ANOTHER REQUEST FOR INPUT

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Destiny - The irresistable force that propels you outward to achieve great things.

Fate - The irresistable force that inevitably sucks you inward to disaster.

Let's hope it's destiny calling!

I agree with the others. Your experience will hold you in good stead. Get a good survey and leave all the emotions at home...

Thanks Dan, I have seen many of your posts here and value your opinon (I agree with alot that you have written) Same with several others who have taken the time to respond - MANY THANKS.

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

Sounds like a good boat. Deck leaks happen. A proper repair makes it ok. Does it look anything like this one (Roberts 43 built in S. Africa (attached), Our friends live on it (more than 7 years). Sturdy comfortable and sails well.

Yup - that is the one. Do you perhaps have contact details of your friends that you could PM me. Deck was redone - boat yard job, but the guy my dad spoke to said it was wood and he recommended a fibreglass job? Hope it will be as good as it is looking so far when I finally get to see it!

Thanks for the response, it would be great if I could talk with your friends - there is no substitute for talking to someone who has been living with a boat for 7 years!!

Cheers

[Martin25]

Hi,

Just realised I forgot to attache the picture in the previous reply.

Cheers

[slomotion]

We were exclusively Bahamas/Caribbean cruisers. Probably you will spend more time actually sailing than we did, but you will still spend significant time at anchor and with 4 people your boat has to be a comfortable floating house. IMHO, the two most important convenience upgrades for those conditions are a watermaker and dinghy davits. Yes, watermakers are high maintenance and like to be run regularly. But, there are many different kinds and you should be able to find one that fits your needs and makes your life easier. You don’t keep a dinghy on davits for an ocean passage, but at anchor it makes those trips ashore (hopefully not to get water) much more convenient. Without them your dinghy will inevitably wind up in the water when it shouldn't be - usually upside down with the motor head under water.

In our cruising grounds you would have trouble finding kerosene in many places - LPG was available almost everywhere.

Fair Winds

[well rigged]

Jeepers, have I lost the plot, --just wanted to takk to other sailors worldwide, am I in the wrong place?

[well rigged]

Sorry, I`m from England, and maybe in the wrong room to talk sailing.

[Hud3]

Hello, well rigged. Welcome to Cruisers Forum.

You're definitely in the right place to talk about sailing. Go to the top of the page, and click on any of these buttons to see different views of subjects that are available on the Forum:

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[hellosailor]

Parrafin is wax, parrafin oil is what we call kerosene in the States.

Easiest way to remember is that kerosene is similar to diesel, which WILL gel up and become a waxy solid at cold temperatures.

[Boracay]

If the topsides are wood or fibreglass covered wood I would suggest checking every point where water could have entered (e.g. Staunchion mounting screws etc.) in the same manner that you might check a balsa cored deck.

If the rest of the boat is good and the stove can be factored into the price why not try it for a while?

[Brent Swain]

In his book ,Robert's says he designs his skegs to fall off if they hit anything. There is a thorough discussion of this on metalboatsociety.com. plus some mentions of the resulting disasters.I'm sure he applies the same logic ( or lack of it) to his fibreglass designs. Should be a simple thing to fix.

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by slomotion

We were exclusively Bahamas/Caribbean cruisers. Probably you will spend more time actually sailing than we did, but you will still spend significant time at anchor and with 4 people your boat has to be a comfortable floating house. IMHO, the two most important convenience upgrades for those conditions are a watermaker and dinghy davits. Yes, watermakers are high maintenance and like to be run regularly. But, there are many different kinds and you should be able to find one that fits your needs and makes your life easier. You don’t keep a dinghy on davits for an ocean passage, but at anchor it makes those trips ashore (hopefully not to get water) much more convenient. Without them your dinghy will inevitably wind up in the water when it shouldn't be - usually upside down with the motor head under water.

In our cruising grounds you would have trouble finding kerosene in many places - LPG was available almost everywhere.

Fair Winds

Hi

Thanks for that - I had been considering watermaker or not - from this forum looking at past posts and threads the jury seems to come down in favor of watermakers if they are in your budget (and if you are not averse to adding another system with all its complications). Davits I had not been considering, but will now start looking at (any thoughts from others here?). I am still weighing up the balance between space and comfort against sailing performance and handle-able size... Compromise somewhere is inevitable.

Thanks for the warning about kerosene - no good having a stove you can't get fuel for no matter what it's advantages.

Cheers

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by Louis Riel

In his book ,Robert's says he designs his skegs to fall off if they hit anything. There is a thorough discussion of this on metalboatsociety.com. plus some mentions of the resulting disasters.I'm sure he applies the same logic ( or lack of it) to his fibreglass designs. Should be a simple thing to fix.

Thanks Louis - I had seen the thread and your posts in the forum and read with interest. It is on my list of questions/concerns for a survey.

Cheers

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by Boracay

If the topsides are wood or fibreglass covered wood I would suggest checking every point where water could have entered (e.g. Staunchion mounting screws etc.) in the same manner that you might check a balsa cored deck.

If the rest of the boat is good and the stove can be factored into the price why not try it for a while?

Hi Boracay -

Yes, the deck is something that concerns me - this is also because the guy who redid them recommended against wood (probably for the reasons above!!)

The deck keeps on coming up as an area of concern - but can you help with specifics on how to check? I was thinking soft spots - check with pressure from above and visually around deck fittings? Also from below by removing headliner/looking in side cupboard where deck may be visible? Any other ideas would be apreciated. Of course a decent surveyor would be better able to answer when they look at the boat maybe?

Cheers

[Martin25]

Originally Posted by well rigged

Sorry, I`m from England, and maybe in the wrong room to talk sailing.

Welcome, from another newbie.

This forum will answer alot of questions just by browsing the old posts as I have discovered. LOADS of interesting discussions on almost any aspect of cruising. It takes some time to look through the old stuff, but helps in asking questions to see what else is out there.

Cheers