Comfortable Bluewater Cruiser

[safariKY]

New to forum and this is a loaded question....but first a little background:I am the wife of a sailor who could sail in any boat in any conditions and be happy. Me not so much. First, I have to take Meclazine every day. Its an inner ear thing and I learned to live with it but get seasick easily without it. Comfort is important to me. We charter every year with Moorings and those are not the most comfortable monohulls but will do for a week or so. We owned a Catalina 30 for fresh water which was fine, because it was fresh water. I am looking for a comfortable, relatively fast 40-44 ft. 1984 - 2003 in the $150,000-$200,000 range. Comfort is the #1 priority. Interested in the responses.

[zboss]

My Cabo Rico is 38 but it has smoooooooth motion. We had 6 foot cresting waves a few days ago, freezing rain, etc... and I went down to use the head, which is toward the bow, and could barely tell the boat was bouncing. It just doesn't jar.

BTW - downwind we were doing 8.5 knots. We got some push from the current.

You can find larger cabo's and I assume they would have similar characteristics.

[boatman61]

BVI Yacht Sales Ltd. (Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands)&

BVI Yacht Sales Ltd. (Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands)&

BVI Yacht Sales Ltd. (Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands)&

Welcome to CF..
My favourite is the Mason

[SV THIRD DAY]

Dear Santa.

All I want for Christmas is not another "Blue Water Boat' debate on Cruisers Forum.

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by safariKY

New to forum and this is a loaded question....but first a little background:I am the wife of a sailor who could sail in any boat in any conditions and be happy. Me not so much. First, I have to take Meclazine every day. Its an inner ear thing and I learned to live with it but get seasick easily without it. Comfort is important to me. We charter every year with Moorings and those are not the most comfortable monohulls but will do for a week or so. We owned a Catalina 30 for fresh water which was fine, because it was fresh water. I am looking for a comfortable, relatively fast 40-44 ft. 1984 - 2003 in the $150,000-$200,000 range. Comfort is the #1 priority. Interested in the responses.

I am doubtful if anyone can give you a right answer. There are so many variable and comfort is so subjective. I would suggest that you sail as many boats as you can and make your own decision.

If you don't think a chartered boat is comfortable for you. Look for a heavier boat, but it still can't guarantee comfort pending on who on the helm and sea state.

As 3rd Day hinted, this question has been asked so many thousand times. Yet, no one has a right answer. But I have faith that you will find the one you like.

[gjordan]

On your next charter try a multihull. I am not a fan of multihulls, but many people say that the different motion either makes them sick, or doesnt make them sick. Different people react to motion in different manners. I personally find that I dont get any motion sickness if I have been sailing often, but if I have been in port a few months, I fell rough for the first 24 hours or so. If you find that on your previous charters you are doing better by the end of the week, it may just be a matter of getting used to it. On a different note, the boats that boatman listed in Nanny key ,I think (personal opinion) that the Mason is a much better boat. Just my 2 cents worth. _____Grant.

[eyschulman]

A comfortable blue water cruiser for a tag a-long not fully committed partner who gets sea sick is an oxymoron. Does he love you enough to give up blue water cruising for flat water boating(uncomfortable enough for some)? While I get sea sick in my older years I love boating too much to stop. I have in my distant past experienced 60 ft waves and a north Atlantic hurricane. I very much prefer to avoid big waves. I day sail regularly in relatively flat water and my wife who is a horse person definitely not boat person will go cruising with me for six weeks in the summer in as flat water as we can find. This is our compromise. If I were dead bent on long distance open water cruising our 52+ year marriage would not have survived. My advise find a good compromise or split.

[CapRon]

Schumann is right. It's a compromise. We have a production boat and my cocaptain picked it out. I follow a rule that gentlemen never sail to weather. When we are sailing together, I try to keep the ride as smooth as possible. In return, she goes sailing with me. She originally wanted a cat but they were out of our price range. I wanted an Island Packet 38. We compromised and she picked the boat with options. She likes the way it rides and is pleased with its comfort and storage. We plan on a Caribbean tour next year. Possibly the Panama Canal. Good luck in your search. BTW we have only been married 40 years :-)

[Kenomac]

On most passage making days, I require a meclazine tab or two to prevent seasickness. I know of many full time cruisers who do the same especially on the first days out. Its not the boat that's the problem or the cure... You won't find the perfect boat. You'll need to decide if cruising and getting past the seasickness is what you really want to do. For me, the few times I suffer each year for a day or two is a fair exchange for living in paradise for four to five months. Others, hate that feeling enough to quit.

[safariKY]

Thank you all for your replies. Meclazine is a miracle drug and I have no intention of giving up sailing. Maybe women look at sailing a bit differently. I just think it is important to know oneself and be true to oneself. I don't want to pursue adventure and be misreable in storms or giant seas. I don't like the motion of cats in rough water. I felt like I was on a giant beach all bouncing up and down. The other requirement I forgot to mention is safety for the grandkids, which will be sailing with us from time to time. I know we have a lot of due diligence to do. All I know at this point is what we won't be buying. My husband has always love the Cabo Rico, I have fallen for the lines in the Tartans early 2000 models. Thanks again for the responses.

[WebWench]

We did several charters before we bought our cruising boat. It helped us to decide on the best boat for us.
We settled on an Island packet 40 and are very happy with our choice.
You can charter Island packets on the Chesapeake and in the BVI's

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by safariKY

Maybe women look at sailing a bit differently. I just think it is important to know oneself and be true to oneself. I don't want to pursue adventure and be misreable in storms or giant seas.

Women mostly only look at it different on forums because guys think it is somehow tough to say they LIKE the rough uncomfortable conditions.

I like to be comfortable as much as my wife (maybe more as I normally decide to reef before she says anything). The best way to stay comfortable during a storm or giant seas is ....................... don't plan to be out in those conditions. The biggest danger to a sailor from a storm is made waaaay before the storm hits when they decided to go out into it. If you do a search there are threads here that shown that much more time is spend in light wind and calm conditions that the conditions that people spend so much of their time worrying about.

In the end get a boat that you will be comfortable enough on for the 99% of the time your will be on the boat (that's 80% in a harbor, 15% in "normal" sea conditions, 4% in kind of rough conditions). Stop worrying so much about the 1% or less time that you mostly can plan around to avoid.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, safariKY.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by gjordan

On your next charter try a multihull. I am not a fan of multihulls, but many people say that the different motion either makes them sick, or doesnt make them sick. Different people react to motion in different manners. I personally find that I dont get any motion sickness if I have been sailing often, but if I have been in port a few months, I fell rough for the first 24 hours or so. If you find that on your previous charters you are doing better by the end of the week, it may just be a matter of getting used to it. On a different note, the boats that boatman listed in Nanny key ,I think (personal opinion) that the Mason is a much better boat. Just my 2 cents worth. _____Grant.

That's really good advice.

I'm a mono person myself, but then I like to ride bucking horses, motorcycles, and snowmobiles. A multihull might be the very answer to your prayers.

[ctl411]

Safari, your "comfort" seems to be like my wife and kids. They don't like the quick motion of lighter flat bottom boats. I suggests you look at the "comfort rating" of boats you look at. Some will say these numbers don't make a difference. They do to our family, especially in steep chop. The Mason and boats like it that Boatman pointed out might be a good fit.