Want To Buy: 42'-54' Bluewater Cruiser Monohull - Ready to Buy

[XtaSea]

Thanks kreavis. Definitely a well appointed boat. The price is on the upper end of my budget and the water tankage, engine hours, and solar wattage imply the need to spend more money to adapt to my purpose.


The ratio of the mast height to the keel depth has me wondering. Have you sailed across an ocean? How did it do in big water?


Are the live-aboard occupants cigarette smokers or non?

[CarolDab]

Got a Hardin 44 blue water cruiser in La Paz, Mexico. Outfitted to go cruising and take her to the high seas. She is listed in this forum.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by XtaSea

Are the live-aboard occupants cigarette smokers or non?

This problem is usually solved after your first diesel-spill under deck or major issue with the holding tank. Then you break out all the nasty chemicals you'll find to combat all kind of smells, even the one from smoke. A stinky bilge might also do it.

[XtaSea]

Thanks CarolDab. Very nice photos and detailed info, albeit older than our desired age range for now. This may change later on. Took us many months to retreat from 2000s to 1990s, and then to 1980s. We owned a 1978 before, and know the drill well. Our dream boat would would be 1995-2011, with an occasional consideration for the right 1980s model.

How long has it been listed in the market?

[XtaSea]

Joh.Ghurt, I can see how that thinking may work for some people. Definitely not for us.

[MicHughV]

Aja ja ja......going onto a cruising forum to ask this kind of question is like trying to find an online bride, with someone else making the decision for you.....you gotta do your own homework. What I (or someone else) like and what you like are bound to be different things.

[XtaSea]

MicHughV, a valuable part of doing the homework is to ask others their opinion. Has served me very well. Many data points contribute to the final decision.

[kreavis]

XtaSea- I understand the need not to exceed your budget, no matter what boat you buy there is always something that can be done "bigger and better". There are problems with new
and old boats. This boat had leaky windows when we purchased her. We immediately rebedded all the windows and replaced the gaskets for all of our stainless steel port lights (17 of them), but sometimes the damage is already done. We had to do some cherry wood repair and the question is do you do what other people do and paint beautiful wood or do you "make it work". We chose to keep the cherry wood and the classic look of the boat.

We have not sailed her across the ocean, but many of these boats have. We have only been off shore, no more than 3 days at a time, and have run her outside on the east coast from Boston to Miami, and of coarse, the Bahamas. She does great in heavy seas. We have experienced quite a bit of that! This boat is also listed in the book Worlds Best Sailboats. They have a very nice write up.

To my knowledge no cigarette smokers have ever owned this boat. We certainly don't smoke.

[MicHughV]

My view is that a boat will talk to you...it will simply call your name....could be for any reason...there will just be something about a certain boat that will appeal to you...
Like meeting a girl...one day, you look across the room....bam....she's the one...you will likely know little about her, but your heart will skip a beat...and you'll know...she's the one...off course, she might be married, or your dream boat will be too expensive, and you'll have to continue to find the next "one"......

I've walked up and down countless marina's and have seen countless boats, the good, the bad, the ugly, but every once in a while, a certain boat will just jump out at me and bring lust to my eyes..and I'll know....that's the one....

[kreavis]

MicHughV: So true! We looked at so many boats. Most just didn't make my heart sing. If you are living aboard I doubt there is a "perfect" boat. But after an exhaustive search, when you find a honey you make it work for you.

[XtaSea]

MicHughV, I know exactly what you mean. The look that makes your heart skip a beat and lose sleep.

I am pretty poly minded about boats, as a lot of them seem to melt my heart equally effectively. And then the ultimate compatibility is determined by the boat's pedigree and my budget.

[MicHughV]

When I was a youngster in High School, out of the blue....a magazine arrived for me...a "Bruce Roberts Build Your own Boat" magazine. Why this magazine?, and why was it sent to me ? I didn't ask for it. I lived 500 miles from the nearest ocean, and I couldn't tell a boat from a steel drum. I have no idea how this magazine had my name on it and why I received it.

Nonetheless, in boredom, I leafed thru' it and with each page, the boats grew larger, until a page landed on the Roberts 38 ketch. Lemme tell you, I was smitten, I was in love, I was gaga over this boat. I honestly did not know a ketch from a stick in the ground, and on top of everything else, didn't have a dime to my name, but this boat, I had to have !!!

Some years went by, but a photo of that boat remained in my wallet all the time, and I never forgot about at any time.....

Then an opportunity to came to build it, which is a story all of it's own, so I did. I had never built anything of substance until this point, and barely knew which end of a hammer to hold, but I preserved. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I eventually outgrew that boat, and had several more, but each time, it was the same. I kinda just put it "out there"...."I need a new boat" and the universe provided.

I know this sounds kinda hocus pocus, but that is how it has worked for me. I've spend the better part of 40 years now living the dream.

For this reason, I penned what I did. Several people have posted good ideas, boats, etc...but at the end of the day....finding and obtaining the right boat will require you to pound the docks.

I penned a book of how it all came to fruition for me, if you're interested, PM me, and I'll direct you to it.

I'll end this missive, by telling you, that when I started my build, I had $9,000 in my pocket, and I thought I could do it in a year. Yep, big dreams, little money, no experience, what could possible be wrong with this picture.

But, I did succeed. The right people came at the right time, etc.

So good luck on your search, but keep your heart open. The right boat will come at the right time, most likely when you least expect it.

[kreavis]

What an awesome story!! I can't imagine actually building a boat. My story is somewhat different. We traveled many years in a row to the Annapolis boat show. We owned a small 30 foot sailboat on a Missouri lake. At the boat show I fell in love with the Tayana line of boats. When we finally had the funds and the time to truly live on a boat it was 30 years later. My joke is that, now 30 years later, I can finally afford that 1990's Tayana. We did find a Tayana to purchase when we started living on our boat. Unfortunately the cost of new sails, new upholstery, new electronics, new, new, new.... and the sellers unwillingness to realize all the new that was required made a deal impossible. That said....I love our current home a 45 Foot Center Cockpit Freedom. BTW: I would love a link to your boat!!

[MicHughV]

Kreavis, I sent you a PM to explain how to find the book. Nothing wrong with a CC Freedom, not many around.

[YoloSF]

I have a 43ft Beneteau for sale in Fiji. I sailed it there from California you’d have to do the 2 week quarantine, but then you’re in a Covid free country! Let me know if you want more info, I’m sailingseabbatical on gmail