The Perfect 30' Yacht Design ?

[TheCruisinKitty]

I'm in the process of training, researching boat designs and charting the cost to get cruising. A bit overwhelming to find and sift through all the info available.

I'm looking for a blue water live-aboard, good for solo-sailing, with a design that holds its value over time. Aiming for 30 feet or so to begin with. Enough space to provision and live in but a workable size that’s not overpowered for single-handing.

Anyone have the perfect yacht design that fits the bill to recommend? (I know nothing's perfect but since I am starting from scratch, might as well aim for ideal to begin with.)

Any advice is gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

[atoll]

cape dory 33ft great little big boat for a couple rtw

[zeehag]

baba 30 is as close to a 30 ft YACHT as you will get, as far as i can see....but there are lots of 30 ft sailboats out there with lots of room and decent pricing

[otherthan]

just my opinion...baba 30 and chanel cutter 28 c'ant be considered the perfect...they have twice the displacement of many exelent cruisers in the same length...this translate in a need for stronger winds to get going...however they surly have nice craftmanship.
my vote gos for albin vega, shanon 28, vancouver and my absolute favorite hinterhoeller hr28!!! in fact I favor it above these and triton, alberg 30 simply because it has no coar anywhere in its structure, nothing to wory about ever...I know of only 2 other sailboats built this way in canada, the challenger 7.4 and if my memory is corect the northern 25 both have standing head room and seawordiness.

[zeehag]

jobi--as i donot believe a YACHT is under many many feet in length, i just had to say that one..there are many 30 ft SAILBOATS that would be perfect. but the op said YACHT so i went with it. yachts have helicopters on back deck.
as far as sailboats of 30 ft, albin vega, hinterhoeller, even islander , added to your list, all are good for cruising.

[Eleven]

Prout 31. c31k and 30yrs young.

[TheCruisinKitty]

This is my first real post (after my greeting/intro post) on the forum. Thanks very much to all for the advice and quick replies.

Off to happily paddle through class association sites of the designs you guys recommended...

A great first forum experience - I'll be back!

[callmecrazy]

Don't get caught up in the design, although it's good to understand the differences and all that. It's not going to make or break a cruising boat. Too many opinions about what is 'best'...

For a good liveaboard cruising boat, small enough to singlehand, but large enough to live in relative comfort, I'd be looking at 32-34 footers. Boats like the Pearson 323 or Bayfield 32 are really excellent choices.

If your convinced on living in a 30 footer, you can't go wrong with a Tartan 30 Bluewater proven, excellent sailing abilities, well built, and roomy enough for a 30 footer (aft galley layout only!) The only other 30 footer I'd want to own is an Alberg 30. Very different designs, but the Alberg 30 has the best interior layout you're going to find on a 30 footer, and it's definitly a bluewater boat. Both are very simple boats and require upgrading to achieve liveaboard/cruising comfort and self sufficiency.

You can get a good T30 for around $10k and a good Alberg 30 for about the same or maybe a little more (lots of bad ones out there so shop around!)

But if you can spare a few extra boatbucks, take a look at a slightly bigger boat. 32 foot seems to be the sweetspot for my own personal comfort level, but everybody is different... I'm happy with my 30 footer, but there are days when I'd like a better galley or a bigger berth... And when it comes to cruising, you'll appreciate the extra tankage and storage space. The extra 2 feet will be unoticable when sailing, except you might get an extra knot of speed out of it

[READY2GO]

Island Packet 31

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1987.../United-States

[nwdiver]

Bristol Channel Cutter at 28ft can carry allot and still move with some wind. The Bayfield 32 is a 30 foot boat and is great for single handing, I had one then the “go fast bug” got me, now I’m going back to the carry lots of stuff and more comfort in the 30-32 range. Baba 30 and Bayfield 32 are high on the list. I wish the BCC were but too expensive.

[nwdiver]

The IP 31 gets me with the engine access through the cockpit sole, not my favourite. But very nice boats.

[pressuredrop]

southern cross 31, allied seawind 30, anything designed by chuck paine in that size range...

[pressuredrop]

http://www.chuckpaine.com/pdf/30ANNIE230.pdf

[pressuredrop]

bcc on steriods:
http://www.chuckpaine.com/pdf/30ROCKPORT30.pdf

30' on deck 10' wide, 6' draft, 23000lbs

[maxingout]

For me the perfect 30 footer is any well constructed yacht built to offshore scantlings AND it has a new engine with two large fuel tanks giving a 500 to 1000 mile range under power.

I believe in using my engine/engines when there is no wind or when my speed drops below 4 knots on passage. This policy has kept me out of trouble many times during my trip around the world.