A fun bluewater boat around 40'?

[Wansworth]

Attainable Adventure Cruising (AAC) www.morganscloud.com has an interesting project, designing an affordable sailing yacht for blue water cruising. There is a design brief and a naval architect engaged to provide the design. What is interesting, is that there is a mix of old and new features in the hull shape as well as in other design areas. The brief is based on and derived from significant blue water sailing experience. Worth a look as it is quite pertinent to how this discussion has developed, and it is not a skeg mounted rudder, encapsulated keel boat.

AAC is a subscription service but they issue free articles from time to time and a few articles associated with the “The Adventure 40” are free to read.

List of all the articles, and access to the free articles The Adventure 40 Offshore Sailboat. Note that the free articles are mixed amongst the subscription articles.

As far as I am aware, the design is more or less complete, a yard has been consulted and stuff is getting finalized for a build, with apparently some folks seriously committed with the readies. We shall see. However, the point is, this a design for blue water sailing based on deep experience.

I have no skin in their game, I just find their thought process fascinating.

Very interesting

 

[Supertramp]

This is not the problem. My B&G autopilot (Hydra 2000 CPU driving new T2 ram, Super Halcyon compass etc) and my upgraded Hydrovane (new, bigger rudder, bobbin mods done etc) work very well, no complaints there. No real difference in seakeeping between them - they both have the same hull to deal with.

OK, understood.

It a shame to start over with a new boat but it does seem like you need to trade some fun for some stability. I sail a heavy, slow boat (long keel, conservative ketch rig) which is very reassuring in bad weather and will self steer on the wind without needing autopilot. But the downside is a lack of much fun in light winds, although you do learn to extract the most from sail set etc.

Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

 

[Wansworth]

OK, understood.

It a shame to start over with a new boat but it does seem like you need to trade some fun for some stability. I sail a heavy, slow boat (long keel, conservative ketch rig) which is very reassuring in bad weather and will self steer on the wind without needing autopilot. But the downside is a lack of much fun in light winds, although you do learn to extract the most from sail set etc.

Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.View attachment 180273

Always interesting photos

 

[Sea Change]

Is it too much to ask for a safe boat and a fun boat all in one package??
I have a sailing tender which is brilliant fun and provides all my thrills, thereby making up for the bathtub with a stick that is my big boat

 

[Supertramp]

Is it too much to ask for a safe boat and a fun boat all in one package??
I have a sailing tender which is brilliant fun and provides all my thrills, thereby making up for the bathtub with a stick that is my big boat

Fun can be in how you sail, not what you sail. On a long, rough passage comfort soon trumps fun.

 

[dunedin]

Is it too much to ask for a safe boat and a fun boat all in one package??

Yes, there are plenty boats like that. Some mentioned early on.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Is it too much to ask for a safe boat and a fun boat all in one package?? …

… only after fun and safe are defined, otherwise it is just a bunch of personal opinions. Or all the boats suggested are safe and fun, ergo, whatever floats your boat.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

… only after fun and safe are defined, otherwise it is just a bunch of personal opinions. Or all the boats suggested are safe and fun, ergo, whatever floats your boat.

Exactly it's the definition of fun which of course will vary from person to person. For me it would be pleasurable and satisfying and that also means comfortable, safe being a given.

 

[Tamar]

My advice for what it's worth is Fun can soon become tiresome on a long passage, you have already got a strong boat that will take you anywhere in the world, keep the 200k in the bank and enjoy the westerly.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

My advice for what it's worth is Fun can soon become tiresome on a long passage, you have already got a strong boat that will take you anywhere in the world, keep the 200k in the bank and enjoy the westerly.

Did you read the OP? if you didn't here's the relevant bit:

"Currently I have a 37' Westerly Typhoon. She is great fun to sail, responding to every tweak and benefitting massively from new Hydranet sails. Unfortunately she is basically a PITA on long passages - just too dynamic after 5 days 'out there'"

 

[Tamar]

Did you read the OP? if you didn't here's the relevant bit:

"Currently I have a 37' Westerly Typhoon. She is great fun to sail, responding to every tweak and benefitting massively from new Hydranet sails. Unfortunately she is basically a PITA on long passages - just too dynamic after 5 days 'out there'"

Yes I did, I don't know what he means by too dynamic. It doesn't make sense, any boat will be dynamic in the right (or wrong) conditions

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Yes I did, I don't know what he means by too dynamic.

Exactly what "becoming tiresome" means.

 

[Tamar]

Exactly what "becoming tiresome" means.

Who cares

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Who cares

The OP for one and if you don't why bother to ask or post in the thread.

 

[Tamar]

The OP for one and if you don't why bother to ask or post in the thread.

Blah blah blah

 

[Major_Clanger]

You miss the point. The OP is looking for a bluewater boat to sail bluewater. That's the post.

How would you define a bluewater boat?

 

[dunedin]

How would you define a bluewater boat?

That’s easy - “what I have” (not what anybody else has)

 

[Wansworth]

How would you define a bluewater boat?

Off soundings into the blue water.

Not going back for tea

Packing spare underware

 

[Tranona]

How would you define a bluewater boat?

He has his own definition which excludes the vast majority of boats that are sailed "bluewater" in part because boats that might meet his definition have not been built for the last 40 years and even before that were a minority.

That is the nub of the discussion. The OP has sort of defined what he thinks he wants and in part what his current boat lacks. He is finding it difficult to identify a boat he can buy easily that might perhaps suit him. Post 137 gets closest to reality as it reflects the fact that it is far more important to be happy with the boat as success is linked more to the crew than the boat.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

He has his own definition which excludes the vast majority of boats that are sailed "bluewater" in part because boats that might meet his definition have not been built for the last 40 years and even before that were a minority.

That is the nub of the discussion. The OP has sort of defined what he thinks he wants and in part what his current boat lacks. He is finding it difficult to identify a boat he can buy easily that might perhaps suit him. Post 137 gets closest to reality as it reflects the fact that it is far more important to be happy with the boat as success is linked more to the crew than the boat.

I agree except it's not correct to say such boats haven't been built for the last 40 years they have and are, they are just not within the OPs budget.