Small center cockpits for coastal cruising liveboard family

[first wind]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

When we were in the Med a fellow cruiser told me he had spent some time with CFatty. One of the stories was that he would arrange pot luck parties on his boat once a week or so. There was enough food and wine left over for several days from all the left overs and that kept their food bill down. An effective strategy when you think about it but probably not something to admire.

oh, i don't know about that. people pay a cover to get into popular bars to be a part of the good social scene. in a way, he was just acting like a barter version of a club. instead of a $10 cover, people pay in food...and part of that food goes to feed everyone, anyway. not such a bad deal.

[TrentePieds]

I'm puzzled! That Danish chap in the first video sails a 45-footer called Mathilde. Nothing wrong with that, but why, then, his advocacy of "small" and "simple"? "Small", for a single chap, is something like the Nordic Folkboat (27') native to his home waters, or the KingsCruiser (29'). Or as he himself points out - 19 feet. For some of us, 45 ain't "small" :-)

TrentePieds is 30', 9K displacement, 6'3" headroom, separate sleeping cabin for man and maid, enclosed head with facility for a shower. No shower installed because I'm still man enuff to punch holes in a bucket and running it up 9 feet above the deck. No quarter berths, cos we are only man and maid, but some boats of the type have excellent quarter berths for kiddies, dogs, cats and other such cargo.

The toilet has a "bladder" type holding tank. Only there because regulations require it. Normally we "hold it" till we are outside restricted zones, then discharge the fish food directly overboard. The "holding tank" empties by means of a manual "Whale" pump. Easier just to go out of a restricted zone and lay on the pump handle than it is to find a pump-out station and fork over five and twenty bux for the service! And again, being only man and maid (and the maid being occupied elsewhere), I'm still man enuff to "do it" from the leeward shrouds.

Galley is straight forward: Ice box, sink - regrettably with pressure water, but that will go in favour of a foot pump. Propane three-burner stove with oven. I cook when afloat much as I do ashore. A pièce de résistance is Kedgeree. Fresh bread is a harbour pleaser too. Not much else to do on passage :-)

"Navigation systems" live inside my head. Augmented by magnetic compass and an aftermarket automotive type GPS that gives me coordinates that I plot on paper charts. Not much else to do on passage :-). Don't need a knot-meter. TrentePieds moves at five knots cruising speed, i.e. 6,076 x 5 feet per hour, say 30K feet in an hour, say 500 feet or 16 boat lengths in a minute. Or 4 boat lengths while you "count 15 elephants". Speed "over the ground", which is mostly what I need to know, comes from plotting the GPS coordinates on the charts, taking the distance twixt position in the dividers and transferring it to the scale on the side of the chart. Out of sheer boredom while on passage I do that every 15 minutes. two minutes of work that keeps you from falling asleep :-)! If you really, really want to know your momentary speed, go forward with chip on a string, toss it ahead and start counting elephants when it passes the stem. Helmsman calls "MARK" as the chip passes the transom, and you do the simple math. 30 feet in X seconds = Y knots.

Depth sounder? 10 fathoms on net twine with a fisherman's lead "sinker" on the end, and knotted each fathom in the traditional way. We sometimes get queer looks from anchorage mates when MyBeloved sings out: "MARK TWAIN!" :-)

Wheel steering. An deplorable affectation in a 30-footer. Totally wrecks the back porch as well as estranges you from the "feel" of the boat that a tiller gives you, feel that is IMO essential for proper sail management.

If you really want to keep it simple - just keep it simple :-) You can add the gee-gaws later if you want to. You may find by that time that, nah - there is really no need for them. If you WANT them, than that's a whole different argument :-)

TrentePieds

[Kaptain Ken]

Coronado sailboats for sale by owner. This is a link to various Coronado 35's on the market. I bought my 1974 version (it happened to be Coronado's Boat Show boat in that year) and lived on board for several years. It is one of the roomiest boats for the length I have ever encountered. The key is to find one that has been continuously upgraded and lovingly maintained. Have fun!!!

[Sunsetrider]

Or you could forego deciding to have your family live on the tilt and go for an Abin 27 - centre cockpit, fairly economical. An Albin 25 would be catmpeds as a liveabooard I suspect.

[Maka]

Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress

[reed1v]

Going to get hammered here but, Do not buy an O'Day unless its only for day sailing in protected waters.

[scuba0_1]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Going to get hammered here but, Do not buy an O'Day unless its only for day sailing in protected waters.

Because you were there design engineer our yours sank in the middle of the Atlantic during your maiden crossing.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

Because you were there design engineer our yours sank in the middle of the Atlantic during your maiden crossing.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Nope, from others' experiences. O'Days should have been banned from the ocean decades ago. Basically a Sears pool table with bedsheets hung on a pole.

[PEACETIME]

You are what is wrong with this forum. Oday owner over 30 years same boat thousands of miles. Go back to troll land and leave this forum to real sailors who have constructive comments.

[scuba0_1]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Nope, from others' experiences. O'Days should have been banned from the ocean decades ago. Basically a Sears pool table with bedsheets hung on a pole.

Well not a engineer anyways.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[roverhi]

Would look at one the many two quarter berth designs like the early Morgan's and Cals. Private staterooms for two kids and they aren't ugly like almost all the under 40' center cockpit boats. As old a Nat used to say, a good looking boat is always a good boat.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by PEACETIME

You are what is wrong with this forum. Oday owner over 30 years same boat thousands of miles. Go back to troll land and leave this forum to real sailors who have constructive comments.

If you are happy with a floating pool table, so be it. Personally would never advise anyone to buy an O'Day. With all the Cal, Catalinas, Pearsons, etc out there built as ocean going boats, why would someone settle for an O'Day?
Kind of like when American Marine started producing the Mayflower sailboats. Why?

[alohafam]

Thank you everyone! You have given me a lot to think about. I have also looked at some of the older Morgans with two quarter berths, and like that layout-it could totally work for us. The plan is to daysail along the coast, anchor/marina at night, so really just need something that is comfortable to live on and safe to sail, but nothing fancy. Also we do not need or want many systems. We are ok without refrigeration or pressure or hot water since we should be able to shower at a marina. Its all about the adventure and getting the most time with the kids now, while they are young.

Thank you again!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Nope, from others' experiences. O'Days should have been banned from the ocean decades ago. Basically a Sears pool table with bedsheets hung on a pole.

I can understand a role for evaluating the qualities of vessels on this forum and I would be among the first to welcome sharing factual information, but the pool table & bedsheet metaphor has no merit because it provides no information.

I have little experience with O'Days; however, I did help a new owner sail his purchase to a dock from south of Annapolis to north of Baltimore. We did have some plastic slugs on the main sail tack break with a gybe during a brisk breeze. We thought little of this as a real problem. The boat performed quite well during my brief experience. I've known a number of O'Day owners that were pleased with their boats.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "We would love to coastal cruise down the West coast of the US..."

Some of us get a bit antsy when newbs talk like that :-)! You are clearly American, so "down the west coast" suggests you may be in Puget Sound somewhere, say Seattle. Please know that "down the west coast" is NOT like Puget Sound, Strait of Juan deFuca or the waters of Straits of Georgia as far north as Desolation Sound. The boat that will serve on the "west coast" is NOT the same boat that suffices for the inland waters!

Maybe you'd like to talk to them wots seen THAT movie about it :-)

TrentePieds