advice for a raggie??

[Birdseye]

am a bit bored with my current boat (a cruising cat) and am thinking of maybe, just maybe, buying a stinkie. but there are a number of question in my mind.

like what sort of stinkie. i always quite liked the look of the nelson type of boat, but are there other alternative names to look at . and what is the ride like - will my skipper feel less secure in such a boat because it heels and bounces about, or is the ride very stable. and what does a typcal stinkie spend on fuel per year. and what about maintenance costs for such large diesels - my 20 hp yanmar gives me enough pain as it is.

so here's your chance to convert a raggie. go to it!

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[Birdseye]

I ought to have said that this boat would be for coastal/ cross channel use

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[nicho]

No replies yet?? Perhaps they don't like raggies on this side after all.......surley not the case!! As a stinkie turned raggie (yes, I did it the other way around), most raggies coming the other way' seem to go for the Nelson/Broom/Nimbus/Aquastar type of boat. i.e. semi displacement rather than planing. It's a sort of half way house image wise, I think. A marina 'neighbour' has an Aquastar 34, and I have to say it's very nice indeed.

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[nicho]

........and I should have said that the semi displacement hull may roll more than a planing hull in a beam sea, but will not be so prone to slamming. It will however, be somewhat of a wetter ride in a rougher sea.

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[qsiv]

Well, I've not long ago moved the other way (from power back to sail).

I had a Nelson 42, and went to a 50' crusing yacht and next year hope to move to an out and out race boat, with a RIB for family beach trips.

We enjoyed our (elderly) Nelson a lot, and the children had their first holiday afloat at about 10 weeks old, and have spent holidays afloat every year. Servicing costs are significant - say £1,000 to cover some incidentals. Lift scrub and antifoul broadly similar to a sailing boat. Fuel - how long is a piece of string??!! We spent anything up to £2,000 - but the more you use the boat, the more it costs - an averag of 1 gallon per mile is often fairly close. We had Sabre 280C diesels, I am alost sure that Volvos would cost more and a few boats were built with Cats which can also be pricey. There isnt really room for V8 engines due to the narrow beam.

As for the ride - it really is as good as people say, but one well known race officer (at the X99 Europeans for which we were a committee boat) did ask where he could find the periscope. As we were moving upwind from the proposed start to the windward mark in about 35knots of breeze a bit of spray was to be expected.

In my experience the crew was always weaker than the boat when it was rough. They are beautifully docile around a marina, plenty of grip and not too much windage. As for comfort underway - well they do bounce a bit, you do need to hang on, and you do have to raise your voice in a way that is altogether foreign to a raggie - but then you can average 16 rather than 4 or 5 knots.

They do roll downwind - but when did you last have a fair breeze?!!

Do PM if you want any more details...

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[andrewbarker]

How big a boat are you thinking of & how much luxury/dosh available? Seaward, Mitchell & other companies do excellent Nelson type 23-31 foot boats but if you're looking for bigger, as LOA goes up obviously the seaworthiness of the boat (& cost) tends to increase.

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[miket]

Several useful suggestions below.

If you are worried about fuel consumption from your 20 hp engine, I have doubts that you will want anything other than full displacement stinkie. This will do max' 10 kts, roll in beam seas but at least consume rather less fuel.

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