The Perfect lifetime friend

[Hossamude]

Hello everyone,
I absolutely love this forum and i learned a lot just surfing around in here but this is actually my first time writing.

i'm looking to buy my first boat and i want it to be my last i don't like change just upgrade what i already have.

so i guess i'm looking for a sailboat that can stay strong for the next say 20 years, small enough to be affordable (maintenance wise).

basically i want her to be decent in every area (don't care about speed though). whatever the years may bring, maybe someday i'll live aboard (just me and my wife) or maybe i'll take her around the world and cross oceans so she probably needs to be seaworthy.

i was thinking HR Monsun 31 or PS Orion 27 or maybe Island Packet 27.

what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

[JPA Cate]

Hossamude,

Welcome aboard CF. Without experience it is almost impossible to pick a boat that you will be happy with 20 yrs. down the road. You change, and your needs change. For a circumnavigation for two people, it really depends on how light both of you are comfortable traveling. We have some friends who've circumnavigated in 26 and 27 foot boats.

It will be better for you if, for a small investment, you acquire a boat you can play with for a while, and let your experience teach you what you want, rather than having others tell you what you need. This is especially true if the ultimate goal is cruising till it stops being fun, because there are heaps of skills you'll need to develop relative to boat maintenance. If you want to go small and simple, all the people who love having lots of *stuff* will keep telling you you need more and more, whereas each of us can tell if s/he is okay with what they have.

Ann

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Hossamude

Hello everyone,
I absolutely love this forum and i learned a lot just surfing around in here but this is actually my first time writing.

i'm looking to buy my first boat and i want it to be my last i don't like change just upgrade what i already have.

so i guess i'm looking for a sailboat that can stay strong for the next say 20 years, small enough to be affordable (maintenance wise).

basically i want her to be decent in every area (don't care about speed though). whatever the years may bring, maybe someday i'll live aboard (just me and my wife) or maybe i'll take her around the world and cross oceans so she probably needs to be seaworthy.

i was thinking HR Monsun 31 or PS Orion 27 or maybe Island Packet 27.

what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

Welcome aboard. Where are you located?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Hossamude.

[moctrams]

My 1st sailboat was a Cal 29. The boat was fast and comfortable for me. It heeled a lot and the Admiral did not like that. On my 2nd trip to Iraq I sold the Cal 29, my 40' boat slip and my Harley. I paid off my son's student loans, gave him a down payment on a house and headed out. On my return I bought a 30' Cape Dory cutter. I had it repowered, new cushions and the deck completely redone to fix spongy deck and new Awl-Grip. She is steady and comfortable and stays on her feet. A real pleasure to own and sail.

[laika]

Nothing wrong with trying to find that perfect boat! Lots of people own the same boat for decades. As Ann said, it may help to have more experience first tho. And a really strong and stable definition of what YOU want. But that's hard! More compromises have to be made the smaller you go.
On the flip side, technology these days make it a bit easier to fit more into a smaller package.

I looked at the HR Monsun as well but the lack of standing headroom for me at 6'1" was a problem.

The Orion is certainly a great little boat. Don't know much about the IP27.

Any boat in reasonable shape will last another 20 years with a little love and attention. Granted you may be replacing every single system onboard except the hull itself over that time.

I've had my 27' for almost a decade now and have no plans to sell anytime soon. There are times when it would be absolutely great to have more space. But I still love the boat, it still does everything we need of it, and it is a versatile bluewater boat to own -- esp for owner's who are no longer full timing it.

Good luck in your search

[guyrj33]

Pearson 30

[Valmika]

I have a friend who ran the sailing programs at the RCY in Toronto until last year when she moved to Bowen Island. If you want I will give her your number. She is very knowledgeable about boats systems and sailing. If you would like I will have her call you. This goes for anyone else in the Vancouver area.

[Chuck Hawley]

Originally Posted by Hossamude

(don't care about speed though).

Hmm, I think that if you're going to love a boat for a long period of time, speed and/or good sailing characteristics are really, really nice to have. Things like:

1. Sails you can shape to suit different wind conditions (that have sufficient controls).
2. A nice, light helm. Not a barn door or stiff linkage.
3. A lack of weather helm.
4. The ability to point reasonably well.
5. Enough sail area to enjoy sailing downwind in 10 knots of breeze.

