What's the best Bahamas cruiser?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Adelie

It is light but it has several things going for it.

The retractable keel has 2 sailing positions, 5', 3.75'ish and a 3rd position fully retracted for trailering where it draws 1.75'.

Cheap

Good enough for the Caribbean, but I don't think I would sail much beyond there though.

Standing headroom at the aft end of the cabin.

Pretty sure the ones I was on you could put the keel at any level. Motorized retractor mechanism. What defined those retractions you are talking about?
Some flimsy stuff for sure: The lower stay "chainplate" appeared to be like 1/8" x 1 or 1.25 SS bolted on!

[sjm823]

Thank you onestepcsy37, that is very helpful. We are looking at buying a Seaward 32k for Bahamas and Florida Keys. I am worried about crossing the gulfstream.

[sjm823]

We are thinking of upgrading to the Seaward 32k so thanks for your comment!

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sjm823

I am worried about crossing the gulfstream.

The Gulf Stream deserves respect but not fear. It absolutely deserves understanding and some basic navigation and piloting skills. Remember that conventional wisdom is often unwise.

Let's start with one thing. Lake Worth is a stunningly stupid place to depart from going to West End. No one would ever have left from Lake Worth twenty-five years ago when everyone did set and drift calculations. Now people set a waypoint and have the autopilot steer to it. That's not so good. A six knot boat crossing the Gulf Stream will be swept 25 nm North in the 60 nm crossing. That means when attempting to cross at a constant latitude ("straight across" or "shortest distance") you have to crab, often a lot to fight the current. Our nominal six knot boat will take about thirteen hours and be subject to more seaway concerns due to orientation. If you leave from Fort Lauderdale instead (conveniently about thirty miles South) you can aim due East (steer to heading, not to waypoint) and put all your energy into the crossing while the Gulf Stream sweeps you North toward West End for free. Ten hours. A plus is your final provisioning is much better in Ft Lauderdale.

Wind with any North in it is greatly overrated as a cause for concern. Yes, wind over current is an issue. Remember that waves and with them swell are a function of wind speed, duration, and fetch. If a shallow cold front crosses and you follow it out in ten knots northerly things may be mildly bumpy for a couple of hours but you won't die. On the other hand you'll have a nice reach that reduces drift and settles motion. I'm not saying to go out of your way to leave with thirty knots from the North - just don't fall into the trap of thinking anything at all from the North will kill you. It won't.

Again - respect, not fear.

Holler if I can help. Disclaimer my favorite place to cross the Gulf Stream on the way to the Bahamas is off the Virginia Capes. *grin* I'll be doing that about Tuesday a week, weather permitting.

Hurricane "season" vice winter cold fronts is a whole other discussion.

[onestepcsy37]

have to agree with you there, auspicious. best to cross from ft lauderdale or even further south especially if you're going to bimini.
having said that, most of our crossings have been from west palm. reason? i dislike south florida congestion and since i'm coming down to wpb from central florida it's more convenient. i also am not crossing to west end. we go on the banks at memory rock which is about 20nm north of west end so we get a slightly better angle - but not much. still, i let the autopilot do the work and just keep a sharp lookout for traffic...


op -



go to www.explorercharts.com and get the guidebook for the areas you intend to go. they are absolutely positively the best sailing guide to the bahamas with the best charts AND lots of 'local knowledge' including gulf stream crossing info.

[CarlF]

Despite Auspicious' options - the way for a first timer to cross the Gulf Stream is to wait for a perfect weather forecast. This means no chance of a N or NE wind. And if E or SE less than 10 knots. Too often a 10 knot NE forecast finds 20 knots in mid Gulf Stream. Why chance it on your first crossing?

After you've had a successful crossing or two you'll know what weather you can handle.

And I also think Auspicious' dislike of West Palm is misplaced. I'd leave from Ft. Lauderdale too if I didn't have to take the ICW from West Palm to get there. It's miserable - 30 bridges as I remember. It takes a full day and your nerves are fried by the time you get there.

