Opinions on ex-racing boat

[Azurefeeling]

Very tempting to buy this boat ( Ker 33 | Vicsail ), not for cruising but for some serious offshore passage. I really like the minimlistic interior and as you can see it already has some basic comfort and equipments. So how Hard is can be to convert it from current state to a proper cruising boat?

[roverhi]

Really depends on how spartan a life your willing to live. Definitely not a gourmet galley set up. Looks like you better be happy eating out of cans or freeze dried food. What's the storage situation for the inevitable detritus a cruiser accumulates. Would have to change the deck layout so you could handle most of the controls from the cockpit. Probably not a major problem but will take time and money to be able to single hand.

[Paul L]

Tankage will probably need to be supplemented. You'd need to figure out dinghy storage.
At least the passages would be short with this rocket ship.

[silversailor]

Galley?

[44'cruisingcat]

Would you be wanting to anchor at any time?

[Tillsbury]

That looks pretty good for the interior of a race boat. One thing that occurs to me is that there's very little in the way of comfortable perches to sit on outside, particularly for a long night watch with a cold wind or rain. But it wouldn't be impossible to add those, alongside modifying the controls. Does it have an autopilot at present? How much engine power do you have for a long motor against a big sea?

[svHyLyte]

Frankly, for one or two folks, I think it'd be a ripper! (Tho' your Ms., if any, may not agree!)

[Seighlor]

A few comments from one who has been there and done that, but with a larger boat.

Though resale may be somewhere in the future, you will find resale value to be greatly diminished from whatever bargain price you may pay today.

The spartan interior was not a problem for me. I rather liked it but most sailing was by myself. My wife did do one passage to the Azores and England with me. Note: "One".

The boat you are looking at appears to be very light and one that relies on crew weight for ballast. That, coupled with the tall rig, may be great for racing in coastal waters but not something I would recommend for serious cruising.

[Scaramanga F25]

I have done that with a Ron Holland One Tonner. Worked great. Canada to Bahamas. 6 foot 6 inch draft.
Little change on deck. Bow roller and good anchor and chain. Roller furler for cut down genoa.
Added a fridge below. It had a 2 burner alcohol stove.
New cushions and some paint.
I have had both all-out racing and renown cruisers. They both work for cruising.
The racers need little fuel as they SAIL!!

[prof_mariner]

Gorgeous boat, I wouldn't hesitate to do a transpac or cruise the coast in that boat. Only thing's I'd do is convert the jib to furling, add slab reefing and lazy jacks on the main. Maybe add lee cloths in the main cabin (if it doesn't already have it), a small pram hood over the companionway and a small radar mounted on a post off the transom. Whatever you do, don't add too much stuff (like monster sized dodgers and huge anchor off the bow). This boat was designed to be light and fast. If you're sailing with a small crew, throw in some reefs to the main, roll up the jib a bit, and sail her flat up wind.

I converted an Express 37 for cruising (80's vintage transpac design), kept things simple, and it was a joy to sail.

[Training Wheels]

Very nice, but for that price you could buy a Corsair or Farrier tri that would blow it away!

[alansmith]

Don’t forget to sleep since you entered the exotic dreams. She makes my pulse quicken too. Personally I think that 200k is. Lot of jing. Will u be solo or crewed? Tankage can be minimized with a water maker. Sewage tankage can be minimized with compost toilet. Netting and plastic crates can handle lots of gear.

Will need to make sail gear changes if solo or 2 up. What a joy to sail this boat. I can see why u r drooling.
It just takes money, time, and effort to change her over. Don’t do anything to her for several months till you really get to know her. Then slowly change her. Don’t ruin her by charging in and dumping tons of useless stuff to her. See how each small change effects her balance and speed.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Azurefeeling

Very tempting to buy this boat ( Ker 33 | Vicsail ), not for cruising but for some serious offshore passage. I really like the minimlistic interior and as you can see it already has some basic comfort and equipments. So how Hard is can be to convert it from current state to a proper cruising boat?

You are mixing up sailing with passage making and then again with cruising.


This boat has the potential of making an outstanding passage maker. Say some 200 mile day on most trade wind routes.



But she will not take a SS arch with dinghy davits to hoist that 500 pound rib with its 200 pound outboard.


Make up your mind if you want a boat that sails well or rather one that is a comfortable cruiser.


Or else step up to say 50' LOA, where you can get a bit of both worlds.



Cheers,
b.

[grantmc]

The boat is designed and built to race around short harbour courses. A very uncomfortable boat to sail, and technically challenging. It requires crew to balance and ballast. And for an occasional offshore race, a wonderful man against nature experience.

I’ve crewed a boat of an almost exact design copy; an Elliot 10.5 mtr between Fiji and New Zealand. Try a google search of Elliot 10.5 and you’ll see how similar they are; Ker has even copied Greg Elliot’s trade mark windows.

The owner had warned us that she was a ‘wet’ boat. But we didn’t really appreciate what that meant. But in reality, because of the huge open cockpit, without any protection from wave splash it’s like someone pouring a bucket of water over you every few minutes. And it gets very cold too, because there is no protection from the wind either. Even in the tropics, once the sun goes down you get very cold and wet. Exposure is always something to watch out for.

Because it is so wet on deck trying to dry gear is impossible, so water gets carried inside the boat with all the wet gear and crew. There’s intermittent rivers of water on the cockpit floor because of the waves. So everything in the cockpit is soaking. Keeping ropes tidy is more difficult when they’re sodden. And there’s a significant quantity of rope on racing boats.

And the flat bottom and light weight causes the boat to pound heavily in the waves, incredible noise and violent motion as you sail in even a moderate sea state. I’d describe it as bash and crash and so very difficult to sleep. Especially as within a few days sleeping bags are sodden from the wet gear splashing water all over everything in the saloon.

The open cockpit presents more issues. Obviously the odd thing slides off the back through the huge open transom and you never feel safe that you wont wash out overboard too. On a heal there’s a propensity to slide down the deck as there’s little in the way of foot holds. Nor is there seating as on a conventional yacht, nothing to lean on either, so you sit on the floor or the topsides and get even wetter. Watches are very tiring, and cold, especially at night.

We also spent a couple of days in a significant storm. No option on a boat like that but to turn with the wind and sail under bare poles. They just can’t lie a-hull or heave to. Under bare pole she’ll still maintain 7 knots and I can absolutely confirm that helming at 7 knots in a black night with 5-6 metre waves is one of the most exciting and terrifying things I’ve ever done. It’s a racing boat, and it just wants to fly.

OP if you have questions I’m happy to exchange PMs.
And I’d end by saying huge fun, learnt much, and very glad I did the trip.

[Suijin]

I second every word of what Grant said and add a few more. First, if this has carbon fiber in the hull you’ll be shocked at how much of a beating your body takes. Your knees, your butt, your back. It’s so stiff and unforgiving it will beat you up.

Second these boats require crew to run well...I’m sure that Ker needs 6 and 8 probably would not hurt.

The interior looks lovely and all but really they’ve probably just added a paper thin liner. The boat is 90% race and 10% long passage. Ask anyone who’s done a long race/passage and they will tell you speed comes with a price.