What Makes a Boat "Bluewater" Capable?

[tropicalescape]

One ,that if pooped could self drain in a matter of seconds ie. big scuppers and a bridge deck so that water dosent go below and get everything wet,this is narrowing the field down as far as type selection,but if this is the type you end up with(moderate overhangs, bilge keel (or not),aft cockpit etc it would be pertinent I belive..

[MarkJ]

Notice those that want a full keel must disregard Swan and Oyster as being Water boats">blue water boats. Hmmmmmm.

[Lagoon4us]

Fin keel, skiff shaped light hulls and high aspect rigs make fantastic 'Blue water boats' no problems.

[sailpower]

Perhaps your question didn’t receive the priority that you expected because you didn’t first describe your dream and your multi many year plan?

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by Vasco

What makes a boat bluewater capable? ........... the skipper!!

(One of the) Best answer I have ever read in a sailboat forum, hands down!

Welcome to the forum!

[Cherp]

It's a tradeoff between speed and comfort. I have an old, reasonably quick boat. It is ot as quick as Mark J's boat but probably more comfortale in a sea. It's best to land somewhere in the middle- too light and fast, too hard to manage and uncomfortable. Too heavy and slow is frustrating and in certain conditions dangerous.

[AiniA]

It would be interesting to have this debate only among people who have tens of thousands of offshore miles. I wonder if the discussion would be much different? The reality is there are many answers, indeed different answers for different people. We have a youngish, Swedish couple rafted to us in Mossel Bay, SA in a Vega 27. Is it bluewater? I think so based on its success as an offshore cruiser, even though it does not meet the criteria of many of the experts here (it is too old, too slow, doesn't have a full keel, not a cutter, etc) . Would I want to circumnavigate in one? Not a chance, I like more comfort and more speed. They have been waiting for two weeks for a weather window to around Cape Agulhas. They need three days, we only two. But they are 3/4 of the way around the world, having a great time and not spending a fortune.

A much better question would be, 'my boat budget is $50,000 (or $200,000 or $1 million or $10,000) and I want to head off cruising to xxxx for a few years, what boats would experienced sailors recommend?'

[hpeer]

FWIW, Richad Henderson described his idea of a perfect off shore boat for single handing in his book. Not a bad place to start.

Amazon.com: Singlehanded Sailing (9780877423591): Richard Henderson: Books

[sailorboy1]

All I can say is that there was 1 post on this thread with the right answer!

[boatman61]

A successful Ocean crossing...

[GaryMayo]

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/198...ft-small-boats

Great article full of quotes by William I. B. Crealock.

Spending his life sailing and designing over 7000 launched sailboats might give him an angle in answering this question.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by AiniA

A much better question would be, 'my boat budget is $50,000 (or $200,000 or $1 million or $10,000) and I want to head off cruising to xxxx for a few years, what boats would experienced sailors recommend?'

unfortunately this is the ultimately fallacy , the holy grail that cant be found, Theres a whole range of boats that will meet that basic criteria, Everything from nearly new Beneteaus, to older HRs etc. Its whats suits you really
the question is continuously asked by people you simply don't have enough experience and want a "stock" answer. Youll find experienced provides you with the answer and the means to separate whats important to you and whats not.
Dave

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

unfortunately this is the ultimately fallacy , the holy grail that cant be found, Theres a whole range of boats that will meet that basic criteria, Everything from nearly new Beneteaus, to older HRs etc. Its whats suits you really
the question is continuously asked by people you simply don't have enough experience and want a "stock" answer. Youll find experienced provides you with the answer and the means to separate whats important to you and whats not.
Dave

But to be fair to Newbies , whilst many of the questions do involve the immortal phrase: "what is the best?" - nonetheless I tend to read them as folks simply needing to get a handle on the ballpark rather than neccessarily a quick and simple answer.

.......Albeit no doubt some do need that - usually identified by them getting upset that their is no simple universal answer for all people in every circumstance.......or demanding only answers from folks who have sailed a squillion miles over decades on every type of boat possible (how else can they compare?) - possibly as part of a life dedicated to some sort of long term boat testing programme, just in case ever useful to someone on the internet? .

[sailorboy1]

Some people in these type of threads always start referencing books written in the 80s about boats for the day and older. There never seems to be much credit given to designs that take advantage of advances in both design and building technology.

I wonder how many people believe the same holds true to everything else in the world? Should we buy old 1980s products over modern ones just because there is a book published way back by a writer from the day?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

All I can say is that there was 1 post on this thread with the right answer!

I wonder which one that was?