Advice on 30-35ft yacht for Circumnavigation

Consider an Etap 32 or 35. There's something very comforting about a boat which would not sink even if it were cut in two.
 
rickym said:
Having just gone through the exercise of looking and buying a long distance cruising yacht suitable for two, so esentially single handed this is the way I looked at things.

I started with the current (now previous) boat a Sadler 32. A very good sea boat as has been mentioned and at the risk of offending Contessa 32 owners a much better boat for cruising. But the accommodation was still too small.
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Quite, the accommodation on a Sadler 32 is little different to the Contessa and it is slower. Tankage is better but still marginal, as you say.
Better to stick with something with a solid offshore record for the proposed trip
 
thomd said:
The yachts I am currently considering are Contessa 32 (proven seaboat but limited accommodation), Rival 32 or 34, Rustler 31, Nicholson 31.

!
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If you talk to people who have done what you dream of doing, the conversation invariably revolves round issues such as storage space and maintenance. You spend more time at anchor than at sea. You need plenty of water tankage and lots of diesel plus a good reliable engine.

Personally I would go for a Prout 35 cat or maybe a 33. Both have circumnavigated in large numbers, are safe, and give you the space you need and the comfort both at sea and at anchor.

I wouldnt dream of a Contessa 32 - way too small inside. But there is a theme to your list. You've been persuaded by the " buy a heavy old long keeler" fanatics who are convinced that nothing decent has been built since the 60s. Nonsense of course.
 
Lots of good suggestions. Here's a Contessa 32, fitted out for bluewater with Hydrovane, wind generator, Epirb and lots of offshore safety kit.

I crossed the Atlantic in company with one and it sailed the pants of most of us bigger yachts.

Westerlys and Moodys will also fit the bill well.

Fair winds to you.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
If you talk to people who have done what you dream of doing, the conversation invariably revolves round issues such as storage space and maintenance. You spend more time at anchor than at sea. You need plenty of water tankage and lots of diesel plus a good reliable engine.

...

I wouldnt dream of a Contessa 32 - way too small inside. But there is a theme to your list. You've been persuaded by the " buy a heavy old long keeler" fanatics who are convinced that nothing decent has been built since the 60s. Nonsense of course.
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I think the 30-35' range is about right for a couple to live on without being cramped, and easy to handle either in a blow, or anchoring without electric windlasses. Gear is lighter and less expensive to fix too. I did Oz to England in an old (1965) 33 footer and never found that space or tankage (fuel 25gal, water 70gal) was an issue for the two of us. We also didn't get bounced wildly in ocean storms, managed on 225 AH of batteries, even with a fridge, and generally had a brilliant time for 18 months. I would quite happily have continued all the way around.

You'll have more fun sticking to something that is well in budget, than stretching the budget for size, and then finding that maintenance becomes a costly chore. Find something with good sea berths which are not in the saloon (i had 2 quarter berths) which allows you to live in a different place to where you sleep. F'c'sle berths are rubbish at sea, IMHO, and having someone in the lee saloon berth when you want a breather down below on passage, is a PITA.

At 35 feet, I'd say get a wind vane and wind or water gen and forget the autopilot. With practice you can steer a compass course under power and read a good book at the same time. It makes the occaisions when there really is no wind less tedious.
 
You'll spend a lot of time at sea but waaaaaaaaaay more time at anchor and in harbours. All the listed boats will be OK at sea but for 2 or 3 years you need a lot of volume cabin space for living and also for storage.
You can save a lot on your refurb list by finding a very well equipped boat for sale.
 
doug748 said:
Quite, the accommodation on a Sadler 32 is little different to the Contessa and it is slower. Tankage is better but still marginal, as you say.
Better to stick with something with a solid offshore record for the proposed trip
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I think you might find the Sadler is faster than the Contessa in lighter conditions :)

If by different you mean a bigger forward cabin, a bigger heads that you can stand up in, a bigger saloon with more headroom and bigger cockpit then yes the accommodation of the Sadler 32 is different :D

Martin Sadler's 32 sailed through the 79 fastnet. That gives it a solid offshore record in my book, and we took one round the north coast of Scotland last year, so I know they are tough boats
 
As someone who has always dreamed of going off sailing and will now never do it wouldnt worry too much about the boat just make sure you can afford it and make sure you go.

I think you need to be honest about what you want to do while you are away: enjoy pieceful anchorages or sail to more distant out of the way places. My friend who has just been around this evening and is flying out to the Caribean at the weekend to continue is doing so in a tyler 33, similiar to the rivals I guess but with centre cockpit. I think he would look at a cat next time due to the rolling in anchorages.

When you compare this to me trying to get crew to go to Ireland for 3 weeks next summer: I might need to head home with 200 miles to do in to a F7 type thing.

My Nic 36 has been across the atlantic twice and survived a rouge wave according to a previous owner and if I was going away short handed she would be my choice. Water and batteries below the sole boards, diesel tank under the cockpit so lots of storage elsewhere. Good easy motion etc. Bit of varnish to do but does not take that long. Also do not be lulled in to the fact that all long keelers are good it is a rather large brush.

The main reason for keeping my boat is that she is great to sail and has a wonderful motion (it is so lovely to not be in a boat that does not bang and slam and jar like the modern boats I have crewed on) and therefore safe for family and able to handle the short chop the English Channel can deal out. Along with being supremly easy to singlehand even when it blows up a bit.

Before buying Jandavina looked at an S&S 34 lovely boat but the engine was in the cabin and the berths where all on the small side.

And therefore writting this I think you need to go back a step or two and ask the questions like what kit do I need, which engine is the most reliable or generator, how long do I need to run before I need gas/diesel/petrol/water. How big a tender can I stow and where will the spare go. Can I service the boat while I am away (and therefore exclude sail drives, inaccssable tanks, exhaust etc). What budget am I going away with and therfore how complex can the boat be?

Good luck with it though and feed back as you make the important decisions.
 
stav said:
And therefore writting this I think you need to go back a step or two and ask the questions like what kit do I need, which engine is the most reliable or generator, how long do I need to run before I need gas/diesel/petrol/water. How big a tender can I stow and where will the spare go. Can I service the boat while I am away (and therefore exclude sail drives, inaccssable tanks, exhaust etc). What budget am I going away with and therfore how complex can the boat be?
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Which brings to mind the famous definition of long-distance cruising...

...Boat maintenance in far away places
 
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