Hi,
We are in your area and have a
Vancouver 42.
We are probably in the last summer before we sell, so if you wanted to chat give a shout. We're looking at one last hurrah this August as far as Malcolm, teenagers refusing long
sails now, etc. Or if you just would like to see one, we are Victoria area and out Desolation / Broughtons August. Probably a bit over your price range, but not hugely, but then we have a brand new Yan Mar, with
offshore (double
Racor, gooseneck anti-siphon custom, etc) preparation features, as well, and that's why. Ours is cold molded mahogany, aft
cockpit, no
teak decks, and it was custom built for
offshore in Richmond BC in the 1990s (so large s/s
water tanks).
In general, about the
Vancouver 42s though, here's what I'd say, good and bad.
We don't have (and don't think we should have a bow thruster), and she is a beast. Coming into a
dock with any kind of
wind is a real adventure because below a certain speed you lose control pretty quickly. Not a great coastal cruising
boat if you need to be in and out of tight docks often. They are really built for
bluewater and not local summer conditions inside Vancouver Island.
Other downsides, they don't have anything like the room you're describing inside for an offshore set up. We have a main
cabin up front with a double and a
single bunk on top. You could probably retrofit to make a roomy double, but she's no Cutwater up there. The head is small (we don't use a
shower for offshore, because, well, we don't, but it was equipped for one, but you'd have to be skinny and it's tight). Just functional, nothing else. There's a good double pull out berth opposite the
galley, that we actually tend to use as the main, and there's another
single berth in the
salon. You could add a second pretty easily. But the original aft
cabin you really are going to lose off shore. Ours was taken out and filled with massive
battery storage. S/s
water tanks are port and starboard, and those boats have nice, roomy
engine rooms. Basically, if you're looking at 2 couples, it's a double in the
galley and a double in the main bow, shared tiny head, and room maybe for another adult on the
salon berth, with any kind of privacy. She's not bad single handing under way. All the lines are easy and she's on furlers. You need two people to
dock or
anchor absolutely.
The cold molded is amazing. It is one skookum
boat. We got caught during COVID when the
weather reports were pretty unreliable
wind against
current (ouch) at 20-25 knots coming up the Malaspina to Desolation, and, while it was uncomfortable, we were never worried that she couldn't handle that and more. If I had to choose a boat for heavy
weather, I would choose a Vancouver 42 no question.
The downside is they aren't super at light wind sailing. For an offshore boat, good, but not light sailing as in coastal BC cruising. Our last was a 28' Viking
Ontario, and that would sail in a whisper of breeze. The Vancouver needs a few knots realistically.
They are also tough boats for a fixed
solar set up. Because they are canoe stern, there's not a lot of space on her tail (which is also where
radar is set up). We looked into a
bimini set up, but offshore in heavy weather the windsheer we think would act as a parasail. For the same reason we took off the
bimini that came with her and just dress appropriately. You could do bat wings. We looked into that but decided to go with a Bluetti instead, so the wind and
engine feed the main sets of
batteries, and the Bluetti has about 4 days of capacity on a single
solar charge to run all our
electronics, which is what we really care about. We went CMAP with a
GPS integrated
iPad linked to our
AIS B, plus back up Hummingbird, older
radar, etc. CMAP off
AIS works well for us.
The other upside downside of the Vancouver 42s is that they have a really high freeboard. Great offshore and in heavy weather--as long as you don't fall off. We've done
MOB drills in calm weather in Pendrell Sound, and the reality is that even in flat seas getting back in is tough. We invested in one of those Australian
MOB ladders where you could also parbuckle someone up using the
halyard, but honestly it's useless. We clip in religiously, because you go over in offshore weather, that's it. I don't think you're getting anyone back on board realistically.
We have a fair amount of
commercial fishing gear on board, and we're big fans of those (we inherited them). Things like a
diesel Dickinson stove and a
Delta commercial windlass. As a result, we've been able to be out in off season very comfortably, and on long
sails in chilly conditions the
Dickinson is great. Keeps the bones warm.
Dunno. Sounds to me I guess a bit like you're looking for something though a bit more luxury than an offshore equipped Vancouver 42, which tends to be a pretty practical and very heavy weather focused boat. She's not beautiful coming into marina. And she's a ship. We get the wall eye for sure sometimes from the folks with white leather seats. But the old salts give us the thumbs up, so we'll take it.
Fair winds out there friend, and give a shout if you'd like to see a Vancouver 42, even just to
rule out that you're looking for something else.
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