyMonkey]

Yacht66: I'm much too experienced a past boat owner and sailor for "skipping beats" with any heart or any boat, so please don't feed me any 19th century romantic nonsense. That's not how I play the boat buying game this time around. Fishers are thump dumpers for sure, but they are lousy sailers, and expensive, and may not be as safe as either one of us may believe. I'm not a great fan of ketch rigs for my own SS. Pragmatically, they are dry which is why I wanted one since I do a lot of charting and log work on the move. I've waned a bit on buying one. Doesn't mean I won't but I know there are other great boats out there.

As for steel, I'm a converted fan, but the consistency of building quality and number of boats available in any particular area is not that great. And building your own is a time suck. I'm looking, but the looking isn't great. And let's not forget the maintenance aspects of them.

Beyond this, we are in the end fairly stuck to the draw of boats on the market in our respective areas. I'd be much better off being either in the PNW, NE, E, SE and maybe SW where I think there are a great number of boats in the offering.

Oysters are great boats. Boats sink

[gr8trn]

YouTube - Dana 24 New Design Review

[SaltyMonkey]

Never trust a magazine review - they are too afraid they will get sued.
Lousy in light air.
Very difficult to heave to.
Too small for gear and tankage.
No nav station
Engine access difficult.

Wanted one bad in the 80's...that and a Flicka.

[gr8trn]

I just thought it was meeting some of your criteria and I thought of you when I saw it.

By no means did I think you would listen to Bob Bitchin's sales pictch, I just thought it was a nice quick video that showed the vessel reasonably well.

Slower than a banana slug in Phoenix probably!

Well, back to the Beneteau 36.7's for you...
Greg

[SaltyMonkey]

oooh Bendie boats! 27 Orion either model is nice. So is 31 - newer model like the Dana layout. Cannot afford a 34 or 37, but would love one!

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

oooh Bendie boats! 27 Orion either model is nice. So is 31 - newer model like the Dana layout. Cannot afford a 34 or 37, but would love one!

I too wanted a Flicka, Dana, Orion back in the '80's, but ended up with a Baba 30.

We went aboard a new PS31 at the Annapolis boat show a couple years ago. I think it was the first boat out of the new factory in NC. Very nice, but small for a 31 footer to me, the Baba had much more room. Didn't like the open layout either. And lots of $$$, like $200K I think. There are some beautiful used boas out there for half that amount.

[SaltyMonkey]

Yes. I agree there Doodle-meister. Also, the 31 (Mariah and old 31?) didn't have a nav station, at least the ones I've seen. Both Baba and your Pretorian as nice boats. Don't know what I would get - maybe that Vancouver next door

[SaltyMonkey]

Just back from looking at a Tartan 37. Broker(s) say selling lower than usual because of cosmetic issues. Boat looked pretty good. A little oxy dust on the chain plates inside - might be electo related, but not much. Some small minor stains. Pounded the decks w/ mallet. Seemed uniformly tuned. I was baffled at the price. Mast needed painting here and there, but starboard spreader was almost totally bare down to metal. When I pointed this out el broker said "Bird s** - osis" Hmmm I said..."seems they all like to stay only on the north side?" Riiiiight.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

to live on forever I'd look seriously at the pearson 365

Depends on how many people are living aboard. SVThirdDay has or had 4 people... the admit to being cramped and bought a larger boat. It can get cramped with two people at times.. but they are great boats.

[raybrett]

I had a Bristol 40 for about thirteen years in the eighties, nineties. It was a cutter rig, although I kept the baby stay attached to the mast because my sailing was mostly single handed day sailing on the lower Potomac and I didn't like the jenny getting caught while tacking. I never had problems with mast pumping, although if I was on long passages on the same tack I would keep it attached. I did not have running backstays. I recall there was a New England boat, whose name I've forgotten, that won the Marion Bermuda race several times. I believe a boat fit enough for a safe passage to Bermuda is fit to go anywhere else.

Initial stability is low as you would expect for a boat with a round bottom and a 10'3" beam. My boat didn't go to weather in high wind conditions, although my sails weren't all that new, beside gentlemen don't point. The The cabin isn't very roomy for a boat that size. I had osmosis bubbles and ground them off and coated the bottom with epoxy. I had a super reliable Perkins diesel. In ten years the only problem I had with the engine was my water pump dying on me. Don't leave home without a spare.
Having said those things, the Bristol 40 is one drop dead gorgeous boat with a profile not unlike the Hinckley Bermuda 40 or a Block Island 40. IMHO

[SaltyMonkey]

Raybrett - Cape Dory's lead in every step!. I'm not sure I could handle 40 feet. I would have to look at one live. Sadly, none on market right now.

[Starbuck]

Monkey,

Below is an image of the masthead end of Jack Tyler's (EuroCruiser, around here) solent stay. Notice: the stay attaches very near the masthead, so no undue mast-bending. The foot of the stay can be set back as far from the headstay as you wish, and will be the variable that controls the sail's square footage. You can see from the diverging lines that the two stays do not run parallel.

Jack gives a very thoughtful write-up about his whole process of choosing a solent stay, but for him, in the end, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.