Advice: boat for singlehanded UK circumnavigation

[Wave22]

Advice/recommendations please:

I'm looking for a boat that I can sail singlehanded most of the time but that will also allow me to take 1 or 2 other people with me for some legs.

I want a good sea boat so I don't have to worry if I get caught out in something nasty and I think a boat that can dry out will be very useful in some parts of the trip. I know some bilge keelers have a reputation for not sailing very well upwind but some (e.g. Konsort, Centaur) are said to be be quite good.

Must have a decent engine as UK circumnavs tend to involve quite a bit of motoring and as this will be my home for several weeks or months it must be comfortable and pleasant for one person to live on. I'm not looking for luxury or excess space but it must have a heads I can stand up in and hot water. I'd also like a proper chart table.

Budget £20k with an absolute maximum of £30k, although I may be able to find what I want for much less than this. I'm very open to buying something cheaper and then spending some proper money on it it get it just right.

I'm thinking 30' or less to make for easier singlehanding (with berthing being my main concern in this respect) and probably a bilge keel as I don't fancy messing about with legs etc.

Over to you. Any suggestions/thoughts/advice on choice of boat (or anything else to do with the trip) very much appreciated, thank you.

 

[alahol2]

You've fallen off the bottom of the forum, welcome.
Just to get you some answers my immediate first thought would be a Fulmar.
Over to everyone else...

 

[yoda]

As said, the westerleys are well worth a look and also how about a Sadler 29? which you can pick up well within budget.

Yoda

 

[Sandy]

There is a chap, sorry I forget the name, that did the same trip in a Mirage 27 and wrote a book about it (I must read it some time). I almost looked at the vessel when I was buying Camelia. You would pay between 10k and 20k for a Mirage and there are some nice looking ones for sale at the moment,

 

[25931]

I've done a fair bit of singlehanded in aSnowgoose cat, - not the easiest in a marina but meets all your other requirements. You could buy one for less than £30k.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

The link below is to the Rival Owners Association For Sale Web Page. The Rival 32 or 34 would be a good choice. Many have been refurbished to a high standard but there will also be well used boats with old interiors. Some offer exceptional value for money. Good sea keeping qualities, large chart tables and decent accomadation for 1 or 2 people are all met.

The second link is to Cox Engineering and it shows legs on a Sadler yacht. Within the web pages he describes how they were fitted onto a fin keeler. Very easy to do and relatively low cost as well.

The third link is for a yacht leg manufacturing company.

http://www.rivalowners.org.uk/noticeboard/forsale/forsale.htm
http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.yachtlegs.co.uk/yachtlegs.php

I am quite biased towards Rivals having sailed one around the UK, out into the Atlantic and taken one across to Western Europe. The 32' has raced in the AZAB on a few occasions. If you own one and join the owners association you can get a set of plans and lots of technical help as well.

Food for thought.

Good Luck,

BlowingOldBoots

 

[Seajet]

Wave22,

I'll stick my neck out and say what others are thinking; if you're not experienced enough to know boats, you shouldn't be thinking of going around Britain !

 

[V1701]

You can get some very good seaboats for that sort of money now - Halmatics, Barbicans, even Vancouvers but long keel not bilge (e.g. here (scroll down))...

 

[laffinskip]

If you really want a bilge keel boat (& why not) have a look at the westerly Berwick,very strong boat ,comfortable,good accomodation,& you can pick up a good one for about £20,000 or less.I delivered one down to the med for a pal & was quite amazed at what a good boat she was.
Just don,t expect to win any races.

 

[westhinder]

The link below is to the Rival Owners Association For Sale Web Page. The Rival 32 or 34 would be a good choice. Many have been refurbished to a high standard but there will also be well used boats with old interiors. Some offer exceptional value for money. Good sea keeping qualities, large chart tables and decent accomadation for 1 or 2 people are all met.

The second link is to Cox Engineering and it shows legs on a Sadler yacht. Within the web pages he describes how they were fitted onto a fin keeler. Very easy to do and relatively low cost as well.

The third link is for a yacht leg manufacturing company.

http://www.rivalowners.org.uk/noticeboard/forsale/forsale.htm
http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.yachtlegs.co.uk/yachtlegs.php

I am quite biased towards Rivals having sailed one around the UK, out into the Atlantic and taken one across to Western Europe. The 32' has raced in the AZAB on a few occasions. If you own one and join the owners association you can get a set of plans and lots of technical help as well.

