You All Must Think I Am Crazy...

[DangerCell]

...but I will submit my queries anyway :-)

So another on the short list besides the Corbin 39's for multi year world tour is this rather unique Sigma 41. Yeah, totally different animal than a Corbin for sure but we just liked it so what the hell.

1986 Sigma Shoal Draft Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

In good shape so condition not an issue....immaculate.

What are issues maybe you experienced folks can say just how big an issue:
The bad...
1. Pain in arse getting below: companionway is high on deck and dodger is low. It will require developing a technique for sure.

2. only 2 opening hatches
seeing as we want to stay in the warm parts it seems it could be a friggin oven most of the time....look at non-opening "windows": can opening ports be fitted to this odd shape(s)?
Can more hatches be added to a boat like this without muching up the structural soundness?
Damned Brits....

3. Again due to "raceyness" of this boat the cockpit looks like it would be a comparably wet one. The mainsheet traveler is between the wheel and the dodger.....can some custom canvas work be done to make the configuration more tolerable in wet conditions?

4. Price. They are very proud of it. Rightly so?

The good?
1. Very well kept...clean and dry everywhere (pulled every panel everywhere...could eat out of bilge). Nice recent components.

2. Love the steering system. one 6' rod goes from pedestal to rudderstock. rudderstock/shaft is MASSIVE...looked to be 3.5" shaft.

3. The draft...great in theory but do you believe the surveyors comments or run like hell from a set up like that?

4. Tankage and storage, while not necc. designed for world cruising, seems sufficient.


How will this boat handle on passages? Will it beat us to death?
Will it be a pig when loaded for cruising?
Will the keel fall off and boat sink if I bump a sandbar?
Will we need diving gear in the cockpit?
Am I out of my mind for considering it?

[rebel heart]

I don't know anything about a keel like that, but I sleep comfortable on a full-ish keel with a couple of tons of lead in the bottom of it. I'm far from an expert on that particular vessel, but that seems like a lot of money for a boat built for something other than a lot of offshore use.

With a boat like that I'm imagining you're going to be using the engine a lot; a 45 gallon fuel tank probably will get annoying fast.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by DangerCell

2. only 2 opening hatches

Ours has 13 opening hatches.

We love every one.

[rebel heart]

Honestly, why not just buy a trusted cruiser? There are plenty of solid boats in your price range like Hans Christian, Union Polaris, Island Packet, Pacific Seacraft, etc. Take the top five models that make it successfully around the world and pick from there. Lots of places to get creative but some stuff (like hull design, rigging, and ground tackle) are not on the list. My $0.02.

[DangerCell]

Rebel: Well it is a brit boat built for offshore use...just skewed a bit towards doing it fast and to wind rather than in comfortably heavy cruiser fashion...and I can up the fuel tankage pretty easy (saw plenty of space for that).....but out of curiosity, why would I motor more in a "boat like that"? What about it makes it more likely to motor in?

Markj: Well that is dandy...I would love em too. Question is how hard is it to add that sort of thing?...cuz other than that, the rest of the boat is pretty damned cool.

[rebel heart]

Folks with big boats tend to motor a lot. Not a hard and fast rule, but bigger boats and their owners tend to have a lot of systems and when the wind dips below 6 knots they raise the iron genoa, so to speak. Light air sailing and big boats don't tend to go hand in hand. Generalizations of course.

I don't want to bag on a boat that you've got your heart set on. A good sailor can get anything around the world.

[DeepFrz]

Compare it with this.

http://www.roguewaveyachtsales.com/s...searchtype=buy

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Folks with big boats tend to motor a lot. Not a hard and fast rule, but bigger boats and their owners tend to have a lot of systems and when the wind dips below 6 knots they raise the iron genoa, so to speak. Light air sailing and big boats don't tend to go hand in hand. Generalizations of course.

I don't want to bag on a boat that you've got your heart set on. A good sailor can get anything around the world.

