What's the perfect size sailboat for a couple to cruise from Boston to the caribbean?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Hey Dockhead,

How heavy is your boat when fully ready to cruise? Mine is 18 T.. with enough wines to keep a heavy headache going for quite some time.
.

I was surprised to read that your boat is so light . 16 metric tons light ship! That's really good!

Mine is 20 light ship; no doubt 23 to 25 loaded. Light ship displacement doesn't include the generator, davits, dinghy, and all kinds of equipment, liquids, supplies, tools, etc.

My boat is a bit bigger than yours, however, as in more hull volume. 46' (versus 40') LWL, and about 55' LOA without davits. That probably explains the difference.

Still, hard for me to imagine how Henri managed to make that boat so light. Maybe explains the very good passage times which Amels do, despite the ketch rig, etc.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Wow... I had not expected your boat to be so heavy... (she was on my short list... TOTMBO liked Amel better)

The Amel build process is interesting and it may contribute to the low weight. They use a single piece weave from bow to stern alternating the nap to increase rigidity. Apparently, this removes creasing and offers better bonding between the layers.

Should I suspect that you are a Ryanair pilot? If you were BA, you'd drive an Oyster.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Wow... I had not expected your boat to be so heavy... (she was on my short list... TOTMBO liked Amel better)

The Amel build process is interesting and it may contribute to the low weight. They use a single piece weave from bow to stern alternating the nap to increase rigidity. Apparently, this removes creasing and offers better bonding between the layers.

Should I suspect that you are a Ryanair pilot? If you were BA, you'd drive an Oyster.

LOL. Well, my boat is much lighter than the comparable Oyster. Oysters have solid glass hull under the waterline; mine is fully cored and with a Kevlar skin forward. D/L is under 190 so in racer-cruiser territory -- she's very light for a cruising boat despite an extremely strong build.

Your D/L will probably be similar because of your shorter waterline (40' vs. 46').

But I'm still surprised that you're so light -- you wouldn't have expected it. I always imagined Amels to be heavyweights. Mistakenly, it seems.

[groundtackle]

Originally Posted by oldcal46skipper

We bought our Cal 46 thirty three years ago, sailed SoCal waters until 1988, retired and sailed away, 2 years in Mexican waters, Central & South America, Caribbean, Bahamas, Chesapeake, Cuba,+. We lived aboard from 1988 to 2002. We are both seasoned sailors, healthy, active and loved it. We bought a home by Bayou Chico, Pensacola, FL so MIL could live close and we still lived aboard at our dock behind our house.

We had no problem handling our boat in any conditions. Of course we have SSB, HAM, Weather Fax and avoid real nasty weather. If you are caught in a storm offshore, you deserve it.

A lot depends on what you want the boat to do for you. In my seminars on selecting your cruising boat, I start by telling you nor to fall in love with a boat because it looks pretty, but to make a list, objectively listing what you intend to do, go, comforts desired and on.

There are many other considerations, like I am 6'3" and want adequate headroom, my wife likes to cook, so wants an adequate galley. When Mr. Bill Lapworth designed our boat, his parameters included being able to motor through known light air parts of the seas, so we have enough diesel fuel to motor over 2,000 miles. While we have not crossed oceans on our boat, (we crossed the Atlantic on a friend's boat in 1985), we have made several non-stop coastal voyages. We sailed from southeast of the Panama Canal to Mobile, Alabama averaging 6.7 knots, broad reaching only motoring in the lee of Cuba.

I can list additional options we wanted, on request. We are currently doing a refit of our boat and will be putting it on the market :-( as we are too old, with too many health issues. How many folks do you know who have had the same boat 33 years?

Tom & Bobbie Vandiver, Cal 46 "Satori"

I had my previous boat for 16yr then in nov 2013 bought my cal 2-46
I've been refitted her as well and I'm reasonably sure I can single hand it but I do have in boom mainsail and electric main winches
This will be my first season sailing her and I'm pretty pumped about it. I hope I can keep my cal as long as you OldCalSkipper!


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