What Makes a Seaworthy Boat ?

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Nadejda

I am going to go ahead and open the proverbial can of worms here, so be warned.

Most modern boats are designed for racing and going fast to windward. They are not designed to heave to and most will require running in a storm or running various forms of sea anchors.

What makes one boat more easy to heave to than another? Think about that. If Boat A out-points Boat B, and if it tacks more easily than Boat B, then Boat B will be easier to heave to.

I'm amazed at the logic that suggests that cruisers will feel safer in boats that perform poorly. It's the old lifeboat-with-a-stick mentality. Purchasing a boat for how well in rights itself after a capsize or how well it heaves to is like falling in love with a woman for how well she can work with plow animals.

The OP has already used this thread as a mechanism to slag both Beneteaus and Hunters. In other words, he is suspicious of modern design. He reports that there are boats out there he likes, but he can't afford them. Meanwhile, he wants to discuss ballast ratios.

Yawn.

[Randyonr3]

I think its much more the area inwhich to plan to cruise that decides the type of boat you plan to have..
dont think I'd cruise the north or the extreme south without a pilothouse and maybe a steel hull withing the future.. I've been up north and its damn cold up there at 3 am setting on the back of our boat..
but on the other side, we live on our boat full time and the "condo" style fits our needs just fine at anchor or at a dock..
The type of cruising we've done, so far has been Alaska to Mexico so we'd sail for a couple days and set at anchor for a couple weeks.. This next time out wont be much different as we're planning our trip to Hawaii so we'll sail for a couple weeks and few months at anchor or on a dock..
Cruising isnt all sailing,
so when looking for the boat with all the numbers, also concider the boat you want to live on as thats what you'll be doing..

[boatman61]

A minimum of managable entry points for the wet stuff makes a boat seaworthy...
Everything else is personal preference....

[Notpopeye]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

... so when looking for the boat with all the numbers, also concider the boat you want to live on as thats what you'll be doing..

And therein lies the dilemma, I want something nice because I will liveaboard but I want something seaworthy because I want to live.

In my youth, I bought old houses in run down neighborhoods. Slum houses, really. I totally renovated them, re-wiring, re-plumbing, tore out plaster and lats and put in sheetrock, sanded down the hardwood floors to refinish them, installed new plumbing fixtures, new electrical fixtures and everything else. But, I am no longer in my youth and I do not have the back to do rigorous work for extended periods of time and I do not have the mentality to live in a worn down, dirty, dingy 30 year old boat.
I like the fanciness of the cabins in Beneteaus and Hunters but I do not like the flimsy way they are constructed. I know the Westsail 32 is an extremely seaworthy boat but try to find one that does not need serious work to get sort of new looking. I like the coziness of the Island Packet 27/29 and Com-Pac 27 but they sure are small.
Believe me, I consider both seaworthiness and liveaboard comfort when I look at boats.
I traveled to Texas and to the panhandle of Florida to look at boats. Next week, I am traveling to south Florida to look at boats. 2-3 days on the west coast and 2-3 days on the east coast. I am sure I will see a lot and hopefully I will find what makes my heart beat faster. I just want to be sure I am getting something that fits my needs and not just something that makes me go ooooohhh, aaaahhhh.

[boatman61]

Well if you've the dosh this is a good buy... but $80K+...
Oriental Yacht Sales (Oriental, NC)&

But you could likely grab this little beauty for $40K...
http://orientalyachts.com/core/listi...ntalyachtsales&

[Randyonr3]

Originally Posted by Notpopeye

I like the fanciness of the cabins in Beneteaus and Hunters but I do not like the flimsy way they are constructed.

Now I'm not getting nasty but I think you are way off base and have been fed some bad info..
Our First 42 was designed and built for the rigors of offshore racing..Now I said Racing, so for cruising it concidered way over built..
I also know a number of Hunters cruising the world today..
The 38 and 456 of the same vintage are the same boats.. Now I know it dosent look like a triditional cruising yacht but its suited us just fine for almost 10 years now and as said, we've run from Alaska to Mexico and planning a trip across the pacific..

[Pblais]

Boating by the numbers? I can't imagine a worse starting point.

Unless it would be the ending point. As a starting point it is at least a waste of time even if not worthless. If all else were equal and the numbers were the only issue then you don't know enough about boats to make a "purchase" decision. It's really about if you would "buy it" not if it is perfect. Cost and passion rule and then the final rule of the admiralty applies. "The admiral knows an ugly boat when she sees one".

I'm more of the mind you find the boats for sale and get the best one you can afford. Computing the perfect boat then chasing for it is an exercise for the rich and stubborn. If a qualified captain can run a cruise ship aground the stupid factor overcomes all other numbers. A good skipper knowing the limits can sail most any place they intend to travel. Knowing where / when not to go is is a simple number just not so easy to compute. The numbers that really matter are not easy to compute.

[ShipHappens]

Rebel Heart: About Albin Vega. Like someone already mentioned they are reported to be extremely good offshore/bluewater boats. I.E. The Norwegian Jarle Andhoy sailed his Vega singlehanded from Norway around Cape Horn, and then went to Antarctica with an American backpacker (David Mercy) whom he met in Chile (IIRC), when he was only 19 years old.