What qualities made you buy your boat and not another, plus your favourite anchor and why.

[Deleted member 36384]

Was it a genuine bruce or a copy?

Many have been through very good refits and are now being sold on as the owners are stop sailing. Also a few still kicking about fairly original at very low prices. It’s worth keeping an eye on Face Book’s Rival Owners Association page, in addition to the usual resources.

 

[matt1]

This is a bit of an odd one, but for us it was having an “island berth” as it was frustrating disturbing one another getting up in the night from our previous aft cabin is to go to the loo. We also like to take it easy at the weekends; so the ability to sit up in the bunk on a Sunday morning drinking tea - yeah, I know, a bit wet eh?

She also had to sail well as the last boat performed amazingly and I didn’t want to go back too much in terms of performance. Other than that it was just quality and to a lesser extent asthetics.

I think what swayed it for us was going to Dusseldorf and the dealer being very attentive & knowledgable. Up until then we were set to buy a different boat, conversely who’s dealer put is off!

With hindsight I hadn’t realised how important it is to have a good dealer. I know it sounds obvious but I’d become a bit fixated with boat choice and perhaps missed the whole buying and after care process

 

[Bouba]

I had a Delta plough, and true to its word, it ploughed. Since ploughing and dragging are the same thing, i think they are useless. I now have a Rocna, great anchor it always gives me a sense of security. If I had the money i would like an Ultra, but the swivel alone costs five hundred ! Still, I’m happy with my Rocna, great anchor good price.

 

[alan_d]

Favourite anchor:

Should I buy a new one, or would some cold-galvanising spray fix it?

 

[Bouba]

Favourite anchor:
View attachment 99006
Should I buy a new one, or would some cold-galvanising spray fix it?

No, leave it as is, it seems to be holding well. How is it at high tide?

 

[Slowtack]

Windward ability, cockpit suited to singlehanding, fractional rig, aft cabin, engine access, wheel with rack and pinion steering, looks.

 

[dulls]

Favourite anchor:
View attachment 99006
Should I buy a new one, or would some cold-galvanising spray fix it?

You seem well and truly aground there.

 

[dulls]

I had a Delta plough, and true to its word, it ploughed. Since ploughing and dragging are the same thing, i think they are useless. I now have a Rocna, great anchor it always gives me a sense of security. If I had the money i would like an Ultra, but the swivel alone costs five hundred ! Still, I’m happy with my Rocna, great anchor good price.

I have had a rocna and it is great but i like the look of those spades which from tests in as far as you can test them performs even better.

 

[Skylark]

I bought my current boat as a significant part of my early retirement master plan.

I wanted to buy new as there is, in my mind, absolutely nothing to match the thrill, excitement and pleasure of first ownership.

Based against our type of sailing intentions, comfort and convenience were both high on the list. I’d had my 36 ft from the same maker for about 7 years and it had served me well. In addition, over the years, I’d been on two maiden voyages with my pal on his new boats of the same brand.

Intended to visit Soton boat show but plans were scuppered by work commitments. A couple of weeks later I made an appointment to view the boat and I made the decision to buy within seconds of stepping aboard. Deciding upon which additional toys to add and negotiating the price took a little longer.

 

[Iliade]

Wheelhouse.
Three double cabins.
Good sea boat and a good sailer, for a 50:50.
Cheap (One of the previously mentioned wrecks so plenty to keep me occupied through to retirement and beyond while still good enough to actually sail now.)

Came with a Bruce (no doubt fake) that takes at least three goes to set properly. A previous owner has carefully drilled a hole through the shank for the stemhead locking pin...

I have added a Fortress because my very first anchor, a Danforth, worked very well around here (South Coast - Too well actually, I couldn't break it out once & someone removed either it or the marker buoy before I got back with the scuba gear.) I have only used the big Fortress once thus far and it wouldn't bite at all, perhaps because I was trying to anchor on an old concrete slipway...

The reason being the convenience of the windlass overrides my preference for the Fortress and I wouldn't want to swap main and bower as I don't fancy lugging the Bruce about before use. And it is a bit too shiny to leave outside.

