1980s French boats

[Neeves]

Long story, we may be jumping ship from our old 1970s Moody centre cockpit to a new boat. Scouring the market, just about everything we can find in the right budget and location is some variety of ~40ft 1980s French AWB.
For example- Jeanneau Sun Fizz, Legende; Beneteau First 38, 405; Gib'Sea 116; 126. Etc.
All these boats are very close in their dimensions and displacement, and they generally have the same sort of layout.

Part of your specification is that the yacht you choose should be in the right location. Why not buy a yacht in the wrong location and move it?

Most of the yachts you list are excellent products, but as mentioned, for families sailing at the weekend, or maybe a week, or for racing. You want a yacht you can live on - and that's not a big enough market for the big boat builders - hence why they are not on your list. The yachts meeting your needs are few and far between.

Its a big decision be a bit more flexible over 'location'

Just an observation

Jonathan

 

[Sea Change]

Why not buy a yacht in the wrong location and move it?

I don't have time to do that.
All my belongings are on the old boat and I need to transfer them across to the new one asap.

 

[lustyd]

I don't have time to do that.
All my belongings are on the old boat and I need to transfer them across to the new one asap.

In that case, any of the above would be fine and will hold whatever value they have well enough if you find something better

 

[dunedin]

....

The First series are built for racing so not even designed for normal cruising let alone living on

Huge generalisation and in some cases entirely misleading - the First 345 Cloud Walker has probably done more log range Artic voyages than almost any other vessel ....
Other intrepid high latitude adventurers, David and Judy Lomax, were also very satisfied with their production GRP Beneteau First 345, Cloud Walker, during their frequent Norwegian and Arctic explorations.

 

[Neeves]

I don't have time to do that.
All my belongings are on the old boat and I need to transfer them across to the new one asap.

Put goods in storage, employ a delivery skipper and have the yacht you actually want delivered to your current location. Or take minimum kit, fly to where your preferred yacht is located (its obviously not one on your list) sail back.

It seems you are sacrificing what you want for the convenience of location.

Jonathan

 

[lustyd]

Huge generalisation

design principles are always huge generalisations. You can use any boat you like, but taking a cruiser/racer to the arctic doesn't mean it wasn't designed with racing in mind.

 

[Neeves]

Long story, we may be jumping ship from our old 1970s Moody centre cockpit to a new boat. Scouring the market, just about everything we can find in the right budget and location is some variety of ~40ft 1980s French AWB.
For example- Jeanneau Sun Fizz, Legende; Beneteau First 38, 405; Gib'Sea 116; 126. Etc.
All these boats are very close in their dimensions and displacement, and they generally have the same sort of layout.

What would life actually be like as a full time liveaboard on one of these? We were spoiled on the Moody. Despite being less than 39ft long it had three double cabins, and the aft cabin in particular was generous and comfortable.

I've been chatting to a First 38 owner and I'm worried that the berths on these boats just won't be big enough for full time living. I'm not really in a position to view a variety of different boats, but I'm starting to wonder if these boats just aren't suitable.

Any thoughts or experiences very welcome...

My analysis is that the Moody is a write off and you are under pressure to find a new home (to replace the Moody). All the yachts that are 'for sale' are those on your list and are conveniently located, to where you are now. None of the yachts you list will replace the Moody, you will need to compromise - I'd be extending my geographic limits - the yacht is more important than the convenience of location, compromise location not the yacht.

But we are all different

I sympathise with your dilemma, tough one.

Jonathan

 

[lustyd]

the yacht is more important than the convenience of location

you missed off "in a perfect world" Sometimes we have to play the hand we're dealt.

 

[dunedin]

design principles are always huge generalisations. You can use any boat you like, but taking a cruiser/racer to the arctic doesn't mean it wasn't designed with racing in mind.

Have you sailed a First 345 or similar generation boats? I have, cruising with a young family. They were used as Sunsail charter boats back in the day. As well as Cloud Walker doing regular long trips north of the Artic Circle, for perhaps 2 decades.
Very practical cruising interiors, solidly built.
Completely different from a 21st century First, which is indeed more race focussed

 

[geem]

Huge generalisation and in some cases entirely misleading - the First 345 Cloud Walker has probably done more log range Artic voyages than almost any other vessel ....
Other intrepid high latitude adventurers, David and Judy Lomax, were also very satisfied with their production GRP Beneteau First 345, Cloud Walker, during their frequent Norwegian and Arctic explorations.

Of course you can use a First but the OP is looking for a boat to house his family with space for storage as a liveaboard. A friend sailed an 18ft Hurley across the pond and back and a 21ft cat sailed around the world. It doesn't make them good choices

 

[Gixer]

Jeanneau Sun Fizz
Delivered one across the Atlantic. Aft cabin will be disappointing compared to the Moody. I can't remember if it had one or two aft cabins, I only recall one. The boat was fitted out for racing with spindly mast.

I sailed on one for a few years, club racing and a few channel crossings, the layout on that one was three cabins and two heads. It was comfortable and safe, other than that was non descript. A classic AWB

Oh, it had a huge spinnaker which would scare the crap out of me as an inexperienced foredeck man!

 

[dunedin]

Of course you can use a First but the OP is looking for a boat to house his family with space for storage as a liveaboard. A friend sailed an 18ft Hurley across the pond and back and a 21ft cat sailed around the world. It doesn't make them good choices

See post #29. Have you sailed on a 20th century First 345 or other boats in this generation? I have, as well as two Moody yachts.
And as noted Cloud Walker did extremely challenging extended cruising in waters generally rougher than an Atlantic circuit.

 

[RupertW]

Ours is a Jeanneau 42.2 which is the same hull as a Voyage but with a different internal layout. It had a hard life chartered for 10 years before we bought it and lots of individual domestic systems have needed replacing, some more than once as we’ve had the boat 14 years.

It does the job but needs to be sailed differently to a 70s narrower hulled boat and differently again to a modern plumb bowed very wide sterned boat.

I would say the weakest part is the steering system but that’s a mixture of wear and tear and a very poor rudder bracket design which everyone has to replace, preferably with a much better design as we did.

Hull and rig seem to take anything we can throw at it, and with 600l water capacity and a lot of storage it’s more boat that we need but very pleasant on longer trips to have the room. Having a separate bunk bed cabin as well as the normal 3 doubles is great, mostly for shelved storage, and a second heads has been mostly very convenient and occasionally very important when one of the heads develops an issue and the weather is rough.