Much easier to Leave West Palm and cross the Gulf Stream quickly at 90 degree so you are only in serious current for three hours. Once out of the current adjust your course to clear at Green Turtle Cay if going to the Abacos or Great Harbor Cay if going to the Exumas. Most of the remaining trip will be on the calm bank. It's easy to anchor with great protection after dark at Great Sale or outside Great Harbor Cay.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by CarlF

Despite Auspicious' options - the way for a first timer to cross the Gulf Stream is to wait for a perfect weather forecast. This means no chance of a N or NE wind. And if E or SE less than 10 knots. Too often a 10 knot NE forecast finds 20 knots in mid Gulf Stream. Why chance it on your first crossing?

After you've had a successful crossing or two you'll know what weather you can handle.

And I also think Auspicious' dislike of West Palm is misplaced. I'd leave from Ft. Lauderdale too if I didn't have to take the ICW from West Palm to get there. It's miserable - 30 bridges as I remember. It takes a full day and your nerves are fried by the time you get there.

Much easier to Leave West Palm and cross the Gulf Stream quickly at 90 degree so you are only in serious current for three hours. Once out of the current adjust your course to clear at Green Turtle Cay if going to the Abacos or Great Harbor Cay if going to the Exumas. Most of the remaining trip will be on the calm bank. It's easy to anchor with great protection after dark at Great Sale or outside Great Harbor Cay.

You can wait a long time for a "perfect" weather forecast. Those are the same people clustered in Lake Worth waiting for someone else to make a decision. Are you a duckling or a duck?

West Palm Beach to Ft Lauderdale is seventeen bridges (more or less depending on where you start and finish counting). Most open on demand. It is 45 miles so a long day for most cruisers but only a day. I can't imagine why anyone would have their nerves "fried."

Anchoring on the Banks before clearing in is illegal.

In order to cross the Gulf Stream from Lake Worth to West End you must crab into the Gulf Stream. You are fighting Mother Nature. That adds time to the crossing. Thirteen hours for a six knot boat. From Fort Lauderdale with all energy focused on getting East and free Northing from the Gulf Stream it takes ten hours. Ten sure seems faster than thirteen to me. Plus, as I said, better shore access in Ft Lauderdale for last minute shopping and services.

We haven't even talked about autopilots that won't hold course when HDG is too different from COG and desired track. Now you have to do set and drift calculations in your head while hand steering. The slower the boat the more likely you are to have autopilot problems.

You don't have to believe me. Chris Parker and Explorer Charts will both tell you the same thing. Anyone whose been sailing long enough to do set and drift calculations (or remembers 9th grade trigonometry) can figure it out for themselves.

As I said above, for snowbirds my preferred launch point for the Bahamas is the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. 135T until due North of destination and then turn right. My warped sense of humor appreciates watching boats pass through Hampton and Norfolk on their way down the ICW. Four or five days after I leave I'm in the Bahamas. A month later those same boats dribble in. *grin*

Once while moving a boat to the Bahamas I had the following exchange on the dock:
DAVE: *Trundles down the dock with provisions*
SALT: "You leaving?"
DAVE: "Yep."
SALT: "The wind is from the North."
DAVE: "Northeast. Yep."
SALT: "You're going to die."
DAVE: "Nope. Do it all the time."
SALT: "Hmm. Can I follow you?"
DAVE: "If you can keep up."

In that case we were following a shallow front and the wind clocked as it does. Timing fronts becomes more important when you are riding the Gulf Stream for two or three days (depending on how fast the boat is) heading from Florida to the Chesapeake or Newport.

[Mauruuru]

Leaving for the carribean on my Seaward 32RK, I left from Lake Worth with wind from the south. Boat pointed SE slid sideways to Freeport 15 hours...thankfully had an autopilot. Coming back a couple years later left Nasau early morning to get onto the bank just short of bimini where I anchored overnight and had a beautiful trip to Hillsboro inlet (my final destination....again 15 hours on the wind but this time with help from the stream. The shoal draft of this boat let me anchor in waist deep water and wade ashore in the exumas cays what a thrill.....and while I had a/c didn't need it at all.

