Which Hull Is the Safest ?

[TaoJones]

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TaoJones

[boatman61]

Ok... the safest is probably a steel hard chine with long keel... can take a real pounding and grounding... and get away with it. Also the hard chine is great for 'stiffening'.... she'll heel to the chine then go rock steady... lovely ride... Downside... regular intensive maintainence.
Next is ferrocement.. round hull and full keel.. pretty much as tough as the steel and simple to maintain.. but beware of the home builds unless supervised at all stages... best stick to the Lloyds 100A builds.
Alluminuim comes number 3 for me.. not so sure it'll take nearly as much punishment as the above.. also need to be on constant watch in Marina's, docks where you tie up for live wires sagging into the water near you.
But I must confess the big Ovni's are sexy as hell..


Then its a toss-up between wood and GRP..... each having their plus's and minus's...

[NotQuiteLost]

The absolute best answer doesn't seem to directly reply to the question.

The safest boat in a nasty blow is the one crewed by a prepared skipper. That doesn't mean possessing incredible amounts of experience, or intangible seafaring skills. It just means someone who understands some fundamentals (how to heave to, how the specific boat handles in windy conditions, how to run away from a storm instead of into it, etc..).

The other important part of the equation is preparedness. Having the proper sails, spare lines, shackles and blocks, and a serviceable sea anchor/drogue are far more important than the geometry or rigging of the boat. All well-made cruising boats can handle rough weather, if you are well-prepared and know the protocols specific to your boat.

So the simple answer, as hinted at in a previous post, is this: whichever hull design has the best prepared skipper is the one that will handle adverse situations best.

[dofthesea]

Think Mark J is having a bad hair day. Don't worry about the questions :maker the only stupid question is the one not asked. I am a relative newbi as well. there is much to be learned from the forums here. There is also a few self righteous people on here as well. Most are very helpful and friendly.

[boatman61]

All Hail the Rightous......

[kismet]

Looks like the inclement weather is affecting the northerly quadrant in a less than hospitable manner. As for wanking...well single handing may play there. Don't be dismayed, your time will come.

[sailorboy1]

Well it is a question beyound the experience level of the asker. )dds of getting useful info on a forum is poor. Time to read a boat in order to make the best decision for oneself.

To me a steel full keel boat with high ballast, and with lots of watertight sections and small sail area would seem the safest. But then it would be a dog 99.999% of the time (just an estinmate). Guess the safest boat I've ever been on was a nuclear submarine on the surface with the hatches shut.

[swagman]

I've had a Farrier Tri stick its nose in behind us running before a white line squall - its mast just missed our transom as it pitchpoled. And as it was only 10 metres deep he stayed there!

I've never sailed any muti in a cruising sense, but IMHO a mono is all round safer than any multi, and in materials steel has to be the strongest if you get a big bang. But as others have said also, steel usually means slow, and why plan to be rammed anyway, so maybe steel all round is not best for you either..............

You'll be understanding that with most choices there has to be compromise - so suggest you do need to get greater clarity on what you want to do and where you want to go and how much can you spend and what you actually like sailing etc before making any firm decisions. And as you'll also have gathered from the responses you've got - the sailing world is a very opinionated one so whatever you choose you are not going to get all the others to accept it's right anyway................

But. The nice thing is all the learning and research and study and experiences are a great part of your entry into sailing. So go enjoy.

Good luck.
JOHN

[Joli]

Here ya go, extrememly safe.

It'll take anything the ocean can throw at it and take a beating on a rocky shore.

Doesn't go up wind well though.

[zopi]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Well it is a question beyound the experience level of the asker. )dds of getting useful info on a forum is poor. Time to read a boat in order to make the best decision for oneself.

To me a steel full keel boat with high ballast, and with lots of watertight sections and small sail area would seem the safest. But then it would be a dog 99.999% of the time (just an estinmate). Guess the safest boat I've ever been on was a nuclear submarine on the surface with the hatches shut.

Uhhh...nahh..I know way too much about the construction and maintenance methods...

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by dofthesea

There is also a few self righteous people on here as well.

CF have created a special forum for those people

Most are very helpful and friendly

Which leaves the rest of the forum 99% like that

[nautical62]

Not all monohull hulls are built the same, not all multi-hull hulls are built the same. I think one needs to be very careful about making stereotypic comments about them.

Of 4 cruising boats I've owned, the one I turned around and sold after my first Bahamas cruise in it because I thought it was unsafe/not capable was my Telstar Trimaran. I'm sure I would not have felt at all the same about some of the larger cruising trimarans.

[goboatingnow]

just to set teh record straight The euro NCAP crash tests for the new Fiat 500 model

is 5 stars, The highest available . the Volvo s60 is 4 stars!, your not neccessarily safer in a Volvo, its just good marketing. ( like wise your not neccessarily safer in a Valient either

Dave

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by zopi

Uhhh...nahh..I know way too much about the construction and maintenance methods...

Can not be too bad. When I got off mine it had been going to sea almost as long as I had been alive!

[goboatingnow]

To eliminate the sailor part, what would happen to an F9 or a 30’ Alberg if in a really bad storm around Cape Horn, (all sails down) the sailors take refuge in the cabin? Will the boats survive this bad storm without any input from the sailors and without damage or which one has a better chance to survive it?

Yes OP it probably will. you will not however.

Dave