New to sailing.Live aboard advice? :)

[Sandero]

Good point SailorChic about furling and reefing. Roller furling head sails are pretty much standard these days and head sails can be reefed and also rolled in without leaving the cockpit. Roller furling is a single hander's friend for sure. A large main that is common to fractional rigs can be difficult to handle to reef. The Dutchman system really helps not only for dousing and flaking the main but for reefing. A roller furler was one of my first upgrades. The idea of changing a hank on sail in a blow single handed seems nuts... especially when one could have a furling system.

For small boats high freeboard issues for boarding is not much of an issue. They are drier at sea where it counts!

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Sandero

For small boats high freeboard issues for boarding is not much of an issue. They are drier at sea where it counts!

True, but I was thinking along the line of a 5-2 to 5-6 female docking single handed. It's easier with a lower freeboard. The goodlanders old windcard was low freeboard, and it did well enough twice around.

[Scout 30]

The Nonsuch has a pretty simple reefing system, kind of similar to lazy jacks. One good thing about stayless rigs is it gets you to concentrate on foil shape. I think for blue water cruising you'd need to be able to raise a storm sail but someone must have figured out a system for that by now. The cockpit might be a little large for offshore work but it sure would be comfortable at anchor which is where cruisers spend most of their time. I'm also not a fan of saildrives but a lot of people on this forum have them & love them. One thing about these boats that cannot be understated is that they have much larger interiors for their length than most sailboats, even bigger than the older Island Packets. I think for a first boat you'd do well with a Nonsuch. However, I caution against buying more than you need. A 30' Nonsuch is a big boat. For your first boat I would not go bigger than that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgoJWgDnDe8

[Ribbit]

Do Nonsuch still use balsa coring for their hulls?

If so I'd personally be very wary after coming across this:

1978 Nonsuch 30 Sail New and Used Boats for Sale - www.yachtworld.co.uk

I must admit I am not a fan of foam cored hulls either (a fair few are failing over here, as the outer hull compresses the foam and creates voids).

Not a cheap repair I would imagine.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

Do Nonsuch still use balsa coring for their hulls?

If so I'd personally be very wary after coming across this:

1978 Nonsuch 30 Sail New and Used Boats for Sale - www.yachtworld.co.uk

I must admit I am not a fan of foam cored hulls either (a fair few are failing over here, as the outer hull compresses the foam and creates voids).

Not a cheap repair I would imagine.

This is a good point & something to be concerned about. Nonsuch went out of business about 20 years ago but I believe the hulls & decks were both balsa cored. Anyone who's owned a boat knows core saturation can be a huge problem. They also have bolt on keels which I'm not a fan of. For anyone thinking about buy one of these, or any boat for that matter, a good survey is crucial.

[EmilyClar]

You are very brave! Right now I am interested in sailing only theoretically but I admire your will to do something more. Wish you luck!

[chuckr]

Niki -- for those who say Jeanneaus are not bluewater - well maybe this gives a bit of light on the subject - Sydney Hobart race - 108 entries - really bad weather 31 retired - Jeanneanu came in 1st in the cruising class and sailed through the bad weather --

Congratulations to the crew of Shuguang Haiyang a Jeanneau 42i on their victory

Shuguang Haiyang - Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2015

[nematon785]

Get a great boat you like and enjoy the heck out of it. come Hawaii passage time, hire a experienced licensed skipper for the route. Then you can enjoy the trip, and have somebody else on watch all night. A good skipper will know what prep your boat needs to go offshore if you missed something. Think of it as an offshore passage making class and the skipper is the teacher. And when you get home, you and your parents knowledge base has jumped up tremendously, and you are rested from a vacation and once in a lifetime learning experience rather than a brutal slog with no sleep and massive responsibility.

I have no offshore experience (except for commercial powered), and no boat. so take my opinion for what it's worth. (very little)

I live in Oxnard. if you decide you want some crew, PM me.