Is the 28foot sloop, forty year old, big and safe enough for ofshore cruising

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by sneuman

i sailed a 28ft GRP, low-freeboard sloop straight through a full-on typhoon in the South China Sea and I'm typing this right now. What does that tell you?

Reports of your death were greatly exaggerated?

The Internet has connections to the Afterworld?

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by sneuman

i sailed a 28ft GRP, low-freeboard sloop straight through a full-on typhoon in the South China Sea and I'm typing this right now. What does that tell you?

That while the membership in the fraternity known as Those Who Walk on Water is vanishingly small, sneuman is in Good Company.

TaoJones

[nolatom]

Choose a seaworthy boat like those described above, and follow my dad's advice:

"A seaworthy boat is tougher than you are".

so if you can take it, the boat can, and you'll make it. Best of luck.

[Heron]

There are a lot of worthy 28 foot boats out there. Look at the Cape Dory 28, Ericson 28, Liberty 28 (beautiful boat), Sabre.

Another terrific little boat is the Bristol 29.9. LOTS of room for her size and good tankage. You need enough water on board for numerous days at a time. No less than 40 gallons and preferably 60.

You can find a good boat from 20 to 30K

HERON

[SkiprJohn]

Go small and go now is my advice. You don't need anything larger than a 36 and a 26 is ok if you can deal with not having much stuff.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[asteroscop]

Originally Posted by Heron

There are a lot of worthy 28 foot boats out there. Look at the Cape Dory 28, Ericson 28, Liberty 28 (beautiful boat), Sabre.

Another terrific little boat is the Bristol 29.9. LOTS of room for her size and good tankage. You need enough water on board for numerous days at a time. No less than 40 gallons and preferably 60.

You can find a good boat from 20 to 30K

HERON

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Any advice for Cobra 850 (designed by David Felthem, UK) ???

Brgds, KR

[asteroscop]

Originally Posted by venturing seagull

Hi ..... It seems that most agree that size is not as important as experience! I agree!

In the UK a 27 footer was for years considered to be the ideal size of cruising boat .... for a family. Down here in the Caribbean there are several boats of this size cruising quiet happily, although the families tend to go for the 36' + nowadays.

You will find sail handling sooooo much easier on a 27'er than a 36'. Of course it costs much less to look after too. I suggest that cost is proportional to Length squared ..... and so's the weight of the sails. You should also be able to handle the anchor by hand, even in 35 knots - I can do it on a 36 footer too, but not without a lot of grunting.

Be careful in your choice of design. There's a lot of boats only really capable of inshore and coastal service at that length (there's a fair few at 40' too that I wouldn't want to do a trans-Atlantic in either). I'm not that well informed on USA boats ..... but in the UK Nicholson's, She's and Contessa's would be my preference at this size ..... but some are getting a little long in the tooth now.

The problem with lighter boats is that they can get stopped by short choppy seas. They have to take a lot of punishment ... and so does the crew. Displacement is important for a comfortable ride.

Having said the above, I single-hand most of the time and a 50 footer wouldn't bother me too much ...... until I take her into a marina!

Good hunting!

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Will appreciate any comments if you are familiar with the Cobra 850 (designed by David Felthem, UK build )

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Brgds, KR

[Islandmike]

You night want to check Donna Lange's wed site, I believe she just finished a curcumnavagation in a 28 footer. She just fought one hell of a storm off of Bermuda at the finish, I think she would say a 28 footer is OK..

[venturing seagull]

Originally Posted by asteroscop

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Will appreciate any comments if you are familiar with the Cobra 850 (designed by David Felthem, UK build )

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Brgds, KR

Hi Asteroscop ....

I've probably seen a Cobra 850 around but can't recall anything specific. I looked them up on the Yachtworld site and there seems plenty for sale so I suspect they were very popular.

I don't think that they are of the same breed as the Contessa's at all. Whether they are okay for offshore sailing depends on a lot of things:

Stability
Form .... if it slams a lot with a full bow it may cause you problems working to windward .... if it is fine like the Contessa it will be wet, but it will drive through the waves.
Strength of Rig
Cockpit draining rate
Bilge Pumping Systems
How the exhaust is rigged up for the engine (you don't want water working its way back into the exhaust manifold)
Keel arrangement .... Bilge keelers tend to heel more and have more leeway ... but I'm assuming yours is a fin keel version
Structural Strength

Generally the biggest difference between an inshore boat and an offshore boat is it's ability to cope with rougher conditions because it's that much further from a safe haven. A category A boat .... i.e. Ocean is suppost to be able to take a storm ..... I don't think anyone will classify a boat to take a hurricane!

I suggest you talk to owners of the Cobra and other 28'er's and ask them what there experiences are. You should also talk to experienced surveyors, naval architects, and seasoned sailors in your area so that they can point out the good and bad points of any boats you have in mind.

Lastly do get a qualified experience surveyor to inspect the boat you choose AND tell him what you want to use it for. Make sure the surveyor is an experience offshore/ocean sailor too ..... some probably don't even sail!!

I'm afraid that's the best I can do.

Good luck

[venturing seagull]

Originally Posted by asteroscop

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Will appreciate any comments if you are familiar with the Cobra 850 (designed by David Felthem, UK build )

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Brgds, KR

Just another thought: Why don't you ask David Feltham. I don't know any contact details apart from this site that I haven't visited: The Cobra and Seawolf Owners Association, Home Page .... which is a new owners club, I believe