What Would You Do? 26ft vs 34ft

[barnakiel]

If you want a boat to do some serious sailing, then 26' is not limiting. Some 34' will be better/safer than some 26' ... and some 26' will be better/safer than some 34'.

I, personally, would focus on:

- seaworthy, voyage proven design, built in a good boatyard,
- strong structure: thicker layup, curved areas over finer, flatter areas,
- 'overbuilt' structural fittings: chainplates, rudder attachment, mast support, etc.,
- sound and strong steering and mast/rigging,
- sound and functional sails and engine,
- tankage/storage,
- liveability, comfort at sea,
- colour of the hull (pink is strongly recommended).

12k is very little money for a good boat, even if we think of 26' boats only. There are no free lunches, and there are very few good, cheap boats.

b.

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Incentive

Yes it's not everyday such a deal present itself...and trust me this is a good one... Having worked for a boatyard doing all kinds of refits I fully understand the implications here.....all the goodies means new main very good 135 jib on roller furl , sonar and simrad auto pilot, not to mention well maintained yanmar, new cousins... And more!!
My only problem with this boat is the investment .... Exactly what I was going to invest on the Grampian

Let me get this straight. The boat sunk at the dock in hurricane Sandy. And now is being sold at auction with new cushions, depth finder, autopilot, and yanmar? All for $12,000?
Somebody is blowing smoke up your...
That boat is a bargain, because cushions will need to be replaced, electric, engine perhaps. If you have plenty of time and extra money on top of 12k then perhaps in year you are ready to go sailing after gutting and refitting all. I do not know of many Sandy boats that sunk and were immediately pumped out and raised. Most sat for days and weeks in the drink.
Best to stay with what you know...your boat.

[nautical62]

My first boat was a 26-foot Westerly Centaur. I sailed it through the Great Lakes and did several cruises to the Bahamas, some solo.

This summer, I sailed my most recent boat, a 33-foot Beneteau back from the Caribbean to Florida solo.

Without a doubt, the larger boat was more comfortable a bit faster and could accommodate more people. Without a doubt, the larger boat was harder to handle, especially solo when things went wrong. Getting the anchor (primary or secondary) up without a functioning windlass was very challenging on my 33-footer. It was standard fair on my 26-footer.

Things may not go wrong often, but when they do, they can be that defining moment, so I think that's what you need to ask yourself - Will you ever be alone, and if so, can you handle the boat yourself at the worst of time? Realize systems such as reefing systems, anchoring systems, etc. can make a big difference.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Travelnik

I think this really sums it all up.

You're the only one really interested. A bigger boat will probably not get anyone else really worked up anyway, and you'll still be a solo sailor with a more expensive boat to keep up with.

Keep what you have unless someone else in the family really starts to show an interest in sailing with you.

This wasn't my experience at all. My wife wasn't much interested in sailing when I was messing about in boats in the 22' or 30' range. She agreed to a cruise on a 37' boat, the difference being that the boat had an enclosed head. Since then we've purchased boats in the 41' and 46' range, she's become an avid sailor/liveaboard.

The early boats were my thing, the later boats have been our thing. I spent the past three weeks down in Baja doing research, during which time, as a complete surprise, Wonderblond varnished one of the aft cabins. If you'd have predicted this happening twenty years ago, I'd have called you crazy.

Smart cruisers let their wives pick out the boats.

[Marmenorman]

This is a no brainier, you make your wife happy in that you have agreed and done what she says. You get a bigger boat. My wife said the same when we had an Etap 28. I bowed to her superiority in all things and we now have a colvic victor 34.win win!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Crimea Cruiser

Let me get this straight. The boat sunk at the dock in hurricane Sandy. And now is being sold at auction with new cushions, depth finder, autopilot, and yanmar? All for $12,000?
Somebody is blowing smoke up your...
That boat is a bargain, because cushions will need to be replaced, electric, engine perhaps. If you have plenty of time and extra money on top of 12k then perhaps in year you are ready to go sailing after gutting and refitting all. I do not know of many Sandy boats that sunk and were immediately pumped out and raised. Most sat for days and weeks in the drink.
Best to stay with what you know...your boat.

And for all that you would have a coastal cruiser, not a blue water boat.

None of those electronics are going to work, and I doubt the engine will be salvageable. It was very old before Sandy got her.

This boat is not the buy you think it is.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by nautical62

My first boat was a 26-foot Westerly Centaur. I sailed it through the Great Lakes and did several cruises to the Bahamas, some solo.

This summer, I sailed my most recent boat, a 33-foot Beneteau back from the Caribbean to Florida solo.

Without a doubt, the larger boat was more comfortable a bit faster and could accommodate more people. Without a doubt, the larger boat was harder to handle, especially solo when things went wrong. Getting the anchor (primary or secondary) up without a functioning windlass was very challenging on my 33-footer. It was standard fair on my 26-footer.

Things may not go wrong often, but when they do, they can be that defining moment, so I think that's what you need to ask yourself - Will you ever be alone, and if so, can you handle the boat yourself at the worst of time? Realize systems such as reefing systems, anchoring systems, etc. can make a big difference.

All it takes is for one of them to sprain an ankle and the other person is essentially single-handing.

That said, there are ways to get an anchor up without a windlass. My favorite way is by using snatch blocks to lead the rode back to the cockpit. Then I just throw the rode in the cockpit as I ride up on the anchor very slowly. I'm not one of those all-chain people -- I have 30 ft of chain, so by the time I'm at the chain, I just lock the rode off and slowly move forward. it loosens the anchor and I only have that last bit to pull up, which really isn't hard to do.

[Incentive]

Well Well she spent the last few hours cleaning the hunters interior, even said a few odd things like we gona sand this, varnish that, paint here .....

