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Blueseadreamer · 17-02-2018, 14:21

Hi guys and girls

Been power boating for many many years but wife and I want to retire early, depart from my comfort zone and buy a yacht! We both want to sail from UK to the med and spend a few years exploring what life really has to offer (no more working).

Our income plan will consist of some savings and house rental income untill our pensions start to pay out (way off for those though).

I am starting to put efforts into our plans such as RYA qualifications for us both and started shortlisting suitable boats. I have a few listed already and would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions. My wifes most important requests are nice cusions and curtians!

So far I like the look of the following

Nauticat 38
Malo 38 or 40
Moody 38 CC
Halberg Rassy models around 38ft with CC
Najad 370 upwards

I really like the idea of a stern cabin with a good sized double bed as found in the Moody 38 CC.

Well hopefully Ill learn a lot from you all in the near future

Cheers for now

Mark

**skipmac** · 17-02-2018, 15:41

Hi Mark and welcome to the forum,

I too like the aft cabin with queen size bed for several reasons. The two main ones.

- Nice, separate, private bedroom for the owner.
- You have a bed that is always a bed. I hate to have to make up or convert something to sleep in. The forepeak can be also a dedicated bedroom but at sea it is often too bumpy to use and at anchor often ends up as the sail locker and general storage.

Not completely familiar with all the boats on the list but as far as I know they are all excellent boats. I like the HR in general except most have teak decks and on an older boat it will very likely be time to replace it at great expense.

Never sailed one but the Malo has a great reputation. So does Moody but there is one in the yard next to me with a cast iron keel. Not a total deal breaker but I do prefer lead.

Blueseadreamer · 17-02-2018, 16:07

Thanks for the warm welcome Skipmac.

The Moody with the iron keel, why lead over iron. Is it a rust issue? This sail boat thing is a steep learning curve for me

**skipmac** · 17-02-2018, 16:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueseadreamer

Thanks for the warm welcome Skipmac.

The Moody with the iron keel, why lead over iron. Is it a rust issue? This sail boat thing is a steep learning curve for me

Like all things boat there are pros and cons.

The main pro, less expensive.

The cons, most being only moderately negative so again, not a total deal breaker if the boat was otherwise good and a good deal.

- Less dense than lead so the same boat could have the same ballast weight in lead which could sit lower in the keel with the same draft so have a slightly lower center of gravity. Alternatively you could have a shallower draft with the same CG.

- If you need to replace the keel bolts, which is a possibility in an older boat with external ballast, it's an easier DIY job with a lead keel than iron. Never had to deal with it so not really sure how one would do it with cast iron.

- Yes rust. That's mainly cosmetic and can be dealt with by every few years doing a serious coating on the iron.

My preference is an encapsulated lead keel IE a totally fiberglass hull and keel with lead inside the grp keel. Of course there are some negatives with that option as well.

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