Hello Everyone - We'd Like Your Opinion

[searcher]

Hiya fellow sailors, I lived in Perth for 13 years, gets hot eh? I now live on my yacht in NZ (7 yrs) She's an Eric Cox offshore 40' built in 1965 of the only material for serious cruising STEEL, as they say>> nothing impacts better with a coral reef and survives better than steel.She's full keel with the bow cutaway for faster tacking, cutter rigged so more choices for sails, has a dodger which is a must for protection against wind and weather, I'm in the process of fitting a bimini to protect against the sun and catch water. I single hand most of the time but will take 2 crew for watches so accomodation should be taken into account, don't be fooled by the boat broker when they talk about>>> it can sleep 8 etc, no way would you want 8 people bumping around the boat, A diesel heater is creat for cold places (NZ) and keeps the boat dry. Second hand offshore boats almost give away gear that would cost thousands so look at that.NZ has some of the stricktest rules as far as leaving the country, Cat 1 is the safety reg you have to abide by. So maybe a Kiwi boat that's ready to go could be an option. I'm not a lover of aluminium boats, everthing has to be insulated including s/s fitting as the dicimilar metals react with one another. I use aluminium anodes so what does that say?? they are to far up the corrosion ladder for me. Get as big a boat as you need strait away as they all take time & $$$"s to get ready for the trip. Don't buy the biggest boat, you have to manouvre it and pay big when in a marina. I sailed to Fiji & the Queensland coast on a Halberg Rassy 45 (nice) & Mike the owner who has sailed on square riggers and around the world now in his 70's said he should have bought a 40' yacht as it is better suited. I could go on & probably have already so choose well & don't listen to salesmen to much. Good luck Paulo