Is there a word for someone who fills their boat up with anchors because of the indecision as to which is best? I currently have two CQRs, two Fortresses, a Bruce, a 'French' anchor (Talmex?) and a Fishermans which lives off the boat but comes if I head west to kelp country. Oh and a large grapnel that someone recently gave me, but I have no idea when I'd use it...

 

[Jmc1764]

For choosing my boat there were just a few things to consider. Had to be cheap, had to be well built, had to be in fair condition for the price. Around 30ft so there was reasonable space. had to be ready to sail but prepared to do some minor repairs. preferred to have a wheel rather than tiller. Fin keel preferably encapsulated. So after hunting around I really liked the Albin Vega as it had good reviews, a bit smaller than I would have liked but seemed to be a good all round sailer and tough and well put together. Then as luck would have it an Albin Singoalla came on the market with an unusual history of not being in the water most of its near 50 year life ! It was love at first sight and priced cheap. It was very much like a Vega but at 34ft much bigger. Really not much to do on her except a bit of rewiring, fix the fuel gauge and a new heat exchanger on the engine. other than that she is in fine fettle and a credit to the previous owner. I am only owner #4 in her history and have all the receipts going back to her first day in the water in a huge file of books and manuals. When I got her she came with two anchors, one Bruce on the front and a CQR in the locker. I bought a bundle of bits on ebay and one of the bits was this anchor( see pic) its stainless steel and quite big but have no idea what make, I guess this would be good for soft mud or sand ?

 

[FlyingGoose]

Money mainly for the boat we had a budget and went looking
Certain companies were in our sites , Skeg hung rudder encapsulated keel longer keel . Roomy. Ideally a Cc cocpit (we never got) ketch rigged, 2 heads and comfortable sleeping.
Proven seaworthy boat.
Anchor on the boat was a Bruce, after much research and I mean plenty I got a Rocna it has never failed ir not set first time in varying sea beds
This boat will hopefully take us of to the big blue unless the wife sinks her

 

[Blueboatman]

Conservative design and proven construction with long production run and lots of owner feedback over the years.

Biggest boat I could reliably manage in ‘ interesting’ conditions when docking if singlehanded .

A comfortable interior with a minimum no. of berths /cabins and with a beamy saloon to lounge around in and indeed big chart table to ‘ desk’ at when inclement...

And an absolute joyful sailing performance in all conditions— Absolute deal maker/deal breaker deal, this one.
-Particularly around the uk coastline with so much tide dependant passage making and wind over tide sailing and headlands and indeed bashing ‘ gracefully ?’ to windward all day..

Easy enough on the eye.

Easy on the depreciation .. ( joker in the pack ?)

Uncluttered, wide decks would be nice

Er, enough.
Anchors ? Big, heavy and lots and lots of chain and overspecced windlass

 

[Clancy Moped]

Because we intended to do day charter we were drawn the large cockpit of the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37, four punters plus us two was fine, then it turned a full time liveabord for us, more than enough space.

First anchor was a Fob (see below), it came as standard from Jeanneau at the time, it was shit! So I bought a Delta, and while we were wintering Barcelona we won a Rocna at the boat show....

​

 

[dulls]

As the eldest of three children I spent every summer holiday, from toddler to late teens sailing on the West Coast of Scotland – from the Clyde to Skye. We had a variety of boats representative of the late 60s/70s from 22 to 35 ft and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I grew up on a diet of Arthur Ransome and was determined to own a boat of my own and during our many years afloat I drew up a mental wish-list for my perfect yacht.

First item on my list was personal space. In our first boat, I shared the fore-peak with my brother and sister, and we were always fighting for space – mainly to avoid the early morning deluge of condensation dripping from the roof. When it became impossible to squeeze us into the fore-peak without starting world war three, dad bought a bigger boat and we were transferred to the saloon. Although space was improved, privacy wasn’t and it meant we had to pack away all our bedding and get up before breakfast could start. To a young teen this was a nightmare; in my dream boat we would all have our own, separate cabins – with doors!