Cheers,

Chuck

[bvisailing32]

Really like hearing that you are thinking of an Orion 27 made by Pacific Sea Craft......

However, in thinking of future world wide cruising, we would probably jump up to the Crealock 34.

Erica use to own a Crelock 37. That she had on lease back with the sailing club.

For long ocean passages, would prefer a well found vessel that I could use different sail plans depending on the conditions .

We had 2 ea Orion 27's... 2 ea yawl rigged crealock 34's and 1 ea crelock 37 cutter rigged.

These vessels were in the sailing club that I instructed for, and I was able to sail them quite frequently, mostly on Catalina passages from Newport Beach.

Plus an entire fleet of many, many other different manufactures . So, I was able to become familiar with many different types of vessels over 25 25 years on a constant basis.

[hellosailor]

If you had never bought a car, do you think you could buy your first one and know that it would still be "the right one" for you 20 years down the line?

If you had never gone on a date, and had the chance to pick a mail order bride, do you think you could pick the one that's right for you? And still be right 20 years down the line?

Either you spend a lot of time messing around in OPB's (Other People's Boats) or you will be buying more than one boat as your perceptions and needs change over time.

Unless you're really happy not knowing what you're missing.

[buzzstar]

Given the size range you mention, you have lots of choices, depending upon your budget and specific wants/desires. YOU (no one else except your spouse) need to determine your priorities, and then start looking at the boats that are for sale, particularly the used market. IMNHO, there are too few "new" choices that are decent, let alone good or proven, and likely to last the 20 years. In your area, particularly if you are willing to include greater Seattle, you have a rich source of choice. My only question is, are you serious or just dreaming? Both are forms of enjoyment.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by laika

...I've had my 27' for almost a decade now and have no plans to sell anytime soon. ...

It may be worth mentioning that your Vancouver 27 is almost in a league of its own as an under-30' designed specifically for world cruising; well worth considering on anyone's list.

I spent about three years pouring over sales ads/used boat prices, books like PS and '20 small sailboats to take you anywhere', then drew up a spreadsheet of hundreds of designs with their good and bad features. Some boats like Pacific Seacraft and Island Packet are built to last forever, while other mass-produced boats (teak decking, balsa coring, etc) are more likely to need a greater amount of maintenance. Of course this is normally reflected in the initial price you pay. It took me all of my three year planning phase to sort out wheat from chaff and decide on what my particular priorities were - every boat is a compromise - then came the hard slog of travelling around inspecting all the available boats that met those requirements. Good luck with your search.

[TrentePieds]

Hossamude:

The three choices cited by you are all very sensible for the Salish Sea - known to us Vancouverites as the Straits of Georgia :-)

The fact that you are citing long-keeled boats suggests to me that you either have some cruising experience already or have given the prospect of it a good deal of thought. All three choices will afford comfortable cruising for man and maid in the waters within Vancouver Island, provided the given boat is sensibly fitted out, and, indeed, in more distant waters also subject to the same caveat - a fortiori :-)

So the question becomes: What does "sensible" mean in this context? What it means depends in large measure on what you intend to use the boat for, and in even greater measure how much cruising experience you already have.

Because I cannot know the extent of your experience, I cannot make specific recommendations, of course, but if you wish to discuss these matters from one Vancouverite to another, i.e. between two people sailing in precisely the same environment, then do feel free to drop me a Private Message. You can do that by clicking on the ID field to the left of this message :-)

All the best

TP

[Pegu Club]

We have a 1977 Bristol 29.9, lots of storage, ample head room, we have done a bottom job, re-bed all the stantions, pulpit & push pit, and cleats, all G-10 backing blocks. The chain plates & standing rigging are new, and we are doing new sails and a re-power this off season,
We will be taking off in 10 months and 29 days, headed to the Caribbean first, and who knows after that. The 29.9 is a very solid boat, she will be our 2nd and last boat. We have read of 29.9's being sea motion kind, and one that we know of that has ventured into the South Pacific and is in Australia.
What ever you choose, make sure the truly important things are in top notch condition, cosmetic concerns are just that imo. Oh and have fun sailing her. 😊

(adventuresontheclub.com.)