Go small and go now?

[Mike OReilly]

I always say, go with the smallest boat that you can live with, not the biggest boat you can afford. By this I mean, get the smallest boat that will do what you want it to do -- and do it well.

... basically, what Ann just said .

But you do have to have enough experience to know what you want and need in a boat. I progressed through three boats before finally figuring out all I want and need, resulting in my current boat. And even here, if I were to buy another one, I would look for something slightly different.

I only know the Nicholson 32 by reputation, which is that it is a good, solid, simple sea boat. I suspect it would be all one needs for a solo sailor. Personally, I would want something a bit bigger if we're talking a couple, but that is my needs (and it's why we have a 37-footer, and not something smaller).

If I were a solo guy I'd look at something in the 28 to 32 foot range.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

thom225 I believe the Pardey's were a couple of Hobbits as well, so that makes Taleisin a ship to them!

Originally Posted by thomm225

The point is their Talesin displaced as much as some 40'er's so to call it small is not exactly correct.
A 40' Bristol for example is one hell of a good offshore boat, and it's displacement is 17,580.00 lb. with LWL of 27.54.
The 29' 6" Talesin displaced 17,800 lbs. and had a 27'6" waterline.

Yes, Hobbits.
I was aboard the "Seraffyn", (24',) when it was for sale, and even though it was heavy with a deep hull there was no way anybody over about 5'8" or so would be able to tolerate the interior/bunks.
Now the "Taleisin", at its size/displacement felt like a little ship, about like a BCC-28 scaled-up a bit.
A popular hot rodders saying; "there's no replacement for displacement."

[Jim Cate]

A popular hot rodders saying; "there's no replacement for displacement."

True, but also remember the popular hot rod credo: "If a little is good, then more is better and too much is just perfect." They were referring to the amount of nitromethane in the fuel, but it applies to lots of sailing situations as well.

Jim

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Whether you go now, or in a few years, my suggestion is set a hard date. A date that no matter what, that is the date you leave (weather delays excepting).

Committing to a hard departure date is good advice. It's the primary reason we joined the Baja Ha Ha with a commitment date of Oct 30 2023. We were not ready to go - watermaker problems and charging system problems. Electronics had not been fully calibrated including a wonky depth sounder. We had some canvas projects we wanted to compete for the hot weather to come. Freezer didn't freeze consistently. Pretty long list of stuff that could have easily kept us in port.

We went anyway and fixed stuff along the way. Charging system was really a PITA and took a month and a half to get resolved. But we got it in good shape.

Just go. Get the best boat you can afford - there's a lot to be said for smaller boats though the extra waterline of a 45-footer to bridge ubiquitous 3-foor chop is sure nice. We are just more conservative with weather.

We will cross from Huatulco to Puerto Madero (Tehuantepec) tomorrow. We've gone about 2300 nms in the last 5 months on our 36 foot trawler and having a blast.

Don't over think it.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Whether you go now, or in a few years, my suggestion is set a hard date. A date that no matter what, that is the date you leave (weather delays excepting).

We joined the Baja Ha Ha with a commitment date of Oct 30 2023. We were not ready to go - watermaker problems and charging system problems. Electronics had not been fully calibrated including a wonky depth sounder. We had some canvas projects we wanted to compete for the hot weather to come. Freezer didn't freeze consistently. Pretty long list of stuff that that could have easily kept us in port.

We went anyway and fixed stuff along the way. Charging system was really a PITA and took a month and a half to get resolved. But we got it in good shape.

Just go. Get the beer boat you can afford - there's a lot to be said for smaller boats though the extra waterline of a 45-footer to bridge ubiquitous 3-foor chop is sure nice. We are just more conservative with weather.

We will cross from Huatulco to Puerto Madero (Tehuantepec) tomorrow. We've gone about 2300 nms in the last 5 months on our 36 foot trawler and having a blast. We've taken pangas up rivers and spent over a week in Oaxaca city taking cooking classes. And we've met so many people.

Don't over think it. It's not about the boat. It's about the travel and the adventure. Boat is just a magic carpet.

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

We joined the Baja Ha Ha with a commitment date of Oct 30 2023. We were not ready to go - watermaker problems and charging system problems. Electronics had not been fully calibrated including a wonky depth sounder. We had some canvas projects we wanted to compete for the hot weather to come. Freezer didn't freeze consistently. Pretty long list of stuff that that could have easily kept us in port.

