A Full Keel Blue Water Cruiser Worthy of Living Aboard

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Here's the reality once you start spending more time in anchorages than cruising chat rooms. There is every type of boat in the anchorage that all the experts say couldn't/shouldn't be there. And the strange thing when you talk to their crew...they are having a blast.

The best boat to go cruising on and live aboard is the one you can find, afford and convince your wife to go! Everything else is just Chevy vs Ford stuff for those who care about those types of things. Sure my 55K pound hulk won't bounce around as much as a 14K pound Hunter...but we are both anchored in the same fabulous anchorage enjoying the same sunset and crystal blue waters.

Well said! :thumbup:

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Terra Nova]

It's OK that each of us use the tools he has at hand to illustrate his own thoughts. That I use features of a Freya for examples should not be interpreted as me saying everyone should own one. The reason is my deeper understanding of a boat that I own.

It can be useful to others to know the reasoning underlying the choices we've made. And it often benefits the author to write down his thoughts; to be able to stand back and reevaluate his beliefs, not to mention whatever positive feedback one might receive which buttress his own conclusions. Negative feedback can be an opportunity to learn...or shut up.

[oldragbaggers]

Terra Nova, you make a very good point. I stand corrected.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Pollux, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on SailNet arguing with Bob Perry about naval architecture?

sailnet = cruisersforum without any knowledge of sailing: most of them haven't even read Sailing for Dummies yet; would refuse to do so if suggested; can't figure out that outboard engine questions shouldn't be asked in the diesel engine section; can't search on "Yanmar" to figure out exhaust elbow issues; "how many batteries can I fit in my Mac 21 and how long will they last when I'm running my 12V kettle?" - Oh, so sorry, that's ybw!!!; Alternator questions - does it go in Engine or Electrical - no mind, I'll just put it in General Interest - yawn...; "Let's See Your Cheapest Ideas!"

Aw shucks, maybe it does beat this "What's the Best Sailboat?" topic that keeps coming up here, but I gotta tellya:

There is WAY TOO MUCH GOOD HUMOR HERE.

And lots of real world experience.

Thanks, again...for everything, it's always a hoot to open this forum compared to so many others.

You, too, Coops!

Only thing missing is Scoobert...

Quoted earlier on another topic here, from a good friend, written 2009 from his observations on his trip from Vancouver, BC to Mexico on his Catalina 34:

Overall it has been a fantastic trip. I find it really interesting on the whole debate of what makes an offshore sail boat. It is unbelievable how much BS floats around and how many people have opinions but no experience based on the particular boat they happen to have an opinion on. I now believe it matters far more how the boat is prepared than what boat it is. Obviously you need a minimum standard in terms of hull integrity and rig strength and I think the Catalina 34 has that easilly. The question is can the boat and crew be prepared for offshore? I believe the answer question lies only with the skipper who does the preparation. In our case, we have had a fairly good shakedown cruise and I rate the boat highly. I've had "experienced" sailors who were aghast that I would take my family with no offshore experience in a Catalina 34 from Vancouver to San Francisco - a nasty bit of coast. And it takes some serious thought to call bull#### and say you're up to the challenge having never sailed in an ocean swell. I've also had experienced sailors who say go to the Marquesas and you'll find a lot of less capable boats than yours crewed by Europeans having the time of their lives. And you'll also find North Americans with real fancy boats with a lot of broken bits waiting for parts.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

...I stand corrected.

No. No. Sometimes we need to be reminded when to shut up.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Jim, sorry about your sail woes. And a great pity we couldn't catch up this time, but we'll be flying back for visits more frequently so we'll have to make a plan.

Where do you anchor with that keel of yours on the Clarence? Iluka or Yamba?

Vic

Vic, not being fond of marina life, we always anchor in Iluka when near the mouth of the river. Great protection, a bit shallow in places, but soft mud if you touch, and a useful little village right there for shopping.