Next on the list for improvement was the cockpit, the sole was about the size of an elongated fish-crate and it was a bit of a squeeze. It was also a wet and windy place. Once we’d all installed ourselves, legs wedged tetris-style into each other there was still the traveller, main sheet and boom to worry about, not to mention the tiller sweeping the cockpit on every tack. My dream boat would have a large cockpit - with a wheel. There would be enough space for a permanent table –which wouldn’t block the companionway, and the boom would be out of the way to avoid whacking people on the head – oh, and the engine control wouldn’t be an afterthought on the cockpit floor, it would be somewhere far more sensible.

Under power our long keeler was not the most relaxing boat to manoeuver in a tight spot so a boat that responds quickly and goes where the rudder is pointed would have made life in the canals and marinas so much easier. Even under way in the open sea there comes a point when the engine must go on, for the sake of crew morale. It should be simple to operate, powerful enough, and with a big enough tank to make reasonable distances under power without carrying smelly jerry cans of diesel. The reassuring “thump-thump-thump” of a diesel engine and its warming effect on the cabin was a welcome comfort when we’d had enough of the elements. Many an hour was spent below decks as we motor sailed through nasty weather.

When sailing in bad weather, I can’t say that I ever noticed a sea-kindly motion or an abundance of hand-holds below – for us, the biggest problem was the angle of heel and wet wellies on the uneven, angled floor. When the weather turned it was just unpleasant - I remember a damp, dark, cramped cabin and longing for port where everything would be upright again, the stove could go on and we'd get a chance to warm up and escape ashore. Out on deck wasn’t a lot better as having to go forward to change a hanked on genny or tame a flapping main while being ankle deep in seawater wasn’t much fun, three cheers for roller reefing and all lines led to the cockpit! While on the subject of moving around the boat, the trek from the cockpit to the forward heads involved a soggy crew-member clambering over everyone in the saloon, squeezing round the table and shoe-horning themselves into a broom cupboard with a toilet in it. No. My boat would have a comfortable saloon with plenty of out-of-the way seating. It would also be nice if it didn’t heel at quite such a ridiculous angle, had an even saloon floor and didn’t ship buckets of sea water over the deck. The heads could also be a bit more spacious and closer to the companionway - which brings me to personal hygiene. They say cleanliness is next to godliness – well we were an ungodly lot. We went for days without a proper wash and having to use a bucket of cold water (warm if we boiled the kettle) was not very pleasant. While a pull out sink over the toilet was a neat idea, it always missed or dripped on the seat. Of course I didn’t really care until I became a teenager, but my dream boat would have warm water on tap and a shower.

As further creature comforts, my dream boat would also have a large fridge. Oh what a luxury. Eating sour milk on cereal, or worse still UHT was the bane of our summer holidays - not to mention freeze-dried vespa curries.

Finally I’d like to end this trip down memory lane with a few words about our Avon Redcrest and Seagull outboard. Quite apart from the starter cord taking your eye out I never realised what a perilous exercise boarding and departing was until I chartered a boat with a swim platform. Why on earth did we put up with clambering over guard rails and stepping gingerly into a rubber boat 2 feet below? According to statistics, the trip ashore is the most dangerous one a cruising sailor makes, and falling in fully clothed – even with a relatively low freeboard makes it practically impossible to get back on board. With a swim platform and permanent folding ladder it’s a piece of cake.

Over the years this mental check-list formed in the back of my mind. All the best things, the adventures, the solitude, the freedom, the magic of travelling under sail but with just that little bit more in terms of creature comforts and practicality. For me it is this freedom to potter with my family with no agenda and no time pressure that is so central to our enjoyment of cruising - any fool can be uncomfortable but in this day and age there’s no need to be.

I had a mental picture of my luxurious yacht – so much bigger and better than those of my childhood and eventually the time came to start looking. Reality struck and with a budget of €35,000 we went looking for our dream – in this price range there is not a lot that meets the criteria and is ‘ready to sail’ with no problems, and boy did I see a few wrecks. To cut a long story short, I found what I was looking for in the shape of an ex-charter 1999 Bavaria 36 Holiday complete with charter inventory for €34,200.

She has 3 good size separate double cabins (with doors, windows and wardrobes), saloon seating is around a solid, fixed table. We’ve got a fridge, a hot shower in the heads and on the stern. She’s got a proper chart table, a spacious cockpit. In fact she ticked every box on my list and the survey revealed no major problems. The reason she was so cheap was because she was being dumped from a charter fleet and was based in Croatia (no VAT), but remarkably unscathed considering 10 years of hard use. So after almost a decade of ownership, what is the verdict?