We went anyway and fixed stuff along the way. Charging system was really a PITA and took a month and a half to get resolved. But we got it in good shape.

Just go. Get the beer boat you can afford - there's a lot to be said for smaller boats though the extra waterline of a 45-footer to bridge ubiquitous 3-foor chop is sure nice. We are just more conservative with weather.

We will cross from Huatulco to Puerto Madero (Tehuantepec) tomorrow. We've gone about 2300 nms in the last 5 months on our 36 foot trawler and having a blast. We've taken pangas up rivers and spent over a week in Oaxaca city taking cooking classes. And we've met so many people.

Don't over think it. It's not about the boat. It's about the travel and the adventure. Boat is just a magic carpet.

Right on! For me it was the Pacific Cup in 2018. I should have done the Ha Ha but found comfort in the seminars and that an inspector told me my boat was safe. I also spent a small fortune on safety equipment and upgrades few cruisers probably do to meet the requirements.

I finished my circumnavigation in 2022 and saw some Mexico for the finish, but upwind and not so easy. I have just about have enough in the kitty to do the Ha Ha this year, or next. I haven't decided yet.

While you are in Puerto Madero rent a car for at least a week, and drive to San Cristobal (a well preserved and beautiful colonial Spanish town ) and Palenque (a large and very accessible Mayan Site). And of course visit some less touristy Mayan Sites, in some places you can climb the stairs to a huge pyramid and be the only tourist there(with a few locals that hang out).

The drive itself is a huge adventure and quite an experience regardless of the destination.

[barcoMeCasa]

What pleasantly positive replies

And after nearly 20 years living onboard certainly agree - go now! Only so many heartbeats between birth & death, use them wisely...

The world is full of almost cruisers saying "just a few more things to do then we're off...." each year it gets harder.

IMHO worth sorting first would be a solid anchoring system & load of solar & LiFePo4 batteries. You'll kill any lead acid onboard pretty quickly anyway. Maybe coppercoat on the hull.
So much can be done on the move, a cruising boat is a verb not a noun, a cruising boat isn't something you *have* , a cruising boat is something you *do*

Well worth a few dollars >>
https://www.amazon.com/Buy-Outfit-Sa...s=books&sr=1-8

Hard not to plan but things will completely change in an instant so planning might be more usefully seen as guessing how the future might unfold istead of fooling yourself you have some sort of solid control over the future, that way you are less likely to try to stick to any plans when it becomes obvious they don't make sense.
A while ago now but I was anchored on the Cape Verdes getting ready to cross to the Caribbean and a couple of boats came in.. "We're off to Brasil tomorrow, wanna come?"
"Yeah, alright". What a great adventure that turned out to be.

Plenty out there to see

https://www.noforeignland.com/

[bergius]

Originally Posted by barcoMeCasa

The world is full of almost cruisers saying "just a few more things to do then we're off...." each year it gets harder.

Very true. We know a few sad cases of, when the "everything was ready", the health wasn't there any longer.

But just to say that the refitting vs. cruising thing doesn't necessarily need to be a binary choice. What's worked for us the past three years has been refitting in winter, and then doing a six month summer cruise. You get to try all the new goodies, and get new ideas for things you might want to do while out there. And of course it's a lot of fun!

In our current cruising grounds (Baltic Sea), winter cruising would be difficult anyway. Days are so short that solar doesn't do almost anything, and there can be sea ice to contend with. So better to be tied to a dock doing projects (and go occasionally winter sailing).

Days are again getting longer, and that means this "project season" is almost over. Just couple of major things left to be done...

As for boat size, we also went with a 31ft-ish boat and are totally happy. It is funny how boats, houses, cars, people keep getting bigger. The Swedish magazine review of our boat model back in early 80s titled this "the dream boat for crossing the Atlantic". Now I think most people would consider this too small even for coastal cruising! Better a well-outfitted and maintained small boat than a large boat that you can't afford to equip, I think.

[OldManMirage]

32 feet is not small to me either. I have an Endeavour 32 and I really would not want to have anything larger. This is all the boat I want to work on. It's all the bottom I want to scrape, all the deck I want to scrub, all the sails I want to handle, all the anchor I want to pull. And finally its all the boat I can afford ! Lol

Someone said you will spend the cost of the boat on getting it ready and I can attest to that. I paid $13,500 for mine and I'm sure I'll have spent that much on getting her ready by the time I go.

