please help me choose a boat ~36-39

[Moonos]

Hi All,

I'm looking for my first boat. I just recently completed a fast track to bareboat course on a Beneteau 343 which was my first real sailing experience, however i have spent many years on a power boat.

I want to do some cruising, perhaps 8 weeks per year around asia for a few years, then upgrade to a bigger boat and go further.

My thoughts for a boat are:
under US$120k
up to 39 foot mono
less than ten years old in good condition

I am happy to throw ~ $20k-$30k into some work to get it to my liking.


My issues are I would like the below features, and I am not sure whether it would fit on a 39 mono.

• electric start diesel generator
• airconditioner for at least main cabin
• water maker
• decent sized head (I am 193cm), but i don't need two heads that seems overkill to me. There is always the shower on the stern.
• top load fridge and freezer
• Davit for tender
• auto tacking
• solar cell
• Autopilot
• wind generator
• one good sized cabin for me. Not bothered about the size of the other cabin(s)

What do people think? Will this fit on a 39? Origionally I was looking for a 38 cat but have lowered my budget to get a boat sooner.

I don't want to get a bigger boat than required as it is my first boat and I am mostly going solo, except for occasionally bringing some friends or travelling salors for parts of the trip.

[JK n Smitty]

Where are you located and how do you intend to use the boat? (i.e. Day sailing in Florida vs blue water cruising the world vs live aboard in the Med, etc.). Really need that info to provide much of a recommendation.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Moonos

Hi All,

I'm looking for my first boat. I just recently completed a fast track to bareboat course on a Beneteau 343 which was my first real sailing experience, however i have spent many years on a power boat.

I want to do some cruising, perhaps 8 weeks per year around asia for a few years, then upgrade to a bigger boat and go further.

My thoughts for a boat are:
under US$120k
up to 39 foot mono
less than ten years old in good condition

I am happy to throw ~ $20k-$30k into some work to get it to my liking.


My issues are I would like the below features, and I am not sure whether it would fit on a 39 mono.

• electric start diesel generator
• airconditioner for at least main cabin
• water maker
• decent sized head (I am 193cm), but i don't need two heads that seems overkill to me. There is always the shower on the stern.
• top load fridge and freezer
• Davit for tender
• auto tacking
• solar cell
• Autopilot
• wind generator
• one good sized cabin for me. Not bothered about the size of the other cabin(s)

What do people think? Will this fit on a 39? Origionally I was looking for a 38 cat but have lowered my budget to get a boat sooner.

I don't want to get a bigger boat than required as it is my first boat and I am mostly going solo, except for occasionally bringing some friends or travelling salors for parts of the trip.

You should be able to find a used (5-6 years old) 38-39-40 foot Bene or Jeanneau for the $120.

Get a 2 cabin version which will leave a fair sized chuck of storage space. You can also cut the aft cabin in half (still enough room for a double bunk) and gain even more space.

All the rest of the stuff can be retromounted if it is not already on the boat.

The 193 headroom might be a problem. Here you'll just have to see which boats are 195 or so.

Check out the Jeanneau Sun Odyessy - they are great boats with lots of room, and sail fine.

carsten

[a64pilot]

Doesn't matter what his intended use is, having just completed a search like that myself, I can tell you, you might find a decently equipped Hunter at his age and size requirements, but you will look really hard to find one, and I doubt if anything else is in that price range that's less than 10 yrs old.
This is southern US prices, may be cheaper other places?
It seems what he is looking for is what almost everyone is looking for, that is a very marketable boat.

[DDabs]

Do you have any ideas of the type of boat? Do you want something similar to what you learned on, such as a Beneteau or Jeanneau? There are older styles as well designed with tons of storage and tankage but also slower and less fun to sail; completely different than what you learned on.

If you have a local marina near you I'd suggest seeing if there are any boats in your size range for sale there (regardless of price), and go get aboard them. This will give you a basic idea and a starting point to what you prefer and things that you wish certain designs had. From there, you can form a "perfect" idea for what a boat should be, tailored specifically to your thoughts and opinions, and then use that to compare to every boat you find thereafter.

It sure beats listening to people tell you to buy the boat that they are currently sailing on.

David

[letsgetsailing3]

This question comes up twice a week. It really IS like asking people what car you should buy.

Pick a boat based on YOUR preferences. Now it's pretty clear you don't know what they are yet, but even so, you know better than we do.

If you want to know what boat everyone else here is sailing, look at the avatars. That will be what most people will recommend anyway.

Go look at some boats, or better yet, use a little of that budget to charter some. If you liked the boat you learned on, that's a great place to start.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

Where are you located and how do you intend to use the boat? (i.e. Day sailing in Florida vs blue water cruising the world vs live aboard in the Med, etc.). Really need that info to provide much of a recommendation.

His avatar says Sidney, and he stated that he wants to sail around the asia area.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

Where are you located and how do you intend to use the boat? (i.e. Day sailing in Florida vs blue water cruising the world vs live aboard in the Med, etc.). Really need that info to provide much of a recommendation.

Uhhh... "8 weeks a year in asia.."

