Devil of a time trying to figure out what kind of boat to get

[Sirocco]

The J 46 is a design that seems to fit your criteria. Yes it is a bit bigger than your 42’ limit but the speed and stability of this design is hard to beat in my opinion.

Electric winches and a mainsail furling boom like Forespars Leisure Furl are rigging items that make the boat much easier given that it is a pretty big boat. Even though the J 46 is pretty maneuverable, a bow thruster in tight docking situations would be desirable.

Possibly only 50 or so were made. Every so often one come up for sale in the 250-300k range.

[SV THIRD DAY]

From a 30ft to a 46ft.
Amigo, this is how it goes.
The Secrete of finding the Right Boat is to already HAVE a Boat.

That may sound counter intuitive, but until you have a boat you don't really have the ability to learn about what boat you like and want.

[rossdv8]

When I was young, I learned that if a horse 'looked right' when you climbed aboiard, it 'felt and moved right', you would probably enjoy riding.


Around ten years of age I started sailing, but it was not until I was around 20 that I learned the same applied to yachts (cat AND Mono).


Some years and quite a few hours later I learned that aeroplanes and motor vehicles work the same way.


The first 'reasonably large' yacht I bought was a 26 foot Seaway 25 designed by Doug Peterson. I wrote about that in the reply last week. Although it was a retired racing yacht, the QT class in the 70s had a ridiculously large volume inside that fat hull shape and a beautiful movement through the water regardless of weather.


When that yacht was killed by a cyclone, I was looking around for a replacement a month later ans saw something I 'just liked' about the lines of a yacht tied up in the mangroves., and bought her.


Turned out it was designed by the same architect.


Catalinas seem to be popular for a good reason.

Obviously there are others designs that people people swear by, but having a 'good' and 'popular' design that is available on your local market at a decent price, and a whole mob of owners and past owners you can call on for advice about maintenance and mods, is worth its weight in gold.


Another nice thing if you are lucky enough to find a boat you enjoy, is that if you ever decide you want to go bigger or smaller, you have a starting point if the hull was designed by the same architect.


Something that might be a useful idea though, is to ask around (perhaps on this forum) and see if you have any friends with the type of yacht you think you might like. They just might be willing to invite you aboard for a trip or two if you have the ability to drive or fly for a visit.


Just a couple of thoughts :-)

[Sirocco]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

The J 46 is a design that seems to fit your criteria. Yes it is a bit bigger than your 42’ limit but the speed and stability of this design is hard to beat in my opinion.

Electric winches and a mainsail furling boom like Forespars Leisure Furl are rigging items that make the boat much easier given that it is a pretty big boat. Even though the J 46 is pretty maneuverable, a bow thruster in tight docking situations would be desirable.

Possibly only 50 or so were made. Every so often one come up for sale in the 250-300k range.

I have had three J Boats among the 16 boats that I have owned. I loved them all. But what differentiates the J boats from many others is the sailing performance and the feedback that you get from the helm. A fairly modern J is the 109, about 35’. I had a 2004 before going up to a 130, 43’.

[Dave9111]

If you are going to sail this boat, you need to determine how many people will be on it.

If you want to take it out yourself, I would go for 36 ft and smaller.

Most people don't take out 40+ ft boats by themselves. They can be a handful to dock, handle the sails etc. Especially when the wind picks up and the weather turns bad.

Unless your wife loves sailing, plan on sailing solo a lot.

Dave

[OneBoatman]

Such a problem to have a half a million dollars to spend on cruising sailboat and not to have a particular style or model of in mind. There is so much information online about the various boats that will meet your needs. You sound like most sailors mostly a weekend boater that will sail within a 100 miles of your home port but of course you like comfort and style at the dock and need to know that your boat is considered "ocean capable". Many boats can be sailed offshore safely if properly equipped and in the hands of an experienced sailor. You have to be great student of weather and have time at hand or travel with other boaters that have experience and assist one another. I would start by going to couple boat shows. On the East Coast maybe Annapolis which is over for this year. Miami is great one or if you are in Europe I've heard the Hamburg boatshow is exceptional, it is in May. Much depends if want one the newer beamy sled or a more classic design. Something like Caliper35 LRC or maybe a slightly used 40LRC. Prices are way up since the advent of these SARS viruses, but 500K should get you a very nice boat.

[dadster3]

Most seem to roll their eyes when I say this, but you should buy the boat you fall in love with. If you don't love it, you won't take care of it.

