daveg45
Member
For the first time in 10 years I am in the UK in September and thought I would take an inspirational trip to the Southampton Boat show. The annual 'do I, should I, could I' change the boat this year. Each year I go through the same thought processes and each year just end up working with what I have got. I have to say what I saw was quite depressing and whatever happened to Discovery Yachts? It took me a while to realise I was on a rebranded Southerly. As a boat it is ok I guess if you are sub 6ft in stature but at 6'2" tall it felt cramped especially round the saloon table situated above the lifting keel. So moving swiftly on to the pontoons the next offering was the retro styled Rustler 42 with its narrow transom small cockpit limited el fresco dining and socialising space. OK I guess if you want to sail around the UK waters in it but I have no ideal why anyone would want to do that. On the stern was a hydrovane self steering and watt&sea hydro generator. The guy in the cockpit flogging it was immediately disparaging about ALL the other boats on the pontoon stating the rustler was the only one with an incapsulated keel. First rule of sales. DO NOT DIS THE COMPETITION. Oh but wait a minute, he clearly believed he had no competition. He clearly believed the Ruslter was the dogs bollocks of boats " How do you power this boat long distance sailing" I asked. "there is no space to put any solar panels in-fact there is barely space to sit and eat". his answer was to to suggest flexi panels forward of the spray hood and the 'high power' alternator for battery charging. A quick lift of the engine compartment revealed an engine shoehorned into the available space with completely inadequate compact stock alternator. How that could be upgraded `i have no idea. Power would be a challenge if you didn't want to burn fossil fuel to make water and keep your freshly caught fish frozen for sure. I can't remember the price tag on the Rustler other than it was eye watering. Nice quality woodwork though. Taking on unfamiliar crew for 15 to 20 day atlantic crossing on it would be.... well a bit cramped.
It is important to take off those 'blue water boat' goggles and think about what you want from a boat. If you intent leaving the med playground and do some ocean sailing you need to think about what you want at the other side. The time at anchor will be more than time crossing oceans. how will you get in and out of the dinghy (which will probably be bigger and more capable than your 2.5m powered by an air-cooled hairdryer . How and where to store the dinghy that has a rigid hull and decent engine where you won't find it missing in the morning. Where to store SCUBA bottles and a dive compressor. A bathing platform to get on and off the paddle board. If you intend staying onboard in the tropics during hurricane season it will not be long before you wish you had air-conditioning and a generator powerful enough to run it. A Fridge and freezer in the galley. This is a small list but not sure the Rustler ticks many of those boxes for me. For that amount of money I would want more waterline length and more hull speed and more capacity.
So moving on to the French offerings (and I will stick Baveria and Hansa in with this lot) and I didn't feel I was on a boat at all. Ok it looked like a boat with a pointy end and a mast. Even a boom. But where is the mainsheet traveler? Don't people sail anymore? OK nice layout if tied to a pontoon but why would anyone propose putting the galley along the far bulkhead? How anything can be passed to the cockpit without spilling it I have no idea. So maybe I bought one of the last production boats back in 2008 before they all stared making floating caravans because that is clearly what they have become.
The only boat that got my attention and had any potential of prizing the Yorkshire cash out of me was Contest. Beautiful, spacious and clearly capable. But way out of my price range although the Contest at the show was 55ft I think. I am not a lover of centre cockpit boats mainly because I can't stand up in them unless they are big. I can't even stand up in th cockpit of an Oyster 46 because the bimini under the boom restricts headroom.
it seems my old boat will carry me across the pacific, unless i consider a catamaran maybe but then i will have completely lost the plot.
Maybe you guys can point me towards what i am looking for. i find myself turning into the typical old git saying "oh they don't make 'em like they use to do they! but you know what? they don't. Shocking especially when you consider the price tag of this floating garbage which one day will become an environmental issue before its time i suspect.
So lets forget talk of Ted Brewers comfort factor or angles of vanishing stability and I am not interested in stories of people bashing to windward in the med in strong winds and short choppy seas destroying the charter boat they have hired. Those people don't belong at a helm of a boat. The what if's and concerns most people trade wind sailing long distance are, What if the engine fails, fridge fails, autopilot fails, water maker fails etc.
It is important to take off those 'blue water boat' goggles and think about what you want from a boat. If you intent leaving the med playground and do some ocean sailing you need to think about what you want at the other side. The time at anchor will be more than time crossing oceans. how will you get in and out of the dinghy (which will probably be bigger and more capable than your 2.5m powered by an air-cooled hairdryer . How and where to store the dinghy that has a rigid hull and decent engine where you won't find it missing in the morning. Where to store SCUBA bottles and a dive compressor. A bathing platform to get on and off the paddle board. If you intend staying onboard in the tropics during hurricane season it will not be long before you wish you had air-conditioning and a generator powerful enough to run it. A Fridge and freezer in the galley. This is a small list but not sure the Rustler ticks many of those boxes for me. For that amount of money I would want more waterline length and more hull speed and more capacity.
So moving on to the French offerings (and I will stick Baveria and Hansa in with this lot) and I didn't feel I was on a boat at all. Ok it looked like a boat with a pointy end and a mast. Even a boom. But where is the mainsheet traveler? Don't people sail anymore? OK nice layout if tied to a pontoon but why would anyone propose putting the galley along the far bulkhead? How anything can be passed to the cockpit without spilling it I have no idea. So maybe I bought one of the last production boats back in 2008 before they all stared making floating caravans because that is clearly what they have become.
The only boat that got my attention and had any potential of prizing the Yorkshire cash out of me was Contest. Beautiful, spacious and clearly capable. But way out of my price range although the Contest at the show was 55ft I think. I am not a lover of centre cockpit boats mainly because I can't stand up in them unless they are big. I can't even stand up in th cockpit of an Oyster 46 because the bimini under the boom restricts headroom.
it seems my old boat will carry me across the pacific, unless i consider a catamaran maybe but then i will have completely lost the plot.
Maybe you guys can point me towards what i am looking for. i find myself turning into the typical old git saying "oh they don't make 'em like they use to do they! but you know what? they don't. Shocking especially when you consider the price tag of this floating garbage which one day will become an environmental issue before its time i suspect.
So lets forget talk of Ted Brewers comfort factor or angles of vanishing stability and I am not interested in stories of people bashing to windward in the med in strong winds and short choppy seas destroying the charter boat they have hired. Those people don't belong at a helm of a boat. The what if's and concerns most people trade wind sailing long distance are, What if the engine fails, fridge fails, autopilot fails, water maker fails etc.