Choosing The Cruising Boat

[Luigi3188]

Hello,

My wife and I are planning to purchase a monohull to live aboard and sail where ever the whim and wind takes us. We are considering Island Packet, Gozzard, Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, Cabo Rico and Hans Christian in 38 - 42' lengths.

I would love to hear all about anyone's experience or opinions of these boats.

Luigi

[Max Sail]

Is a nice Shannon on eBay right now. Freshwater Michigan boat.

[neilpride]

I got the oportunity to fix few things in a Shannon, the quality is top, pretty boats ....

[MikeinLA]

You've chosen a nice selection of boats there. They will all differ somewhat in both interior liveaboard amenities and sailing performance. As replies trickle in, you might also want to do a search for each boat and see what old threads pop up. I remember several of your selections being discussed at various times. I don't think I would turn down any of your choices.

Mike

[FLLCatsailor]

Of the manufactures you mentioned above I would go with Island Packet...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Luigi.

[DDabs]

With the Island Packet, you'll get 2 heads, which is pretty rare for a 38 ft. cruiser.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

Of the manufactures you mentioned above I would go with Island Packet...

If I could have a good Hans (say, perhaps I won the Irish Sweepstakes) -- I would jump at the chance.

[Ramblingman]

From your list, I'll put my first vote as the IP as it has a better cabin layout from the few weeks I have spent on one.

That said, I lust after Cabo Rico's no idea why, they are almost as sexy as a LTYC boat. Probably from reading the two gypsies blog and their CR. Climbed aboard a few, very nice boats.

The others I have hull thumped and looked at but little time with any of them besides a daysail.

[zeehag]

if you consider hans christian, you may as well add formosa/ct/hardin, as they are all built in taiwan, and solid heavy cruisers. they sail similarly--and do excellent work in oceans. the ketch is a perfect short handing rig, also.


they also have the same problems --- made in taiwan is not necessarily a bad thing. and some formosas and mariners were made in yokohama....

when looking for a boat you will be cruising/living aboard,you NEED to have sailed many to know what you want and do not want in your home boat. have fun, as this is the best part of boat hunting. you cannot choose a boat from what others tell you, you NEED to find it yourself. is like finding a wife. good luck. sail everything. you may fall in love with a hunter or beneteau or a peterson or something else with a huge interior....or you may fall in love with a sweet double ender--there is no rhyme nor reason to our emotions, and those are important in picking out your boat.

[Liam Wald]

Boats that were built in Taiwan in the 70's and 80's were not known for quality.
Lots of issues with glass over poor quality ply in the decks and houses (the teak decks are even worse), low-mod stainless chainplates and fittings, slurry balast instead of lead or iron, the list goes on and on.
There is a reason that you can buy one of these old "pirate ship" type boats cheap.
Some of them are okay, some are really really bad. Get a really thorough survey.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

Boats that were built in Taiwan in the 70's and 80's were not known for quality.
Lots of issues with glass over poor quality ply in the decks and houses (the teak decks are even worse), low-mod stainless chainplates and fittings, slurry balast instead of lead or iron, the list goes on and on.
There is a reason that you can buy one of these old "pirate ship" type boats cheap.
Some of them are okay, some are really really bad. Get a really thorough survey.

yeah i know--it is hilarious how long that inferior stuff actually lasts--i am changing out perfectly good original work with newer stuff--the old work is tough and well done... funny how rumors fly around in boating and manufacture--mostly caused by the usa manufacturers and folks without knowledge of the marque--many bad mouths cannot make up for the actuality of a decent boat and good product which come out of taiwan. one boat does not make a marque. you do need to sail and own one of these before you slam em.
is truth that build quality was not uniform, and each of these unique boats is different from another.....

sad to hear more folks who have not owned these slam em to this day.....own one then have the right to slam it.....

rumors are merely rumors and the folks who repeat them are not intelligent enough to check it out for selves. lol....have a great day.

i will pit mine against any modern boat for construction and solidity any day.

enjoy your pink fog, me friend....sunglasses tend to make all rosy....keep enjoyng that haze.

as long as there are folks bad mouthing these perfectly good solid boats, there will be lowered prices and many available at reasonable rates...your loss, me friend.....

actually the ply was perfectly good phillipine mahogany. is just a tad softer than necessary and can rot with addition of water. not all teakies leak.....rodlmao.


seems there are as many folks who love these leaky teakies as the numbers who love clorox bottles on the water.....

[Liam Wald]

Originally Posted by zeehag

yeah i know--it is hilarious how long that inferior stuff actually lasts--i am changing out perfectly good original work with newer stuff--the old work is tough and well done... funny how rumors fly around in boating and manufacture--mostly caused by the usa manufacturers and folks without knowledge of the marque--many bad mouths cannot make up for the actuality of a decent boat and good product which come out of taiwan. one boat does not make a marque. you do need to sail and own one of these before you slam em.
is truth that build quality was not uniform, and each of these unique boats is different from another.....

sad to hear more folks who have not owned these slam em to this day.....own one then have the right to slam it.....

rumors are merely rumors and the folks who repeat them are not intelligent enough to check it out for selves. lol....have a great day.

i will pit mine against any modern boat for construction and solidity any day.

enjoy your pink fog, me friend....sunglasses tend to make all rosy....keep enjoyng that haze.

as long as there are folks bad mouthing these perfectly good solid boats, there will be lowered prices and many available at reasonable rates...your loss, me friend.....

actually the ply was perfectly good phillipine mahogany. is just a tad softer than necessary and can rot with addition of water. not all teakies leak.....rodlmao.


seems there are as many folks who love these leaky teakies as the numbers who love clorox bottles on the water.....

Yikes! Didn't mean to offend but obviously I hit a nerve.
I was simply expressing my opinion that with some boats it pays to get a more detailed and in depth survey than with others.
I would suggest that 30-40 year old Taiwan built "pirate ship" type boats would fall in that category.
There were dozens of boat builders in Asia during that time period with varying degrees of QA and QC. Everything from builders who were trying to build a reputation for quality to builders who were in it to make maximum short term profit.
I was a licensed Yacht Broker during that period so yes, I would agree that a good 20% of those boats were probably okay.
I will still suggest hiring a really good surveyor and pay a little extra to have them dig deep.

[Liam Wald]

Hey Z,
I am sure that the boat you have is a very good boat at this time. In may not be indicative of similar boats. I say this because unless you have owned it since new, it is hard to tell what the original owner went through and what they had to do, if anything, to make it a good boat.
You probably know as well as anyone what to look out for with these.
Sharing that knowledge is more useful than taking a defensive posture.
Accept my apology if you felt slighted.

[SV.Maverick]

I agree with Ramblingman I have always been in love with the Cabo Rico's although of the boats on your list I think I would pick the ISland Packets also.