Now that includes things like buying a dinghy and motor, building a small watermaker, upgrading to a CPT autopilot and 100 other small things like pots and pans and tupperware and silverware I like, courtesy and Q flags and ensigns, even articles of clothing and bug spray.

It doesn't include provisioning yet but that will come at the end of the year if all goes according to plan !

Anyway, I say all that to say this - YES - Go small go now.

But I still don't think 32 is small !!

[lifeofreilly57]

If the boat you picked is right for you, then by all means go.
Make sure she's well found and the rigging is stout.
In the 80's the average cruising boat was around 30', and most cruisers did well.
Water tankage is expandable for a reasonable price if your handy.
I've gone through the progression from small to relatively large, and now I'm going back down in size. The size progression was due to family (two sons) and the queen, who needed a bit more space, it suited us well, but now that we're back to being dirt dwellers it's more than we need. We'll be selling it for a more modest boat with less systems and less maintenance.
In my 40's I bought a yard auction Westsail 32, I considered sailing away on that boat since it was in excellent condition, but had to flip it to pay for my daughters education after going through a divorce.
If your unencumbered and have the opportunity, do it now, while your healthy and have fewer responsibilities. During our cruising years we met a number of younger families and individuals who decided to go, and none regretted it. Yes, they eventually had to go back to land life but had the benefit of cruising for years while young and healthy, with no regrets.
Simple boats have simple needs, but having enough water requires more creativity and planning on the captains part. The advent of cheaper solar and lithium batteries has also made power needs much more affordable and has made adequate power needs much more attainable, no more having to run the motor to charge the batteries. After adding solar and lithium to our boat the generator sat unused so long that I has to wire brush the rust off the pulleys after it shredded a belt.
Rigging, systems, solar, and lithium batteries will make life so much easier.
Good Luck, keep us updated on your progress.
Cheers

[MicHughV]

" experience" is only gained by doing it, not reading Cf threads.

The minute you untie your dock lines, the " experience" clock starts running.

There is no telling what tomorrow or the day after will bring, but one thing is for sure, your plans are likely to change as the wind, and it will be up to you whether you choose the buck the winds or let it blow you where it wants.

Weather will change, destinations will change, things will break, go wrong, etc. These things are all lumped under " experience".

Whether you have $100 in the bank or $10,000 matters little when you are offshore, but your ability to cope, ie, "experience" will be priceless. Not somebody else's "experience", but your own !

[Kettlewell]

The advent of cheaper solar and lithium batteries has also made power needs much more affordable and has made adequate power needs much more attainable, no more having to run the motor to charge the batteries.

OTOH with LED lighting and smartphone navigation apps there is no reason many small boaters can't reduce electrical power needs dramatically. Plus, there are some small, portable fridges that are quite energy efficient. One of the big negatives I see with many cruising boats today is the vast array of solar panels adding to windage, docking issues, cost, and complication. On a 32-footer you will have limited space for such stuff, and I don't consider large solar arrays mounted on rollbars aft as a seaworthy option. You won't know until you've been offshore in big seas and winds, but those solar landing platforms can be a big hazard. Back in the day many of us in small 30 footers cruised with no more electricity than two big car batteries and a small alternator on the engine. I was an early adopter of a few small solar panels that meant I could go nearly indefinitely without running the engine if I wanted to, but we didn't have refrigeration. The fridge on our boat broke last year so we spent the summer in New England without, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to bring ice back to the boat. But, you can't do that everywhere. Just pointing out that refrigeration isn't a necessity, and it is the big power hog on most boats. You don't have to sail a power plant around!

[Happ]

I recommend you pickup the sailing books by James Baldwin. He circumnavigated single handed in his Pearson 29. It can be done.

James went offshore again in the same boat 2 years after completing the first time around the world. This circumnavigation took 15 years. A lot of it single handed.


It can be done! Don’t wait. If you do something will always come up.

[Americanrancher]

Originally Posted by Happ

I recommend you pickup the sailing books by James Baldwin. He circumnavigated single handed in his Pearson 29. It can be done.

James went offshore again in the same boat 2 years after completing the first time around the world. This circumnavigation took 15 years. A lot of it single handed.


It can be done! Don’t wait. If you do something will always come up.

James was mentioned in the second response to the question.

[boatman61]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ycbNQV...QgYm9hdA%3D%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_ujqGiOTU

Go small... Go now..