Trying to choose the right boat.

[robert sailor]

We just went through the chase for a cruising boat. We've owned 4 different offshore boats and put on over 30,000 miles offshore but we have not sailed now for well over 10 years. There are some wonderful choices out there that won't break the bank. We ended up buying a Moody 425 in Greece that was in excellent condition. I've never owned a CC before but my wife had a role in the final decision and I certainly blessed it.
We have sailed back and forth all over the Pacific so we wanted a change so we'll do the Med and Caribbean before heading back to the South Pacific.
Take a look at the Moody 425 and 44's, excellent designs and well built. I also love the old Peterson 44's, beautiful lines and excellent sailer but getting real hard to find one that is real nice as they are getting old, the Peterson 46 is also a great boat. Hylas 44/46 is an excellent choice, good sailer. We travelled all over the place looking at boats, not cheap but fun. We leave for Greece in about 3 weeks, will be nice to get back out there. Good luck with your search.

[bobconnie]

Ive seen just about every boat know to man, in anchorages all over the darn place, Ive seen hunters in Fiji, they got there as I did on there own bottoms! Ive seen Hunters In the PNW, and in the Caribe, Mexico, and OZ whats the big deal about raggin on em !! Heck most any junk boat can cruise if ya watch the weather !! LOL It's more a matter of what ya want then what will go to sea !! I think the sailors more important then the brand of boat !! Just my 2 cents !!

[Apollo]

2000 Valiant PULLMAN BERTH Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com over budget but the right idea, got to keep looking. Already has hard dodger also Like that

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I"ve been looking for a solid blue water passage maker no larger then 40'. I was originally looking at 45 CC Hunter but it seems there is a lot of concerns as to its sea worthiness. Now I am looking at the Valiant 40 and boats in this type of proven track records. It will be some time before I do long offshore passages, but I just want to buy the right boat the first time around. Now some of my input has been, don't worry about electronics, they can always be added but to find something that "speaks" to you. My budget at the high end would be 200k. I also have set aside another 50k for whatever needs to be done. Now from what I understand a Valiant 40 in any condition is pushing my budget. I've ruled out Hunter although I do like the center cockpit set up. Some have said buy something that is already doing what you are planning. I just need some input. Thank you for any responses.

Mike

Have you looked at Pacific Seacrafts? You can find plenty of 37's well within your price range. There are a few 44 footers just over $225K on yachtworld. Their 40 footer is nice but they started building them around 1998 and you will not find any under $250K. My wife and I are probably going to get a 40 or 44 this year.

[Suijin]

If you like Steve Dashew designs then you should look at the Saga 43, designed by Bob Perry. It's a true sailor's boat, very fast, very roomy down below, and probably on a per foot LWL among the best values out there in used Water boats">blue water boats. You can find one for under $200k and if you put 50k into it you'd have world cruiser on your hands.

[westsail374]

You might check out the Nauticat 40. Built like a tank, has a pilot house. It's an S&S design, so has reasonable speed. Lovely interior.

[westsail374]

Originally Posted by Don L

I feel the Valiant 40 is a fine boat for some. Especially for the owners of all the older ones that provide lots of opportunity to learn how to deal with hull blisters.

But like I said if you have considered a Hunter 45CC AND a Valiant 40 you don't really have any idea of what type and features of a boat you want!

The Valiant 40 blister issue is limited to specific hull numbers that are easily discovered. It has been discussed in depth, and one interested in the boat should not be dissuaded by anyone who cites it as a reason not to purchase. There are some other issues, however. Look at the Valiant Owners site for further info. Valiant-sailboats : Valiant Sailboat Owners Group

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I"ve been looking for a solid blue water passage maker no larger then 40'. I was originally looking at 45 CC Hunter but it seems there is a lot of concerns as to its sea worthiness.

... It will be some time before I do long offshore passages, but I just want to buy the right boat the first time around.

I looked at a couple of boats like that this weekend - no specific advice, but in general I immediately realized these boats would not be fun for recreational sailing. Poor visibility, extremely high and heavy, high pointing in the bow, and really poorly suited for single handing.

If your models are like that, my feeling is that I would not buy a boat like that until I was really ready to go to sea in a serious way. A light, nimble boat with great visibility and geared for pleasant weather sailing will make a lot more sense.

[capttman]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I am not asking what the perfect boat is because I know it don't it exists, but for my goals which will be passage making. Tartan comes up along with a number of others as were mentioned above. Maybe a better question is if you could have a 40 foot of your choice for passage making what would your choice be? I will be spending next week looking at a lot of boats and will video all of them so I am just trying to get as much info from every source I can. I can always add equipment, like solar, wind and a water-maker if its not already equipped. I really love Steve Dashew designs, but its a little out of my price range...LOL.

