O'Day '34 and big water?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

There's nothing wrong with the "old" Hunters circa 1990, also known as "Cherubini Hunters", if prudently sailed. But some of the ones since I find more dock queen than passagemaker. Now, excuse me as I go make some popcorn.

I owned the Cherubini 37c.. she took some big sea's and winds on the crossing..
It was a two part solo crossing.. 1st was '04 when I turned back NE of Bermuda when a big wave dumped on the boat and popped a bulkhead.. and my brand new Simrad WP died.. so I turned round and went back to NC and Oriental.. was a bit freaked out after all the folk in Oriental and Beaufort who reckoned I must have a death wish to even try.
2nd time was '05.. once again the piece of crap new replacement Simrad WP failed N of Bermuda.. this time I kept going steering by hand.. hove to near the Azores in a 4 day gales with heavy rain and vis down to 100m.. then Horta to Poole, UK still hand steering.. no fix for the Simrad in Horta.
Easy to sail solo and one of the best sailing boats I've owned for performance.. beat a Bene 40 from Poole to the Solent..
Would I buy one again.. yer darn tootin..

http://towndock.net/shippingnews/phi...age-to-england

[michaeld]

The short answer is YES. We have taken our Cal 2-27 to the Bahamas several times. Buy a cruising guide. Plan your route, keep track of weather. You will have a blast!

[Hoosiersailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I owned the Cherubini 37c.. she took some big sea's and winds on the crossing..
It was a two part solo crossing.. 1st was '04 when I turned back NE of Bermuda when a big wave dumped on the boat and popped a bulkhead.. and my brand new Simrad WP died.. so I turned round and went back to NC and Oriental.. was a bit freaked out after all the folk in Oriental and Beaufort who reckoned I must have a death wish to even try.
2nd time was '05.. once again the piece of crap new replacement Simrad WP failed N of Bermuda.. this time I kept going steering by hand.. hove to near the Azores in a 4 day gales with heavy rain and vis down to 100m.. then Horta to Poole, UK still hand steering.. no fix for the Simrad in Horta.
Easy to sail solo and one of the best sailing boats I've owned for performance.. beat a Bene 40 from Poole to the Solent..
Would I buy one again.. yer darn tootin..

This is interesting if you care to read.. http://www.cherubiniyachts.com/asset...er_history.pdf

[IslandHop]

Weather can turn nasty quick, go right from clean and clear to blowing stink and pounding. Wait for a SOLID weather window. Weather around headlands can stink. Currents alone can stop you and turn you around, or worse. Can be good to buddy up with another boat or so going that way. There's a lot more factors in ocean sailing than lake sailing . Happy new cheers!

[blueazimuth]

There are many coastal boats - of which Hunters, O'Days and Catalinas are only 3 examples - and there is nothing wrong with them, if you understand what they are, and what they are not.

They are not offshore boats, although some, with experianced skippers, have made successful offshore passages.

Conversely, there are relatively few offshore boats because they are both expensive to build and difficult to sell at 2, 3 or more times the price of the same size coastal boat.

Few sailors plan to across an ocean, let alone around the world, so why build a boat for that purpose, if 95 out of 100 sailors have no such plans?

Give me a coastal boat and an experienced skipper over an offshore boat and inexperianced skipper, any day. All boat and personal preperation needs to be done before you leave the dock. Experiance comes after you leave.

Any properly prepared coastal boat, intelligently sailed by a relatively inexperianced skipper, should have no problems coastal hopping down the east US coast, thru the Bahamas and down to the eastern Caribbean. Carefully planned, it can be mostly daysailing with a few overnight passages.

Read, listen and understand all the good and not so good advice, then make your own decisions. Be cautious of the barroom expert and especially the herd instinct.
Good advice: "Gentlemens Guide ... the Thorney Path ..."
Not so good: "Sail 600nm due east of the Bahamas, turn right and and reach down to the islands.
Fair winds and following seas.

[LouK]

Great comments, all around, will probably save me another $20k. I certainly agree with taking the ICW down & from what I’ve heard our 5’-6” draft is probably not a deal breaker, in fact I think many/most who have sailed the Chesapeake have run aground at least once. (If they haven’t, they will)

Good points about rigging & keel bolt inspection too. The big adventure is still a couple of years out, time enough to get all systems up to snuff, upgrade to AIS, new referigeration & a good set of storm sails. Thanks for the advice re: cruising guides as well.

Lou

[pyeguy]

I'd be comfortable doing that trip in my Niagara 26 and it isn't a blue water boat. Just watch the weather

[zeehag]

a boat is only as good as the loose nut at helm.
your question should be--can YOU handle the trip and trust your boat.
if you can sail, if you know your weather and if you can navigate and know how to handle the boat, you should be able to make it. oh yeah prep a bit first.