Suggestions for Bluewater Boats [Newbie]

[Brent Swain]

Drive a steel nail in a piece of wood, or a steel concrete nail in fibreglass. Now drive as fibreglass or wooden nail in a piece of steel, including in my "Backyard" weld. Nuff said?

[clockwork orange]

For christ sake Brent,stop being so one dimensional, we all know that steel is great, but believe it or not one or two fiberglass and wood boats have crossed oceans too,and people seem to like them.
Steve.

[gr8trn]

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

Drive a steel nail in a piece of wood, or a steel concrete nail in fibreglass. Now drive as fibreglass or wooden nail in a piece of steel, including in my "Backyard" weld. Nuff said?

can we use a rusty nail? he asked jokingly.

[hpeer]

How about an aluminum nail?

(Just being ornery, I've got 1 steel boat and another in the oven.)

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by plebian99

Your first search filter should be looking for a boat with a high limit of positive stability. 140 degrees plus is good starting point for a small cruiser. This will rule out most small steel boats like Brents design. Canadian Contessa 32 Vancouver 27 Halberg Rassy Monsun Nicholson 32 The English Hunters. Anything with 9ft of beam, 30ft of length and with a high positive stability will do the job for you. You will get the usual arguments that positive stability on most modern yachts are acceptable, this is just a nonsense argument especially for a small boat. If you a single hander, a self righting boat can be a life saver. John

Those boats all cost up to $100k, in decent condition. The man has a budget of $10k.

[ConradG]

It seems that with 10K whatever you end up with will be in the fixer upper class. In the long run there will be more than that into it for sure. A plan of attack for your project should be carefully looked at so that you don't end up as one of the many who never get out and going. A keen eye to what is available and what comes up will probably be the best bet instead of trying to pick a model and looking for one in the price range. There seem to be quite a few boats out there. The right one will come along....As prospects come up, assess them for your needs. Also remember that taking little steps can have it's advantages.

[hpeer]

Thanks for reminding us it was a $10k limit. That is pretty meager. While steel boats tend to run cheap it will be very hard to find one THAT cheap.

If I have not already I would suggest the OP to read Voyaging on a Small Income by Annie Hill. She and Pete built their own boat and did it working part time in 4 to 5 years time. They are not common people but I think that they pretty well define the lower limit of what you can do for cruising so I would look to them as a guide.

If you just want to get out on the water and have fun and learn then there is probably a lot you can do.

[ConradG]

Very good example of frugal cruising (Annie Hill)! Depending on your appraoch, building could be an option. Epoxy/glass/ply is doable. So long as engines aren't on your list of desired items..I know of someone currently going that route with that same budget.
Because of the fear and lack of understanding about steel boats on this side of the atlantic there actually are boats that come up in that range. They are, as most anything in that range will be, project boats. I just considered one myself with an asking price of $12500. I decided against it for various reasons, primarily because I have a bigger budget, but it sold within a month.

[hpeer]

Here is one that has been for sale since early last summer. I stopped and saw her, very nice. Asking price is a little over the range but for a solo newbie this is a very easy rig to handle and it appears to be well put together. Feb in Nova Scotia? Might be willing to talk pretty good.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1982...2082686/Canada

I don't see much else available this side of the Atlantic in steel.

[bobola]

The only thing this thread lacks is comment from Jeff H. on how cold molded wood hulls are stronger than steel, pound for pound....lol...

Haven't been here for some time. Nice to see a lively discussion.

I had a 35' steel sailboat and kept it on the Isle of Venice in ft. Lauderdale. One day a friend and I took it canal cruising and I turned into a narrow canal not knowing it was shallow water and immediately rammed the drop-off shelf with the keel, where the deep dredging stopped. We were both throw forward, off our feet, and the boat came to an immediate stop, and then slid back to the deep water.

There was no structural damage, just a bit of scraped paint where the keel mashed the drop-off. If that had been done in my current sailboat, a 27’ fixer-upper glass hull with bolt on keel, I am sure it would have opened the leading edge of the keel to deck joint.

The steel boat sailed like a pig to windward, was very heavy, but it was built like a tank.

If you like upwind speed, go for something like an older IOR racer/cruiser. If you worry about things that could go bump in the night, like a keel bumping bottom in a blow at night because of a dragging anchor in an unfamiliar anchorage, listen to Brent S. and look at steel. He knows what he’s talking about.

[ConradG]

Two steel Colvin Gazelles came and went last month. Both in Florida. Both didn't last long. The one at 12.5 asking price, the other at 15. Both junk rigged schooners.

[Joli]

1968 Morgan Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Here ya go, it'l get you around without breaking the bank.

Or maybe this nice looking Yankee? Really, there are too many to list. Go to Yachtworld and start narrowing down your search. They even had a Piver 42 for $5k, it's a project boat but if you are handy and have time.......

1972 Yankee MKI Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by ConradG

Two steel Colvin Gazelles came and went last month. Both in Florida. Both didn't last long. The one at 12.5 asking price, the other at 15. Both junk rigged schooners.

I love Thomas Colvin's books. He has a great philosophy and his little ships will take you anywhere. Just remember to bring a paintbrush...

[ConradG]

These two needed a little more than a paintbrush!

[Brent Swain]

I got my 31 ft steel boat sailing and living aboard , for about 6K , but thatwas back in 84.
I heard the east coast backwaters are filling up with abandoned fibreglass boats . I have been told you can buy an Alberg 30 in Florida for $2500. .
Vegas are great ocean cruisers. The rudder is in the wrong place,. too far foreward, but hanging an outboard rudder on a skeg is not a lot of work.