Food for thought.

Good Luck,

BlowingOldBoots

Having owned a Rival 34, I can only agree with BOB, they are very good seaboats, ideal for voyaging solo

 

[Seajet]

Westhinder,

yes Rival 34's are spiffing when offshore on blue water journeys; however they are not that great to windward, and the OP will need all the help he can get clawing away from lee shores on his proposed route.

Something like a twin keel Sadler 29 would have a good chance of making it, but as I said previously if the OP has to ask here as to which boat he is nowhere near experienced enough to contemplate the trip.

 

[alahol2]

This looks tidy... Westerly Merlin.

 

[Gwylan]

Remember speed and hull length are closely related and 1 knot an hour difference can make a serious difference on some of the longer legs. Also it can contribute to comfort of sailing and when at anchor or [heaven forbid in the Devil's ante-room] a marina.

We did it in an Achilles 24 in 2005 and it was a great boat and dealt with everything but you were generally wet and there was really not too much comfort.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

..... yes Rival 34's are spiffing when offshore on blue water journeys; however they are not that great to windward .....

Why do you think this because that is not how I understand the Rival 34's windward performance, I classify it as good. They don't like pinching and lose way easily if one is inclined to pinch but by sailing shy of close hauled they perform powerfully upwind.

 

[webcraft]

Drying out is only an issue if you are determined to crawl up East coast creeks. It is possible to day sail the whole of the East coast except maybe the Wash - which could be a long Summer's day. IMO the performance advantages of a fin keel over the course of a circumnavigation will outweigh the joys of visiting ports that are damp rather than wet.

I would choose something around 25-28ft for a solo liveaboard and spend the rest on kit or beer.

 

[westhinder]

Why do you think this because that is not how I understand the Rival 34's windward performance, I classify it as good. They don't like pinching and lose way easily if one is inclined to pinch but by sailing shy of close hauled they perform powerfully upwind.

I can confirm this from 25 years experience with both Rival 32, 34 and 36: do not pinch and they will keep powering to windward long after most other boats have given up. I have never experienced a Rival's rudder losing grip and rounding up to windward either, and believe me, it was not for lack of trying ;-)
Accomodation-wise they lack the space of modern designs, but as far as seaworthiness and strength are concerned, they are in a different class than most modern boats.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Twin Keel Yachts have their advantages. With your budget you have a few choices; as others have said the early Westerlys 30ft and 32ft are very good; the Fulmar is my favourite (32ft, tiller, twin keel version, robust design); Early Moodys with twin keels; Sadler 29 and 32; Seadog 30 (Bilge keel) and the best of all would be the Macwesters Wight (twin keel, low draft, roomy, low cost ~£10k, go anywhere, tough, easy for singlehand sailing)

 

[northwind]

Lift keels are also worth looking at. You'd get a Parker 275 within your budget.

 

[V1701]

Drying out is only an issue if you are determined to crawl up East coast creeks. It is possible to day sail the whole of the East coast except maybe the Wash - which could be a long Summer's day. IMO the performance advantages of a fin keel over the course of a circumnavigation will outweigh the joys of visiting ports that are damp rather than wet.

I would choose something around 25-28ft for a solo liveaboard and spend the rest on kit or beer.

Albin Vega it is then...

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Welcome....My first thoughts.......
If faced with this need and all your requirements, I would tend to start looking at a 28 footer +

Depending upon your experience I think less than 28' can present its own problems for long trips when twice the normally accepted internal volume can be a blessing and bigger can mean more of a stable platform and can be easier to handle in harbour than a sensitive 24 footer..
For the budget if you are not very DIY, I'd look at something very much updated mechanically and together-structurally.... i.e. in almost 'sail-away' condition.

From my own experience of sailing short-handed occassionally, I'd still go and have a look at top of the range Twisters. see..... http://www.twister.org.uk/sales/index.php

Many contessa 32's are available around your budget and like the Twister are good for short-handed sailing and are fairly bomb-proof in tough conditions.

If you tend to spend a lot of time on your trip on the east coast then a good bilge keeler will allow you to 'creek crawl' a lot more and you can benefit terrifically from a bit of the 'Dylan Winter experience'. see....
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&tbo=...74,d.d2k&fp=287e96e52b4ce49e&biw=1280&bih=784
S