[Setbud]

My first thought on reading your thread was “This guy needs a Catalina 42. Probably the newest MK 2 he can find”
If that’s not new enough for you, the 355 is a wonderful boat. So is the 34 and 36. And the newer 34’s might be my favorite design.
What Stu and others said about support and parts availability is so true. But maybe you don’t care because you don’t plan on working on the boat yourself. Then it’s your mechanic’s headache. (And your wallet too if the only parts are in Europe or have to be custom made. )
One thing I have noticed is that the newer Catalinas seem to be a bit more tender than the older Catalinas. Perhaps it is the weight above with the in-mast furling, perhaps the hull shape.
I own a 30’, my second one, since it is very easy to single hand in my 70’s. And I think it will be in my 80’s as well.
I sail often and have cruised on a Catalina 445. Very nice boat. But I like the 34 and the 42 better.
Also, as mentioned, if you figure out you really want something else, the Catalina will be easy to sell.
Good luck. Let us know what you buy!

[Baby tug]

Originally Posted by Idolatry

Apologies for the rambling nature of this, many thanks if you can make it even partway through.

I posted a thread on here before asking about 30' sailboats, and since have seen many boats, sailed many boats... Am now expanding to look at larger boats - up to ~42' - and I just don't really know what I'm looking for. I'd appreciate some advice if you have it.

Basically my use case doesn't match up well to 'cruisers' - I don't intend to spend many nights aboard the boat. But I want the boat to be comfortable for ocean sailing, maybe the occasional excursion with an overnight on the boat.

I'd like to have 'fun' performance, but of course I also want the boat to be somewhat 'comfortable' in moderate sea states.

I feel like this kind of points me into the cruising boats, as the more 'race oriented' boats will be miserable outside of calm seas, right? ie the extra weight that all of the cruising accouterment brings along, even if I'm not using it, will make the boat more comfortable by virtue of adding more weight?

And before you say Pogo - I already emailed them, and there is a 3.5yr wait.

I kind of want to get something made in the last few years, just because I'm fancy like that. I like the larger, more open cockpits of recent boats. I want a boom that is well above head height.

So it's like... what should I be doing here? Say I have a budget of $500k but spending less is always nice.

Cockpit style: important
Comfort in seas: very important
Interior comfort: near zero importance
Sailing performance: yes!

I feel a bit like... the cruising boats are RV's, but I'm looking for an RV sized big rig with a nice bathroom and a couch.

Do yourself a favor buy a single engine trawler “Sacrilege” The main purpose of owning a sailboat is long distance travel Crossing oceans !!!!!!!!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Idolatry

Apologies for the rambling nature of this, many thanks if you can make it even partway through.

I posted a thread on here before asking about 30' sailboats, and since have seen many boats, sailed many boats... Am now expanding to look at larger boats - up to ~42' - and I just don't really know what I'm looking for. I'd appreciate some advice if you have it.

Basically my use case doesn't match up well to 'cruisers' - I don't intend to spend many nights aboard the boat. But I want the boat to be comfortable for ocean sailing, maybe the occasional excursion with an overnight on the boat.

I'd like to have 'fun' performance, but of course I also want the boat to be somewhat 'comfortable' in moderate sea states.

I feel like this kind of points me into the cruising boats, as the more 'race oriented' boats will be miserable outside of calm seas, right? ie the extra weight that all of the cruising accouterment brings along, even if I'm not using it, will make the boat more comfortable by virtue of adding more weight?

And before you say Pogo - I already emailed them, and there is a 3.5yr wait.

I kind of want to get something made in the last few years, just because I'm fancy like that. I like the larger, more open cockpits of recent boats. I want a boom that is well above head height.

So it's like... what should I be doing here? Say I have a budget of $500k but spending less is always nice.

Cockpit style: important
Comfort in seas: very important
Interior comfort: near zero importance
Sailing performance: yes!

I feel a bit like... the cruising boats are RV's, but I'm looking for an RV sized big rig with a nice bathroom and a couch.

I think the weight of the cruiser doesn't necessarily make it more comfortable at all. Wallowing in a heavy chop of just the wrong period can be the pits. Most of the boats I have experienced that in are old school shapes and weight.

A stiff lightweight racing boat will sit high and light on the wave tops instead. It can be a bit more of a jerky motion though, but not as much so as a catamaran which are popular now regardless.

There are plenty of more modern, or even older type cruiser racers that are well built, fast , but have good accomodations too. I WOULD however focus on a boat that will track reasonably at sea. A boat with a very busy helm can be tiring.

So maybe a long fin keel rather than a short racing style. Now it's getting more difficult to find the right boat though. Spend the money on the best autopilot available or compromise with an older Hylas or etc type of boat with the longer fin?

https://www.hylasyachts.com/sailing-yachts/h46/

[Idolatry]

I really liked and appreciated all of the advice given here. All of it was helpful. And I really do mean that! Since my original post I’ve viewed a great many boats of all shapes and sizes. I think that for me, a Catalina 315 would be the ideal sailboat. But a lot of it is just personal preference haha.

In the end I bought… an Axopar 28 Cabin lol.

I agree with a lot of the sentiment expressed here that getting something older and used and daysailing around is the best way to do it, for my purposes and my situation. Spending a lot of money on a bit new sailboat without using it to the full potential would have been a waste.

[Baby tug]

Good choice I like one myself but I’ll stick with my Slow trawler