The boat has no water damage, it never sunk....there's been water inside, dirty water....once clean she's awesome
My wife is more exited then I am, she's trying to convince me to launch the hunter this weekend haha....woman il never understand!

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Incentive

Yes the boat has sunk before but not from a hit, she sunk at duc in NJ storm and was auctioned thereafter ...
At sea I have absolutely no intent on hitting anything and will make everything possible to avoid this....however knocking on the bow at the water line with my bare knuckles , can't help wondering what would happen when hitting even an average sea turtle?

Here the boat sunk.

Originally Posted by Incentive

Well Well she spent the last few hours cleaning the hunters interior, even said a few odd things like we gona sand this, varnish that, paint here .....

The boat has no water damage, it never sunk....there's been water inside, dirty water....once clean she's awesome
My wife is more exited then I am, she's trying to convince me to launch the hunter this weekend haha....woman il never understand!

Now it has not?

[valhalla360]

I will be shocked if you don't spend double the $12k and wouldn't be at all suprised if it was quadruple before you are done. It just doesn't add up.

As far as the wife goes, you need to seriously sit down and discuss if this is just an excuse to put off something she doesn't want to do or if it really is the size. What are her concerns? Maybe she doesn't like the idea of multi-day passeges in a tiny boat. You may be able to address this by changing to a carribean trip where it's mostly day sails with an occasional overnight between islands.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Incentive

Well Well she spent the last few hours cleaning the hunters interior, even said a few odd things like we gona sand this, varnish that, paint here .....

The boat has no water damage, it never sunk....there's been water inside, dirty water....once clean she's awesome
My wife is more exited then I am, she's trying to convince me to launch the hunter this weekend haha....woman il never understand!

But she has explained it to you. She feels claustrophobic on the smaller boat. Hunter cabins are designed both for roominess and the illusion that they are even roomier than they look. Someone who has not yet been completely sucked in by the lure of sailing will like a Hunter.

You just never know, like the little boy who was on my boat but hated the vee berth. I know from our experience with a C class RV that my daughters would have loved it.

People ... vary.

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Incentive

Well Well she spent the last few hours cleaning the hunters interior, even said a few odd things like we gona sand this, varnish that, paint here .....

The boat has no water damage, it never sunk....there's been water inside, dirty water....once clean she's awesome
My wife is more exited then I am, she's trying to convince me to launch the hunter this weekend haha....woman il never understand!

dirty water indicates flooding or sinking. Only rain water would be clean.

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

All it takes is for one of them to sprain an ankle and the other person is essentially single-handing.

That said, there are ways to get an anchor up without a windlass. My favorite way is by using snatch blocks to lead the rode back to the cockpit. Then I just throw the rode in the cockpit as I ride up on the anchor very slowly. I'm not one of those all-chain people -- I have 30 ft of chain, so by the time I'm at the chain, I just lock the rode off and slowly move forward. it loosens the anchor and I only have that last bit to pull up, which really isn't hard to do.

Oh, I agree their are sytems and techniques that can be of aid, but still a bigger boat has bigger forces at play. In the wrong conditions that extra time to get an anchor up could be the difference between going aground or hitting another boat at anchor. I had a bad anchoring experience in a storm that absolutely pushed my limits and abilities in my 33-footer, that probably would have been well within my limits in my 26-footer.

Most of the time my 33-footer is no more difficult to handle than my 26-footer was, but it's not "most of the time" that is the limiting factor. It only takes that one time that your boat is too much for you to handle.

I recall, the Pardy's writing about one particular storm in which couples on most smaller boats escaped, but many couple's on larger boats lost their boats because they couldn't handle the conditions. (mostly getting their anchors up and underway)

I'm not saying a 34 foot Hunter is or is not too much, I'm just saying one needs to consider what they can and can not realistically handle under the worse conditions they may face.

I'm quite comfortable chartering a 40-foot Catamaran for a week with several friends in fairly protected waters. Sailing a 33-foot boat solo in harsher conditions on the other hand pushes my limits.

[Incentive]

Originally Posted by Crimea Cruiser

Here the boat sunk.

Wasent there so don't know what really happened to the boat.....however I understand the implications when it comes to rebuilding an engin, major Fiberglas or wood restoration .... This boat needs non of that, not even a simple electric problem, nope she needs cleaning and varnish....a paint job next year would be good...but from the number of paint jobs I've don thru the years at my shop, thrust me its nothing....

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by nautical62

Oh, I agree their are sytems and techniques that can be of aid, but still a bigger boat has bigger forces at play. In the wrong conditions that extra time to get an anchor up could be the difference between going aground or hitting another boat at anchor. I had a bad anchoring experience in a storm that absolutely pushed my limits and abilities in my 33-footer, that probably would have been well within my limits in my 26-footer.

Most of the time my 33-footer is no more difficult to handle than my 26-footer was, but it's not "most of the time" that is the limiting factor. It only takes that one time that your boat is too much for you to handle.

I recall, the Pardy's writing about one particular storm in which couples on most smaller boats escaped, but many couple's on larger boats lost their boats because they couldn't handle the conditions. (mostly getting their anchors up and underway)

I'm not saying a 34 foot Hunter is or is not too much, I'm just saying one needs to consider what they can and can not realistically handle under the worse conditions they may face.

I'm quite comfortable chartering a 40-foot Catamaran for a week with several friends in fairly protected waters. Sailing a 33-foot boat solo in harsher conditions on the other hand pushes my limits.

I agree with all of that. That's why I would still like to hear if they have the Hood 810 that was put on so many Hunters (and Catalinas) of that era, because if it is, it could make serious problems for them.