Poll ..Speed vs Comfort Under Sail

[Pelagic]

This Poll is trying to identify what is your biggest design priority in choosing a cruising, live-aboard boat for yourself?

• We all have been given USD 450k budget to spend on buying our preferred boat.
• We assume that the Surveyor has confirmed that your choice is a well-constructed and maintained boat, that is fully found and safely ready to go to Sea.
• Your choice can be new or used, of any material you prefer and any number of hulls.

Once you vote, please link us to your choice and explain why this type does it for you?

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

This Poll is trying to identify what is your biggest design priority in choosing a cruising, live-aboard boat for yourself?[*]We all have been given USD 450k budget to spend on buying our preferred boat.[*]We assume that the Surveyor has confirmed that your choice is a well-constructed and maintained boat, that is fully found and safely ready to go to Sea.[*]Your choice can be new or used, of any material you prefer and any number of hulls. Once you vote, please link us to your choice and explain why this type does it for you?

The poll suggests a false dichotomy. For $450k, I'd be able to get both speed + comfort!

[virginia boy]

If I suddenly find myself with 450k it means that my parents have died and I'm just too depressed to think about boats.

[ctl411]

$450, use $100 to buy my boat. That would leave $75 to fix it up. Then use the other $350 to cruise.

[zeehag]

my perfectly priced derelict is perfect even with busticated engine...those are repairable, as i have done before..lol.....
so it takes me 2 times longer than a sleek fastass sloop to get uphill in no wind...against a current running...why should life be different than this..
my keel wont fall off my rudder wont fall off unless i screw up, and my boat is solid. just wants more weight.
solid is a positive thing, not a negative thing..lol

oh yes, and not if but WHEN i am aground, my unfancy old brick sits on her keel without any problems. just like now, as i am anchored in less water at low tide than the depth of my draft.....

someone else can cool the beer..i dont drink it anyway....someone else can cook the food..i wont eat first night at anchor anyway.....what is the rush in getting to an anchorage before everyone else..there are always other anchorages, some within only an hour or two, in my slow barge....
i would rather be comfy in an old solid boat than have problems in a new sleek oilcanning pounding new fangled design of a spozedly performance yacht. or a super high priced fancy something .....
thankyou.
i USE mine, so it looks a lil less perfect, not that it isnt less than perfect, as is the case at present...
.i still prefer this to others i have sailed over the past nearly 60 years...wow i am old....rodlmao.

if someone died andleft me 450k usd i would keep on keeping on, prolly give away the dough and live happily ever after my haulout..lol

[Pelagic]

Thanks for those who have already voted on the Poll.
This is only a discussion on WHAT/WHY… (IF you had the funds and HAD decided to buy a new boat) you would personally weigh your Design/Type priorities as a live aboard?
This is not a discussion on whether you should?

To further clarify.
The Purchase Budget of $450k also assumes you have enough funds to maintain and cruise to your chosen lifestyle.
If you find an advertised example assume you could negotiate the asking price down by about 25% so list price of around $575k is still a valid example.

What I am interested in is your thought process on finding and buying “your best” boat for that price.
There is no right or wrong answer as it is a personal choice.

[GeoPowers]

I'd spring for 45-ish foot catamaran. Primary reason: Kids' hull and parent's hull (with locking door for parents' hull woot woot!). Super bonus points if it had a separate shower stall and an embarrassingly large solar array.

Not sure where that fits into speed v comfort, maybe 60%?

Frank

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Bash

The poll suggests a false dichotomy. For $450k, I'd be able to get both speed + comfort!

Polls are somewhat limited by their brief descriptions
However. I don’t really see this as a False Dichotomy Bash as choices are wide open and you could Vote 50/50 in “Other”.

The value of your input would be in explaining the Type/Size in your personal choice so that we can visualize what you consider as “Comfortable” and How Fast do you consider as Speedy.

We know you like to race but also you like your comforts…so what do you consider as your right balance in size and design. (it can even be your existing boat)

[Hudson Force]

My habit is to poke about in slow comfort. If I'm off to the antipode, I'm on an jet!

[rgscpat]

Should be able to get something like a very nice pre-owned Deerfoot-style cruiser on the budget. Might rate that as 65-70% speed-oriented, round to 60-ish.

With that big of a budget, there's plenty of both speed and comfort. Compared to what I could perhaps afford in real life, that's about 175% speed and 275% comfort!

Within reason, speed can correlate positively with comfort; speed to avoid wallowing like a pig in very light air, and speed (with intelligent routing and weather reading) to minimize bad stuff, plus speed to minimize passage monotony.

[Pelagic]

Thanks Frank,
This brings up another needed clarification

I think we can all agree that Multis are generally faster than Monos, so I am going to need help from experienced Multi Owners to give comparative examples of a speed oriented Multi, vs a Comfort oriented Multi as a live aboard choice at that price.

In voting for your specific choice, you should only compare with the same type (Multi vs Multi…Mono vs Mono) in rating speed vs comfort in your choice

This way we stay out of a Multi vs Mono argument.

[Pelagic]

I voted 20% Sailing Speed priority.

Personally… as a full time live-aboard… I prefer the Comfort over Speed that is offered in a pilothouse type full time heavy displacement mono

My reasoning is that if winds are light, I can motor sail to reach my destination and I have enough storage/spares capacity to stay longer in my preferred remote places.

It would be a different choice if I wanted to do another circumnavigation, but having done that, at my age, I am happy to stay in the Western Pacific and take it easy in comfort.

To be honest I would only factor about 15% actual cruising time as opposed to being at anchor, with mostly short trips to overnight destinations. So SPEED is not a big priority

At that budget, I would look for an OLDER well maintained boat so that I might find a BIG enough size to give me a larger engine room with easier access to proven commercial type marine equipment.

Being an avid diver, I want space-Power for a dive compressor and facilities to carry- wash tanks/gear for 4 divers. Also be able to carry a large enough RIB to go to the dive sites

LOA 60—65ft with furling gear seems optimal to me with private accommodation for another couple and cabin for one crew member

Choosing older, means you have to invest up front in very detailed tests and surveys before you Buy and larger means you have to be able to manage the labor involved to keep it up.

This one example at 81ft is too big and too old for me to consider, which is why I am very happy with my own 65ft Stargazer

1966 Hatra Works Shipyard Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[bobconnie]

If I had That much money I would be looking at Oysters 45 ft or up, used for less the 450 thou, and have enough money left over to cruise for a couple of years !! But then Im old and set in my mono ways !

[sailorboy1]

I chose the 60% answer even though it said "older boat" in the answer that I didn't understand. You can get a fast boat that is pretty comfortable now days, but in poll I did a few years ago more people wanted at anchor comfortable over speed.

The real question is what one whats to do with a boat, sail it or cruise it, and the question was about a live on cruiser.

[boatman61]

Cheoy Lee Clipper 48... best of both worlds..
And with that money I could buy one and re-model the interior