34ft sailing boat recommendations

wooslehunter

wooslehunter

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Hi Folks, it’s been a while since I’ve been on here but now I’d like to canvas the parish on a 34-35 ft sailer.

I’m looking for a well built boat, wheel steered & capable of handling most weathers when crewed by myself & Mrs or just myself. Must sail well. I’m not looking at light weight Tupperware types (not being rude to anyone who owns one).

I’m planning to keep the boat 15-20 years so not looking for something that’s too old.

Budget tops out at 100k but that doesn’t mean spending that much if it don’t have to. i.e. spend less & replace a few things but having had a couple of older boats, I’d rather not have to do too much.

I’ve looked at HR34 less than 20yr old which looks great & everyone seems to like them. But, they’re all teak decked which can be a problem when they get older. They’re all mostly tiller steered too although wheels are around.

I also sailed with some friends on their Starlight 35 & loved it. Newest ones are getting to be 30yrs old already though,

So thoughts much appreciated please.
 
A friend of mine bought a Hanse 34 last year in immaculate condition for £60K, He has spent £40K on it, new code zero & assim Updated electrics & autopilot, L raft ,new Bow fitting with sprit. He has just got a 120 th in the RTIR on his first attempt which is not to bad for his first cruiser & first season. Now on his way back to the east coast. Self tacking jib & genoa. All lines taken back to the cockpit. Several owners sail them long distance SH & the 2007 models are really good & well built.
Later Hanse - in my opinion- are not so good. But others may disagree. You have to look for a good one. They are out there.
 
Very few boats of that size/type similar to the HR 34 have been built in the last 20 years or so, and few on the UK market primarily because of the move to larger sizes but more importantly the price premium when they were new. so you are faced with the same situation now - scarcity and price premium. Don't be too concerned about the teak on HRs as it is much thicker and better laid than many others and if well looked after is likely to last 30-40 years.

Good luck with your search.
 
Second the Maxi and also highly recommend the various Dehlers around that size range. Both the van de Stadt generation and the later Judel/Vrolijk designs are quick, well mannered and tough.

The Dufour 34 Performance is also a really nice boat imo and very competitive if you want to trundle it round the ocassional race.
 
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There are a few interesting boats in that range on Apollo Duck - Sun Odyssey 36i Performance, Maxi 1100, Comfortina 35, Hanse 355. Upper end of tupperware I think but not blue water cruisers.
 
That’s a useful budget.

And a pretty good time to be looking.

Might be easiest if you were to state the 7 things that are an absolute no no ?
 
I've owner a Hanse 371 great boat and there is a few Hanse boats on the market around the 34 foot length, self tacking jibs are very useful. There are a couple of Maxi boats on market 1050, 1000 great sailing boats also, I was out on a 1100 a few days ago excellent handling. Good boats for single handed sailing. Ensure there is a good autopilot not one of those after thoughts you clamp onto the wheel.
 
I am obviously very biased but a Vancouver 34C or even a 36 if you can find one. Just check for leaks around the chain plates and cap rail the rest is pretty bullet proof.
 
Second the Dufour 34.

You said "sails well" but "not tupperware type". And then reference the HR34. Which is a different type of sails well to the Dufour and the Maxi suggested. Arguably easier motion, but definitely slower. So probably worth defining what you mean by "sails well".

But to be honest, with that budget there's a very, very wide selection of boats that could conceivably fit, so it probably more useful to browse the various websites and then ask "what does the panel think of this type of boat?"
 
Slightly bigger but a superb any weather boat that's easy to sail and very comfortable, a Rustler 36. Some come without the teak decks and have wheel steering.
 
One other factor, to consider, is the effect that design era has on length overall as a guide to either waterline length (displacement speed) or internal volume: (If either is what LOA is being used as shorthand for)

For example: My, 2010 era, Rassy 310 is actually (marginally) longer, on the waterline, than the, 1990 designed, Rassy 34. And both are longer on the waterline than a Rustler 36, first launched in 1980.

Then there’s the evolution in thinking, on beam: quantity and distribution….
 
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It's difficult to answer without more information on how you intend to use it.

If it's mainly day sailing and a couple of weeks cruise then Hanse/Dufour etc. are good choices and will sail well.

If it's living aboard for months then the balance of sailing performance with tankage, layout, autopilot, comfort etc. will be different.

Some of the heavier boats suggested will offer less satisfying light wind performance but more comfort and confidence on long passages, with averages not so different from lighter boats.

The HR 34 is a classic and I would be inclined to "suffer" the teak decks if it met my requirements.

Perhaps if you are keeping it for decades it is about seeking the design and boat that you feel good about every time you arrive or leave, regardless of what the accountants say.
 
I’d be going for the late 1990s with that budget; an X yachts 362 or 382 with the mid ships galley, or a Westerley Oceanranger.

Curveball thought; spend £30K on an older boat ( Cobra 1050?) and have a huge budget to refit to your standard.
 
wooslehunter said:
........I also sailed with some friends on their Starlight 35 & loved it. Newest ones are getting to be 30yrs old already though,

So thoughts much appreciated please.
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The seeds of your answer are in the question. Find one that has been carefully used and maintained, with the keel of your choice, and bob's your uncle. You have to buy what excites you. I think the general fixation with age on this forum probably comes from the suburban motor car market.

Failing that, bearing in mind your possible age at the half way point of your ownership, you might err on the side of a slower boat and bless it. As a general rule they are less demanding to sail, more directionally stable, less needy in poor weather and kinder to self steering gear of any type.

I don't think Rappy's choice is for you but I was moored next to a Rustler 36 yesterday and they are a very striking boat. Having said all that, if it were me looking for the sort of thing you want, I would check out Victoria 34's - either cutter rigged or with a permanent inner forestay with roller gear.

.
 
wooslehunter said:
Hi Folks, it’s been a while since I’ve been on here but now I’d like to canvas the parish on a 34-35 ft sailer.
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If you’re really looking at a 20 year lifespan (retirement?) then I suggest you want to be looking at an around 2015 boat now to get the “best” years out of her.

If you’re just weekend sailors I don’t think there’s too much to avoid from that period.

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