[mjgill1]

Originally Posted by Mauruuru

Leaving for the carribean on my Seaward 32RK, I left from Lake Worth with wind from the south. Boat pointed SE slid sideways to Freeport 15 hours...thankfully had an autopilot. Coming back a couple years later left Nasau early morning to get onto the bank just short of bimini where I anchored overnight and had a beautiful trip to Hillsboro inlet (my final destination....again 15 hours on the wind but this time with help from the stream. The shoal draft of this boat let me anchor in waist deep water and wade ashore in the exumas cays what a thrill.....and while I had a/c didn't need it at all.

My wife and I have a 2012 32RK here in IA and had planned on 3 weeks of cruising pleasure around the Keys this last March. Needless to say, it didn't happen. Our goal is to take the boat the the Bahamas in about 2-3 years. I have done some nice mods to the boat and can't wait to go! Maybe next year we can do the Keys and Tortugas as a nice warm up for bigger things...

[onestepcsy37]

auspicious wrote -

"Holler if I can help. Disclaimer my favorite place to cross the Gulf Stream on the way to the Bahamas is off the Virginia Capes. *grin* I'll be doing that about Tuesday a week, weather permitting."

if i had known you were coming from up north i would have offered my old time yankee captains advice on sailing to the islands.

' sail southeast until the butter melts, then sail south. when you spy an island ask the first fisherman you meet what the name of it is."

would like to try that someday. with my luck the butter would melt and then harden up again as i approached antarctica....

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Hard to beat a Gemini cat for the Bahamas. Super low draft (21"?), Great view from everywhere in the boat ,nice cockpit space and good sun coverage... I can't think of anything else needed for the Bahamas

Matt

Probably the ultimate Bahamas boat. Actually pull the boards and rudders up and you can get into 18" of water. We've anchored in knee deep water (protected conditions and at low tide).

If you go back to the 3200 or 3400 models, prices are darn reasonable.

Many of the sub 35ft cats are good alternatives though most will be 30-36" draft...which still blows away most monos for draft.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

' sail southeast until the butter melts, then sail south. when you spy an island ask the first fisherman you meet what the name of it is."

would like to try that someday. with my luck the butter would melt and then harden up again as i approached antarctica....

That's more or less my practice. From Chesapeake Bay 135T (or as close to that as I can sail) to 65W and then South. From Newport somewhere between 150T and 160T to 65W and then South. I call this "aim for Bermuda and miss."

I'm not sure how many times I've done it. 40? 50? A goodly number. Boat prep, provisioning, and other logistics is where the work is (which is why I'm up and on the boat at 3a *grin*). The sailing is the good part.

[Lodesman]

The best boat is one with sufficient tankage and storage space. Many commodities are either hard-to-come-by, expensive or both. Filling up on the necessities(fuel, toilet paper, beer, peanut butter, etc) in the US makes The Bahamas way more affordable. You don't need A/C on the hook, but it does make the few times you have to button-up for rain-storms a lot more comfortable. If you're going to spend time in marinas, A/C is a very-nice-to-have. You don't need a watermaker, but it makes life easier. Everything else is down to personal preference.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

West Palm Beach to Ft Lauderdale is seventeen bridges (more or less depending on where you start and finish counting). Most open on demand. It is 45 miles so a long day for most cruisers but only a day. I can't imagine why anyone would have their nerves "fried."

In order to cross the Gulf Stream from Lake Worth to West End you must crab into the Gulf Stream. You are fighting Mother Nature. That adds time to the crossing. Thirteen hours for a six knot boat. From Fort Lauderdale with all energy focused on getting East and free Northing from the Gulf Stream it takes ten hours. Ten sure seems faster than thirteen to me.

Spend a day in the ditch to save 3 hours crossing - sorry, the cost benefit analysis doesn't support you. What's wrong with crabbing? It's a reality of sailing. Just because you're only making 4kts over the ground vice 6 - is not a reason to avoid this approach.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Spend a day in the ditch to save 3 hours crossing - sorry, the cost benefit analysis doesn't support you. What's wrong with crabbing? It's a reality of sailing. Just because you're only making 4kts over the ground vice 6 - is not a reason to avoid this approach.

You're missing the impact on people's first crossing, sailing vice motoring, and the difference between crabbing and tacking. Also autopilots kicking out when HDG is too different from COG, and slow boats that simply can't make progress East. Not to mention better provisioning in Ft La-de-da.