Researching less than 100K shallow draft 35'+

[Fenestron]

Hello all you beautiful and amazing people!

This is going to be a question about guessing so opinions are graciously welcome!

For starters, we have 0 sailing experience, but plan to buy in the next 10yrs (we cannot buy right now for reasons, please don't assume we wouldn't get all of the necessary training and experience, we definitely would).

Ok then, so the gal and I are looking for a "newerish" (~1990+) 34foot+ liveabord bluewater boat in the 100K or less range, preferably with a lifting/swinging keel with sub 1 meter (3 foot) depth.

Where the "guessing" comes in is, does anyone think any of the current options could drop to around this 100K or less price range over the next 10yrs?

We are in the US and plan to do a lot of coastal sailing but will need to cross to get to Europe, Caribbean, etc. The real difficult part is, we plan to spend a lot of time in the French Canals perhaps working in France but we do not want a barge at this time, we want to stick with a demasted sailboat for the time being. We want to cruise the Canal De Midi which is known for having even shallower depths (+-1.5m) than the rest of the canal's 1.8m (hence the swinging/lifting keel). And even some newer swinging keel boats don't go as low as some fin keels (looking at you 2023 Benny\Jenneau).

We have been relying heavily on SailboatData.com to get draft information. It seems like the majority of our options are either quite old (before 1990) or aluminum/steel making the boats crazy expensive. Also, I realize 1990 is "newer" now, but keep in mind we are looking at buying in about 10yrs so a 1990's 30yr old boat would be a 40yr old boat.

A good "example" comparison boat for us would be a Southerly 38 (like Ruby Rose used for just this purpose) but those boats of course blow the budget at 200k+ currently.

If there just isn't anything available when we go to buy, we will end up getting something like the Benneteau Oceanis 36 CC as the fin keel is shallow enough to go through the rest of the French Canals but perhaps not the Canal De Midi, unfortunately.

Sorry, that was a long one and I realize I'm asking a lot of speculation but hey, that's kind of fun in itself, isn't it?

Please be kind,
Thank you!

[AiniA]

The Canal do Midi is lovely, chartered on it a couple of times. Looking at your wants, my first reaction was a smallish catamaran.

[shimari]

If you can push your budget a bit, there are several Southerly 110's available under $200k. All in the UK though, unfortunately.

[leecea]

In your previous thread you seemed to be looking at the Windelo 50. Perhaps it's better to wait and not try to guess what boat you'll buy in 10 years.

[Fenestron]

Originally Posted by leecea

In your previous thread you seemed to be looking at the Windelo 50. Perhaps it's better to wait and not try to guess what boat you'll buy in 10 years.

I love the Windelo, still do, but the advice I've received many times over is to start with a monohull, learn on that, then go Cat. The resale value of the Mono is of little importance to me which is also why we want to buy at a lower price point first. Also, we will still be working on land upto this point. I really should have said "in the next 5 years" but thats ok.

So do you have any price guesses to contribute just for fun?

Also, I'm genuinely curious, why would you look at my post history to determine if you're going to answer the question or not. Worse case scenario, you think I'm a troll, then just don't post but even then, if you did post ontopic, someone else looking to do the same thing could get useful knowledge out of the topic through a google search. This isn't meant to be an aggresive accusation or anything, its just very "reddit like" and that place is a cesspool.

[Fenestron]

Originally Posted by AiniA

The Canal do Midi is lovely, chartered on it a couple of times. Looking at your wants, my first reaction was a smallish catamaran.

From everything I've read, a Catamaran would be too tall and too wide, especially for the very low bridges. Also, catamarans are quite expensive.

[MicHughV]

You might want to consider a Wharram cat.....they come in a variety of lengths....shoal draft...20" or so....moderate beam....proven ocean sailors...and you can have your pick under $100K

[MicHughV]

There are websites online which cater exclusively to the Wharram cats.....many to pick from..

[Fenestron]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

There are websites online which cater exclusively to the Wharram cats.....many to pick from..

I've never even heard of that. I looked it up, seems like a customizable, buildable cat. Very cool concept! Perhaps this is what AiniA was talking about uptop.

Cool suggestions from you both. I'll probably stick to a monohull but I appreciate the "outside the box" thinking!

[MicHughV]

It's a tough call....if you want shoal draft.....the Wharram has that. a Lot of fiberglass cats have fairly deep draft and are generally very expensive, and most production cats are known poor sailors.
Swing keels are rarely seen here in the US.....I can't think of one, though I'm sure some are around.
Shoal draft on a mono....shoal would mean about a 4'9" draft or thereabouts.....but you might end up with a winged keel then, not an optimum configuration imo.

Finally, your budget will more or less determine what you can afford. No good looking at Mercedes Benz with a VW budget.

Hunter makes some models that might fit your bill that might be worth a look as does Beneteau.

Older boats are becoming hard to insure these days, something else to consider.

You need to take the time to step aboard a few different boats to get a feel for what you want. You can only get so much info from an internet site. Time to put your walking shoes on.

[Pete7]

You will struggle to get through the Midi with a 35ft yacht in that budget.

However, could you go to 34ft? Two options, a Moody 34 with bilge keels. Here is a fin version in the USA that was covered by a YT series Sailing Nervous which has now been taken down and the yacht for sale. Most of the bilge keeled versions are of course in Europe. This is were a Boeing 747 comes in handy. 6 hours later you are back on terrafirma. So buy the boat in Europe. Question therefore is could you live on this yacht? if so they regularly come up for sale.

https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/yacht/1...dy-34-8664470/

The other option is a Jeanneau Sunrise 34 or 35 with lift keel. Nearly bought one but the boat had been imported to the UK from Antigua and no import duty had been paid. Otherwise, interesting yacht with shallow stub keel and deep lifting keel.

https://iow.boatshed.com/jeanneau_su...at-312644.html

Alternatively, give up on the Midi and the rest of the European canal network including the Dutch canals and meres are much easier to navigate in including that Moody 34 listed earlier. It's a bargain at that price btw. Another fin here to give you some idea of the space available inside. This one had a fire, again covered on YT 2nd Wind channel.

https://www.clippermarine.co.uk/sail...dy-34-8946268/

[MicHughV]

I had a lot of fun in England transiting the many canals there in a barge. It was a blast and I'd do it again in a second. You can rent these, by the week, month, etc, no need to buy one and get that out of your system.
I imagine much the same thing is available in Europe. Rent a barge and go see and do what you want in a craft designed to do so.

Then, when that is accomplished, change direction and look for a sailboat without mast and draft restrictions.

[boatman61]

Mono or catamaran you will need to drop the mast to travel the canals...
On the catamaran front I would suggest one of the Prout 37's.. with a draft of less than 3ft and decent accommodation they are well suited for your ideas.. below is a link to someone's experiences taking his Prout from the Med to Bordeaux via the Midi.

https://www.michaelbriant.com/canal_du_midi_log.htm

[NorthCoastJoe]

Have you looked at "OVNI" Or other lifting keel aluminum boats made in France?
We have a custom aluminum 44' that draws 3'8" with the board up, and it has a stub keel full of lead so no lead within the hull.

[KeelsonGraham]

A shoal draft Catalina 34 draws just 1.3m. Lovely boat.