[Moonos]

I live in Australia and work in oil and gas and not near any marina except for my time off.

I would like to go island hopping around Asia for a couple of years. Buy a boat in Thailand, register it in Langkawi and cruise around south east Asia for up to 8 weeks per year for a few years is the very rough plan.

This plan is subject to change, it is possible I may bring it back to Australia at some point, but if that was the case I would put an Australian flag on it.

Originally Posted by carstenb

You should be able to find a used (5-6 years old) 38-39-40 foot Bene or Jeanneau for the $120.

Get a 2 cabin version which will leave a fair sized chuck of storage space. You can also cut the aft cabin in half (still enough room for a double bunk) and gain even more space.

All the rest of the stuff can be retromounted if it is not already on the boat.

The 193 headroom might be a problem. Here you'll just have to see which boats are 195 or so.

Check out the Jeanneau Sun Odyessy - they are great boats with lots of room, and sail fine.

carsten

That sounds like a good plan. It is often difficult to find 2 cabin versions, but not impossible. If I put the gear on one side of the aft cabin and had it all together it would simplify installation. I guess I would need to balance the weight somewhat, that is an issue.

Beneteau, Jeanneau, Hunter or other mainstream modern boat would suffice. I'm not really worrying about a particular brand. My main criteria is a model that has sold many boats, preferably something that is common in bareboat charters not a custom model which is rare to find. I'm happy for something to have less timber for maintenance purposes. I want the Toyota of yachts, if you know what I mean.

I will likely engage a marina to look after the boat during my absence, so the beer is cold when I rock up for a one week trip .

Also, I don't want to overload the boat. Generator, Aircon, water maker, freezer, Davits and a good sized 400Ah lifepo4 battery bank might be too much for a 39 foot?

The height of the Beneteau 343 was fine, although I would prefer more horizontal space in the head. This is what I mean when I say I would prefer one large head, than 2 smaller heads.

I realise I won't find all this stuff in a boat already. I would be happy to find a clean, well looked after 2 cabin version, which I can then set up how I want it.

I have about a year before I will be buying a boat. Thinking mid 2015, that should give me a few months to set it up, do some small sea trials and be ready for the 2015-2016 Thailand sailing season. In the mean time I want to do my research, and get some more miles in and look around a bit.

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

This question comes up twice a week. It really IS like asking people what car you should buy.

I guess I'm really asking is, will all this fit on a 39, and are there any 39's that have good amounts of storage space for a cruiser?

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Moonos

I guess I'm really asking is, will all this fit on a 39, and are there any 39's that have good amounts of storage space for a cruiser?

The answer is yes. Now go out and look at some boats, and don't come back until you know what you want. The choices are endless. We're not going to pick one for you unless we have one to sell you, in which case it will be perfect for you.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by Moonos

I guess I'm really asking is, will all this fit on a 39, and are there any 39's that have good amounts of storage space for a cruiser?

Have a look at the Bene 393 - two cabin version.
Or may be Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39 DS -also two cabin.

I think You can make both to be fitted the way You want.

Best regards

Tomasz

[a64pilot]

One thing that astonished me was how much difference there was interior usable space wise between two of the same length boats, some just simply have way more room inside than others, I know that doesn't make sense, I mean total interior volume is nearly the same, just I guess it's better used in some than others, so look at several different manufacturers boats

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

One thing that astonished me was how much difference there was interior usable space wise between two of the same length boats, some just simply have way more room inside than others, I know that doesn't make sense, I mean total interior volume is nearly the same, just I guess it's better used in some than others, so look at several different manufacturers boats

I think it has a lot to do with the designer choices. If the total volumes for given boats are really close to each other (not always thet are, even for the same length) the designer can push the visible surfaces (seats, berths, cabinetry) towards the shell of the boat. It is good for feeling of space, but very often it is made by sacrifying the available space for additional machinery, installations, tanks and storage.
Finding in the boat test the applause for "airy feeling", "great space inside" and so on, make me suspicious in the moment

[Greenhand]

That is the size range we have been looking in to get our (hopefully) forever boat. In the US West Coast, the price range you are talking about is a 1990's boat, not a 2000 and something boat. You should either consider going smaller (not likely with your height, but there are a few) or going older.

We got started by looking up every boat that was mentioned here and trolling yachtworld.com, just to familiarize ourselves with the different options. When we found something we liked, we checked out owner sites and blogs for pros, cons and mods. It looks like we are going to get something that doesn't have any of that, but we feel comfortable with the decision because we know more about design, build and value now than we did when we started.

[captainbri]

Ill give you my experience in dealing with a few brokers in thailand. Jerks is all I can say almost if not interested. Ive lived in thailand for 3 years and I have two white aka falang friends. The rest I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw them. And im sure the surveyors here take a kick back for a good survey. In short I would not buy a boat here for one more reason they are way overpriced. Maybe due to the old import tax on boats. Now it's only 7%
With the negitive out of the way here is a BIG positive. I was looking at a bost in langkwai. The broker was friendly professional AND honest. He knew the boats he has listed. I csn tell you if I deal with a broker it will be him.Plus the price of boats is about half. Ill get you his name if you like..

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