Advice on which family boat we should buy

[Ross D]

Hi, not been on the forum for a while and am looking for some advice, we're planning to replace our Albin Vega (27' long keel) with something a little bigger, for cruising with our young family and for my parents to sail with friends.

Due to our berth, we have to have a long keel (we have a free, mud berth) a fin or bilge simply will not work. We're looking for a centre cockpit cruising yacht with a stern cabin, definitely won't be for racing. Ideally something around 35' much longer and it won't fit in the berth and much shorter and it all get's a bit cramped trying to get 6 berths in 3 cabins in. Would be happy with either a sloop or a ketch, for around the £20K mark.

Have thought about a Warrior 35 or something similar.

Any advice or experience would be welcome.

Ross

 

[Kelpie]

Westerly Renown? Quite a few about, spacious, I know a chap who has one and really sails it pretty well. Fin and skeg though, rather than a long keel.

 

[Tranona]

Very limited choice with those strict criteria. Few aft cabin boats were built on long keel hulls partly because the shape is all wrong - too narrow particularly in the stern and they had gone out of fashion before aft cabins came in - bit of chicken and egg. Add to that your budget which will only get you a tired old 35' boat of any type. the Warrior is one of the very few designs that fit that spec - but they are hardly spacious given the waterline is only about 26' - long narrow ends don't lead to spacious accommodation! A Moody 33 would be a better bet - foot wider beam and 2' longer waterline packs much more usable accommodation and a better sailing boat. Long fin and happy dropping in a mud berth. More choice on the market and £20k would get you a reasonable one, probably a Mk2.

 

[V1701]

Agree you'll struggle to beat a Moody 33 without increasing budget. Only other one I can think of would be Neptune/Neptunian 33, can't remember which has the aft cabin. I saw a nice example of one & the aft cabin was much better than expected...

 

[James_Calvert]

An Elizabethan 31 ketch has a long keel and an aft cabin accessed from the cockpit.

The one I crewed on once had a rather small spoked steering wheel stuck on the outside of the main cabin cockpit bulkhead. I wouldn't fancy that myself and maybe there were other arrangements.

 

[Ludd]

You MIGHT find a HR Rasmus/NAB 35 if you're lucky!

 

[Fimacca]

I posted a similar question 2 weeks ago and had loads of replies, lots of suggestions and a big list for my family boat query. Scroll back a bit!
The conclusion I made was go see lots and you will know when it is right, draw up a list of models and work from that....

 

[JollyRodgers]

if you want a long keel, how about a Contessa 32? Insanely quick boats too apparently.

Shame fin keel wont work, because I think a Sadler 32 would make a terrific family boat.

 

[doug748]

The Contessa does not have the long, long keel which the op is looking for, nor the aft cabin.

The only thing I can think of is the Nicholson 38 which is probably too big and certainly too expensive.

 

[Ross D]

Many thanks for the suggestions, I knew the spec was pretty tight and there wasn't much out there that fits the bill, hence asking for advice. The Nic 38 certainly fits the bill (we could probably squeeze it into the berth) but is a bit on the pricey side. We've thought about both the Elizabethan and Neptunian, however, the cockpits are pretty small and that is (hopefully) where we will be for most of the time.

The NAB 35 looks pretty good too, could probably stretch the budget to one of those. Nicely fitted out generally, quite a few for sale on mainland Europe too.

There is a Long keeled Macwester Seaforth for sail at the moment which fits the bill, has anyone sailed one? There are conflicting reviews online, some say it sails well and others (including owners) say they struggle to get above 4kts and handles like a caravan.