Well, she does slam into waves – so long as they’re the right height, the right wavelength, coming from the right direction and we are doing the correct speed. Is it a real problem? No, not really. It’s much reduced, if not eliminated by the weight of all the cruising gear and a deft touch on the helm.

She has also rounded up on us a few times, it was her way of saying “reef me you pillock” and it very rarely happens now. The plus side is that she will still make good passage times in relatively light winds and doesn’t go over on her ear with water coming over the gunnels. She’s no racer, but predictable and easily handled with furling genoa and main. We can go out with family and friends and 8-9 people on board is no problem. Novices aren’t in danger of losing fingers or heads as the cockpit is clear of traveller and main-sheet and the boom is well out of the way.

She handles like a dream under power, spins almost in her own length and has enough grunt to comfortably motor-sail into a F6/7 with accompanying sea-state – the rest of the family just hunker down below and I’ve had no complaints about comfort. The combination of high free-board and large spray hood prevent almost all of the spray from reaching the cockpit – but it does sometimes hit me at the wheel. The teenagers could retire to a cabin each and stay out of each others way - which was a massive plus.

I could have bought a boat from the 70s or 80s, but for me it’s a hard-sell next to an AWB. The designs of yesteryear – however pretty or seaworthy they might be - just don't appeal to me any more, the chances of getting caught out by weather are much lower today than they used to be and I’m sure the majority of modern family cruisers would opt to stay put in anything over a constant F6 – Why? Because it’s uncomfortable, no matter what boat you’re in. I have been caught out however in some nasty storms, and the boat coped fine as we ran for shelter - even had her surfing hitting 10-11 knots which turned out to be far less of an issue than I expected - and both keel and rudder are still there.

As a foot note there is one point on modern boats which in my opinion is not so positive. The demise of the chart table. I do all my navigating electronically but I still like my chart table – it’s my personal space as skipper, somewhere to sit and fiddle, read, explore charts or use my tablet to passage plan – I’d miss it if it were no longer there but perhaps my sons will have a different view when their time comes.

I have an original bruce anchor and it works fine where I sail.

View attachment 98967

I enjoyed reading that.

 

[noelex]

I bought a bundle of bits on ebay and one of the bits was this anchor( see pic) its stainless steel and quite big but have no idea what make, I guess this would be good for soft mud or sand ?

My guess is that it is probably a homemade anchor. The closest commercial anchor might be the “Jambo”, which is a Danforth variant, but with a smaller fluke area than a normal Danforth. It also has pointed tips on the fluke ends.

The idea is to preserve as much as possible the exceptional holding power of the Danforth in very soft substrates, but extend the versatility by giving the anchor more ability to penetrate hard substrates and weed. The “homemade” anchor is not as elegant as the Jambo (which is not suprising as the Jambo is a beautiful anchor, perhaps second only to the Ultra for asthetics )
It may not perform as well as the Jambo, but the design aims are likely similar which might give a clue to its strengths and weaknesses..

This is a Jambo underwater with another friendly octopus:

This gives a better idea of the shape:

 

[dulls]

searching for boat photos.

 

[Jmc1764]

My guess is that it is probably a homemade anchor. The closest commercial anchor might be the “Jambo”, which is a Danforth variant, but with a smaller fluke area than a normal Danforth. It also has pointed tips on the fluke ends.

The idea is to preserve as much as possible the exceptional holding power of the Danforth in very soft substrates, but extend the versatility by giving the anchor more ability to penetrate hard substrates and weed. The “homemade” anchor is not as elegant as the Jambo (which is not suprising as the Jambo is a beautiful anchor, perhaps second only to the Ultra for asthetics )
It may not perform as well as the Jambo, but the design aims are likely similar which might give a clue to its strengths and weaknesses..

This is a Jambo underwater with another friendly octopus:

This gives a better idea of the shape:

Yup, that brute would look great hanging on the bow !

 

[Bouba]

Yup, that brute would look great hanging on the bow !

It would look good hanging from a battleship