But the real joys are further up the river. The chap who built I-2 has his boatshed on the north side of the river, about a mile upstream from McLean. Gary and Sue are very good folks, and welcome visitors by water. There is a floating pontoon at mcLean, free for a couple of days or so, and with water and free electricity laid on. There is a decent market, a bottle shop and a butcher all within 100 metres of the gangway... cruiser's paradise!

Now, back to arguing about hull shapes...

Jim

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Compromise...
i own a modify full cutaway keel and i think it have something from both worlds, its not a full keel is not a fin keel, for me its peace of mind thinking in a serious collision or grounding, i got a real bilge sump box and no maintenance ever...

This touches on a boat's sex appeal--its underwater shape.

There was a window in time, before fin keels began to take off, when the most drop dead gorgeous under-bodies were being created. Beautifully faired keels with the entire forefoot removed, but retaining the shape, aft, even including the attached rudder, until further development removed areas of the keel that remained, separating the rudder and its attachment as a skeg.

It is the beautiful underwater shape of these transition boats that excites me to a love affair. A Freya's lines show only the early cut-away forefoot, but retaining a full keel with attached rudder.

Another Freya and a Tartan to illustrate the completed transition to separate skeg mounted rudder.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

Or maybe I am the only one who keeps following this thread hoping that there will be posts that actually offer information related to the original question. It appears the OP stopped looking at it, or at least responding to it, a long time ago.

Nope, you're not

Most people advise when they are introducing a bit of thread drift, others just bulldoze through. Nobody minds the odd comment, but he should in fact start his own thread with such a detailed, different topic.

Vic

[neilpride]

Yeah the Tartan 34 , beautifull underwater shape, but nothing beat this Swan in terms of beauty... Just kidding...

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Here's the reality once you start spending more time in anchorages than cruising chat rooms. There is every type of boat in the anchorage that all the experts say couldn't/shouldn't be there. And the strange thing when you talk to their crew...they are having a blast.

Same with cycling, in the real world its not about the bike. Only the net concerns itself with these things.

[Terra Nova]

Full keeler's don't have to be slow. Another Freya. A decidedly full keel contains 10,000 lbs of lead ballast and has a large, deep bilge sump. By nature of it being a full keel, the engine sits very low in the voluminous transition from keel to hull. This allows the shaft to be horizontal. And it also provides for complete access all around the engine/trans which reside beneath the deep double sinks.

[Dulls]

I have remind myself the heading. Now it would help the gentleman if we answered the question. We should not be discussing fins v long etc.

He wants a long keel good liverboard not a fin of any shape. That would be another thread. There are plenty of good long keel boats about but then tend to older as they are from another era. Pick out the long keel boats in John Kretschmer Sailing and you wont go to far wrong.

[sailorboy1]

For the most part since most full keel boats are older designs, to me none of them are good live aboards. Doesn't mean people don't do it and claim they are. But you can look at the layout of an older boat (almost a given that it will be full keel) and a 55' boat doesn't have as good a live aboard layout as a modern 40' boat.

Just the way it was and is.

About the only exception are the Island Packets.

[Zach]

Sailorboy1,

That is actually the reason I ended up with a 44... I'm content with something around the size of a Catalina 36 inside, though to get the lines I like and interior volume the boat had to get longer.

So, while more for dock rent you can find something that works so long as you go in eyes wide open that you may end up with a longer boat than you started out looking.

Grin.

Zach

[Dulls]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

For the most part since most full keel boats are older designs, to me none of them are good live aboards. Doesn't mean people don't do it and claim they are. But you can look at the layout of an older boat (almost a given that it will be full keel) and a 55' boat doesn't have as good a live aboard layout as a modern 40' boat.

Just the way it was and is.

About the only exception are the Island Packets.

So your answer would be Island Packets(relevant to this thread) and the rest of your post could start a different thread called "cramped long keel boats and why i dislike them" I fully agree with you that long keel boats are not mansions but to only find one possible live aboard means you should get out more. Most boats over 30 are good for 2 people to live on and manage any numbers beyond that are a different problem entirely