Mine!⛵😊

[Kenomac]

Tayana, Hallberg Rassy, an older Oyster in your size range, Hylas, Moody etc. It seems like you're willing to spend enough in your target size in order to buy quality. Take a good look at Tayana.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I"ve been looking for a solid blue water passage maker no larger then 40'. I was originally looking at 45 CC Hunter but it seems there is a lot of concerns as to its sea worthiness. Now I am looking at the Valiant 40 and boats in this type of proven track records. It will be some time before I do long offshore passages, but I just want to buy the right boat the first time around. Now some of my input has been, don't worry about electronics, they can always be added but to find something that "speaks" to you. My budget at the high end would be 200k. I also have set aside another 50k for whatever needs to be done. Now from what I understand a Valiant 40 in any condition is pushing my budget. I've ruled out Hunter although I do like the center cockpit set up. Some have said buy something that is already doing what you are planning. I just need some input. Thank you for any responses.

Mike

Yachtworld.com shows 5 Valiant 40's in the $85-140k range.

The one in CT (http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...url=&imc=pg-fs) would be your best bet for avoiding blistering problems, but the $50k you would save going with a cheaper boat would pay for blister mediation and a whole lot of upgrades.

[JK n Smitty]

Apollo,

You have given the budget ($200K with $50K for outfitting) and you have said "passage making" as your purpose, but you didn't really tell us what that means to you. I know people who define "passage making" as sailing to the Caribbean and others who define it as crossing the Atlantic and still others that don't consider it "passage making" until you are rounding one of the capes or crossing the South Pacific.

Also, is this going to be for a defined time frame cruise, a circumnavigation, open ended sailing where the wind takes you?

I recently wrote a post on my blog about choosing the right boat. Also, at the Monkey Fist, the recent topic was on "Does Size Really Matter?" There may be some information there that helps you.

Personally, I think your goal of picking the right boat on the first shot is unrealistic. Until you, and anyone who may be going with you (hint, significant other's happiness with the boat one of the most important parts of choosing the right boat), have spent some time on boats, it is going to be hard to define what matters to you.

For instance, the Valiant's have canoe sterns. While this may be appealing from a passage making perspective, most cruisers spend about 80% of their time at anchor. A canoe stern at anchor is a pain. Its more difficult to swim from, more difficult for getting in and out of the dingy, more difficult for loading and unloading supplies, laundry, trash, etc. I imagine that launching and raising a dingy, even on stern davits, can be a difficult task.

The cockpit is smaller than other choices. We spend the most amount of time in the cockpit as liveaboards in the Boston area from April through December. When we chartered in the Caribbean, we were only down below for sleeping and making food or drinks to bring on deck.

Also, the Viliant doesn't have a centerline birth. Many people find off-center births uncomfortable when at anchor because it can cause a rolling feeling.

We're going cruising while we are relatively young (leaving at 40, wish we went at 30). However, if you are like most you will be going after 60-65. That will make things like I mentioned above even harder. The last thing I would want my boat choice to do is limit my time spend out cruising because it adds difficulties that could have been solved by a different design choice.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

[perchance]

Originally Posted by capttman

Wow sometimes I just don't understand my fellow cruisers. The OP hasn't made up his mind looking at options why slam him for looking at different type boats???? Come on be kind. I personally have been off shore on a few hunters and well, lets just say I'd take the valiant with blisters and small interior.. But that's me. If you love your hunter that's great but have some respect

Why? cause Don L owns a hunter 41 and will probably defend his choice to the death. Just like any one else that chose a different boat.

[AiniA]

We considered a Valiant 40 and lots of other boats before settling on our Bristol. At your stage of searching and with your budget you should do very well, but you should be building up a list of possibles and not worrying yet about eliminating from the list. That will happen naturally as you see more boats. Have fun and don't rush into something you will regret.

[Boracay]

If you don't need a boat now why buy one at all?

You're looking at putting $250k into a depreciating asset that's going to be getting harder to sell as time goes by.

That much money should buy a boat that's almost ready to go. No need to put in years of fixing/updating/maintenance. No need to buy now.

Some may dispute my calculation but I make that about $62,000 a year. That's enough money to charter to your heart's content, buy a nice little 28' diesel sloop and still have heaps left over to spoil your significant other.

And when you're just about to cast off the lines, buy the boat then.