I guess its all relative. The Sigma 41 weighs less than the HC 36 and is shorter overall. And I'm sure it is much easier to sail in light winds than the HC. I see a lot of motoring when boats are hard to sail in light winds, i.e. heavy, with lots of tankage, under canvased, ...

Paul L

[DangerCell]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Folks with big boats tend to motor a lot. Not a hard and fast rule, but bigger boats and their owners tend to have a lot of systems and when the wind dips below 6 knots they raise the iron genoa, so to speak. Light air sailing and big boats don't tend to go hand in hand. Generalizations of course.

I don't want to bag on a boat that you've got your heart set on. A good sailor can get anything around the world.

Well, what about "folks" with more time than fuel $$$?
Seriously, we will end up with a 38-42' boat no matter what the sail area/displ. ratio is. So my assumption technically, was that on the "racier" end of the spectrum (like this sigma) I would actually motor less than on the heavy cruiser end. Hell, I have seen the Corbin's, which I also like very much, described as "motorsailers". I was actually counting on one of the benefits of the racier end being less motoring...sort of the point of it for me.

Interesting suggestion Deepfrz...cool but for the draft...hence my attraction to this sigma...would like to "cruisify" it similarly.

Guess I am doomed to dig weird boats

[wildshore]

Yes of COURSE we think you're crazy. . .you're posting to a sailing forum after all. As the Cheshire cat said, I'm not all there myself. . . .

regarding hatches, if we're talking at anchor, only a fore and aft opening is fine for ventilation. Its when at dock that you'll appreciate additional openings. You might look into a couple of those solar powered exhaust fans. They go in easy, take up little room, and can really help to spill heat from a closed cabin.

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by DangerCell

we will end up with a 38-42' boat no matter what the sail area/displ. ratio is...

Length, unless you mean LWL, is essential what happens when all the rest (of the substantive multivariate analysis) falls into place… your D/L will help to set some sort of standard for your load carrying capability, but being non-dimensional, it too is simply a product of numerous other factors… I was once heavily enamored with the Corbin 39s… not sure why I never pulled the trigger, but these days they probably would not fit my paradigm (nothing wrong with the boat, desires, needs change…). Looking at boats is amusing, all the more so when you think you are truly in the market – the one you “want” will pop up and the law of averages says it’ll probably be a vessel other than what grabs your fancy at the moment… shop with your heart, buy with your head… reversing the process just leads to frustration…

[Curmudgeon]

The Sigma looks like a pretty nice boat. But I'd want to take her for a sail before buying. I'd also carefully inspect the keel bolts and the centerboard mechanism and talk to the naval architect who designed these modifications.

[sitkatm82]

Give some thought to a knockdown, will the board still remain down? If it retracts you may not return to level. Mine has a self locking mechanism I made and put in place when the board is down.
Frank

[DangerCell]

Good advice guys...thanks. Keep it coming.

[boatman61]

Hi Danger...
What an absolutely gorgeous boat....
Entry is the way it should be... go down in reverse... come up in forward...
Cannot see helming being any wetter than most boats of that era... reef down when it cuts up n stay dry... wanna play hard ball... get damp...
Traveller is perfect for short handed sailing... right by the helmsmans hand... while your partners dealing with the Genny... keeps you out of each others way... and lets face it... most boats with wheels involve stepping up to get by quick... all this set-up stops is the 'Limbo' past the wheel...
No way are you going to lose that keel on a sand bar... might twist the centreboard if you have a 'Senior Moment' and forget to raise it but I think you'll find she'll sail like a dream with it up... unless your doing a 'Round the Cans' and want to go real close... but cruising...? you may even forget its there.
Forget opening hatches... fit dorade's.. they swivel to face the wind when you want it and swivel back when you don't...
Sigma's have a good name in the UK... strong, fast, very well built and designed.
Only ever been on the 33 tho'.. years ago.. we used to sail out of Poole.. before my boat owning days... and she was sweet as a nut...