Bluewater 38-42' choices on a budget

[sgwright]

Hello all,

We've been looking several years for our next boat, with plans to sail from BC to Mexico, and eventually points beyond. Our current C&C 35mk2 is a great sailing boat, but a bit too small for extended cruising. We've sailed about 7000NM over the past 4 summers, including a 2800NM passage from Hawaii to BC, and are ready to head south. Here are some of the top criteria for our next boat, which we'd prefer to find somewhere between BC and Mexico.

1. Fin keel capable of good windward* AND light air ability, ie: no long/full keel or shoal draft or centreboard designs. *Able to point to ~40 AWA in 10kts of TWS and make ~5kts STW in calm seas.
2. Minimum of three seagoing berths, ie: two settees plus aft or quarterberth.
3. Head with shower, separate shower highly desirable.
4. Cutter or solent rigged sloop preferred, although I can add inner stay if necessary.
5. Decent tankage of at least 150L fuel, 300L water.
6. Private double aft cabin preferred.

Here are some of the top boats on our list, bearing in mind that some will only fit our budget in a somewhat "project" condition. Budget is ~50K USD, allowing for an additional 30-40K of upgrades to make her ready. My preference is to find a boat with solid bones in need of some upgrades so I can choose to fit her out to suit our needs. I am capable of doing all necessary work. I know some of these boats are out of reach, but one can dream.

The list (those with * are most likely to have candidates within budget)

*C&C Landfall 38, 39, 42, 43
Cheoy Lee 44
Cheoy Lee 38/41 (Pedrick)
Kelly Peterson 44/46
Mariner/Westsail 39
Moody 376
*Morgan 382/3/4
*Morgan 43/44/45 (45 has dubious seaberths)
Niagara 35/42
Norseman 447
Passport 37/40
Perry/Aloha 41
Hylas 44
*Tayana Vancouver 42 (aft or centre cockpit)
Valiant 40 (prefer to avoid the blister issue though)

Happy to hear from owners of any of the above, or similar designs that meet the criteria, although we have already excluded the following for various reasons:
Catalina, Hunter, Beneteau, Pearson and similar coastal cruisers.
Fast Passage 39, Pacific Seacraft 37, Sceptre 41

Thanks!

[LordoftheReach]

Nordic 40 or Cabo Rico 38. Nordic probably too pricey but you can likely get a CR38 near your price point.

[off-piste]

Originally Posted by LordoftheReach

Cabo Rico 38.

Not likely

[Searles]

Nordic 40 will take you anywhere in the world ,but then again so will a Catalina 38 mk 2 or a 42 mk2 ,having sailed these vsls 10 of thousands of miles in the Tasman sea the southwest pacific and the southern ocean ,I know these vsls can take it,but it’s your call .⛵️⚓️

[LordoftheReach]

There are currently a number or CR38s on the market with a very well equipped 1986 model for sale in Florida for $79k. Has new engine, electronics and standing rigging. I think you could purchase it and outfit for under $100k.

[neilpride]

Norseman 447, great boat.

[sgwright]

Originally Posted by LordoftheReach

Nordic 40 or Cabo Rico 38. Nordic probably too pricey but you can likely get a CR38 near your price point.

Cabo Rico, full keel, short waterline, too slow. I'd sooner go with a Tayana 37 if I wanted a full keel.
Nordic - nice boats, but out of our price range.
Thanks though.

[sgwright]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Norseman 447, great boat.

Agreed, but even the total project boat recently listed in Aus is out of our price range. A good one is way out of our league.

[sgwright]

Originally Posted by Searles

Nordic 40 will take you anywhere in the world ,but then again so will a Catalina 38 mk 2 or a 42 mk2 ,having sailed these vsls 10 of thousands of miles in the Tasman sea the southwest pacific and the southern ocean ,I know these vsls can take it,but it’s your call .⛵️⚓️

Not interested in a Catalina, although I know the 42 sails pretty well; they just don't excite me, same goes for Hunter and Beneteau. I like C&C designs, and we briefly considered a C&C 41 and 44, which also sail very well, but decided we want something a bit more seakindly and suited for distance cruising, which is why the C&C Landfalls are still on our list.

[sailingharry]

The Saga 43 and 409 meet most of your criteria except price. Some can be found on the west coast.

Feel free to stop by the owners forum at https://groups.io/g/SagaYachts and if you want to join, go ahead -- we welcome dreamers!

[SY Harmony]

Originally Posted by sgwright

Hello all,

Cheoy Lee 38/41 (Pedrick)
Thanks!

Why the Pedrick over the Richards?

[sgwright]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

The Saga 43 and 409 meet most of your criteria except price. Some can be found on the west coast.

Feel free to stop by the owners forum at https://groups.io/g/SagaYachts and if you want to join, go ahead -- we welcome dreamers!

I've been aboard a Saga 43, they are a beautifully finished boat, but even further out of our price range than a Nordic! Our budget and preferences pretty much dictate a design from the 70s or 80s...

[sgwright]

Originally Posted by SY Harmony

Why the Pedrick over the Richards?

I haven't been aboard either one, but most of the older Richards examples I've seen for sale have looked very tired and/or have too much teak on deck.

Another thing I might not have mentioned - no teak decks, and minimal exterior teak is preferred. A KP44 or Passport 40 without teak decks is more than enough teak to keep me busy...

[SY Harmony]

Originally Posted by sgwright

I haven't been aboard either one, but most of the older Richards examples I've seen for sale have looked very tired and/or have too much teak on deck.

Another thing I might not have mentioned - no teak decks, and minimal exterior teak is preferred. A KP44 or Passport 40 without teak decks is more than enough teak to keep me busy...

The teak is laid on a cored glass deck. So pulling it up and filling screw holes is an option if you’re into DIY.

The Richards B plan is a very comfortable couples cruiser.

[wingssail]

Here are several that I like:
Cheoy Lee 44
Kelly Peterson 44/46
Mariner/Westsail 39
Morgan 45
Hylas 44

I would tend to favor the newer and bigger designs and those from Peterson, Perry, Frers, and the one Nelson Merek you've listed, will all be terrific sailing boats with excellent heritage.

Look for tankage, interior volume and good engines. Sails will be an expense.

Center cockpit boats have big aft cabins but seem to me to be less capable sailboats.

I think you have some excellent and thoughtful criteria and I wish you luck finding a nice boat in your price range.