For cruisers and living on board the answer could be: Take the
boat you love and you can afford, be happy with it ! :-)
But so it does not go on "high seas".
First analyse the needs... I dont mean your own needs, I mean the needs of the
boat itself to survive. If the boat is built to survive in the conditions you want bring her, then you will have the chance to survive.
Seaworthyness and Safetyness: If you want sail arctic regions with ice, you need a strong
hull which can stand - eventually to overwinter in thick pack ice.
Designers have thought a lot about to draw the best form, e.g. bow forms, decks layout, stern,
rudder, daggerboards... all has a function. If you cant read a boat seeing all the little details, learn about.. there are plenty of
books you can read to get a feeling... and visit different boat shows to get a feeling about.
Regions and life style: If you are in hot tropicals, most of your life will be on
deck... and you need there lots of space to feel the fresh breath. Wooden boats rotten very quickly in such tropical regions and suffer if the owner has not enough
budget to care for intensively
Capacity and skills of crew: If you are
single hand sailor, you need a very centred
cockpit with lots of winches to handle every manoever safely...
The other aspect is distance ! - More
independency for sailing long distances from from A to B without an external supplier infrastructure, more you need on board. And more space you need. E.g. bigger
water and
diesel tank capacities...
Last part of the complexe matrix are your
skills as skipper and the skills of your crew. Do you sail short handed (single- or double handed) ? Do you have a big
family on board with little kidds ? Do you use the boat in
charter with sailing newbees ? - A complexe rig can make life on board very demanding... so the
rigging shall be adapted to the needs in the relevant sea areas, e.g.
ketch rigged boat, self tagging
jib,
furling systems etc. ...
Accmodation: A boat does not give lots of privacy... if you have under
deck all open and people must sleep in it can become stress. But same not all like the luxury of land living. E.g. having a double
cabin with own
shower and king size
bed. It depends who you are, what you expect and what kid of people you like to have on board. Socialising is an important aspect for humans.
Handcraftshipmen: Some boats are equipped with workshops, too. Thats the last part: what are your handcraft skils ? Some sailors have a sail loft on board with a sewing mashine to
repair independently from ordering a sail maker to
repair the
sails... others can do welding
Steel or Aluminium... some sailors are great in
wood work.
So the boat building material should fit your own skills and preferences. Not all like
epoxy glueing handling toxic chemicals. Its up to you !
This is the bigger matrix I was taking about... put all facts on the table.... then you will get an understanding your search should focus onto. All the filters as described, will filter out the boat you need. It comes from alone popping up as soon the
fog has disappeared.
Boats are not objects of mystery. Just a big puzzle of many different parameters...
Hull shape (keel, bow, stern, rudder), Rig system + sail plan, Boat material, Seaworthyness of the boat (inclusive safetyness equipment following the IMO/SOLAS standard9 and handling + skills.
Ever other aspects to equip a boat, e.g.
electronics and electrics follow from the basic matrix... You still could navigate with a
Sextant, and steer manually. Not urgently needed a Chart plotter or an
autopilot. You can haul your
sails and
anchor manually, not urgently needed
electric winches. It depends lot on your
phsyical fitness/healthyness, budget and skills.
Invest your money first in the basic structure of the boat.. all the goodies, e.g. hot
water system/shower,
watermaker,
autopilot, chart plotter etc. ... come later in 2nd row. All these extras make lots of
work. More you have on board, more needs steadily
repairs (and money).
Actually under
security aspects a boat should be equipped to make it more safely with
some modern tools, e.g. having
GPS,
VHF with
AIS,
Radar,
EPIRB,
Liferaft and life jackets with life belts,
water pump systems (bilge pumps). Nowadays i see a
solar system as part of the
safety system , too.
Traditionally safety equipment, e.g. anchors, storm sails, hand pumps I dont like to talk about. It belongs to good seamanship and every boat has to have it.
In total, there come many, many parameters into count to answer your question. If this big matrix is too complexe for you, take a naval architect and
surveyor aside to find the boat you need.
Good luck !
P.S.: I was professional
skipper. For a skipper before he overtakes the job, being ordered by
charter agencies, for deliveries, for sail
training in a sail academy etc. ... it is a normal procedure to scan the boat he shall overtake the resonsability. Some of the charter agents and private owners do not have the knowledge to understand boats fully. I never would overtake a
contract to skipper a boat I would not count as safe lacking to fulfill all the needs. Here comes into account same the qualification of charter guests, the seasonal
weather conditions of the sea area, technical infrastructure in the country (e.g. suppliers in the
marinas, harbours) etc. ....
Your question is not only interesting for boat owners, it is same interesting for skippers. A steadily
training is required, as over the decades we get
new boat designs. Its important to understand their weaknesses and strength.
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