Alternatives to Sigma 38

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RobbieH

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I'vé owned a Dufour Arpege for a few years now, making various voyages from Belgium to UK, and Scandinavia. A slow descent into retirement beckons and I have the opportunity to work part-time and remotely from a boat (when in range of wifi or cellular networks).

I'vé really enjoyed owning the Arpege and put a lot into her (as evinced by the large pile of invoices in my lower drawer) but I'm conscious of some limitations for what I would have in mind - Atlantic crossing, visits to polar regions (N and S). She is tough but relatively light and gets thrown about once the sea gets up a bit. There is also not much room for storing the required toys : surfboards, folding bikes, diving gear, climbing gear, skis, etc. No shower, not really practicable to fit holding tanks.

So I'm thinking of selling next year or the year after and replacing with something around 38 feet (36-40). I'm a fan on paper of the Sigma 38 (and the 41 too but that might be a bit too much boat). But looking around they seem to be mostly slightly tired. So perhaps something less appreciated by the racing fraternity would be a good idea.

I'm looking for a tough, seaworthy, weatherly boat that can be single-handed at a pinch, is a comfortable live-aboard for two and could take a crew of 6 in expedition conditions (2 or 3 cabins, shower at foot of companion way). Budget will be around 60k GBP.

Scanmar 40 has come up on the radar.

Other ideas/suggestions?
 
RobbieH said:
I'm 6' 0". Too tall?
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In the past, I researched the Typhoon as a next possible boat. But I've never been aboard one. I seem to recall reading somewhere that headroom is 6ft to 6' 1". Perhaps an owner here can confirm. I ruled it out as I'm 6' 2" and for me, the next boat must have standing headroom in the majority of areas below deck. Also my wife did not like the cramped look of the aft bunk. I've a feeling a Centre Cockpit might be our next purchase.

Shame, as by all accounts, the Typhoon is a very nice performer.

More info here http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/archives/westerly-typhoon/westerly-typhoon.htm
 
I looked at a Typhoon as a possible boat. Lots of things to like, solid construction, fractional rig etc. What let it down was: Cast Iron keel, Poor saloon berths, stuffed well forward so not parallel with the centreline, Aft cabin very poorly laid out; the cockpit locker needed to change sides to ensure a better use of space. Plus the usuall saggy headliner taking up a good percentage of the available room.
 
RobbieH said:
I'vé owned a Dufour Arpege for a few years now, making various voyages from Belgium to UK, and Scandinavia. A slow descent into retirement beckons and I have the opportunity to work part-time and remotely from a boat (when in range of wifi or cellular networks).

I'vé really enjoyed owning the Arpege and put a lot into her (as evinced by the large pile of invoices in my lower drawer) but I'm conscious of some limitations for what I would have in mind - Atlantic crossing, visits to polar regions (N and S). She is tough but relatively light and gets thrown about once the sea gets up a bit. There is also not much room for storing the required toys : surfboards, folding bikes, diving gear, climbing gear, skis, etc. No shower, not really practicable to fit holding tanks.

So I'm thinking of selling next year or the year after and replacing with something around 38 feet (36-40). I'm a fan on paper of the Sigma 38 (and the 41 too but that might be a bit too much boat). But looking around they seem to be mostly slightly tired. So perhaps something less appreciated by the racing fraternity would be a good idea.

I'm looking for a tough, seaworthy, weatherly boat that can be single-handed at a pinch, is a comfortable live-aboard for two and could take a crew of 6 in expedition conditions (2 or 3 cabins, shower at foot of companion way). Budget will be around 60k GBP.

Scanmar 40 has come up on the radar.

Other ideas/suggestions?
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Look at the "Winner" range from The Netherlands, fast & well built http://www.winneryachts.com
 
The price of Sigma 38s are pegged down by the perception that most were hard raced, true of the 33s but a considerable proportion of 38s did only light racing as there were never enough outside the Solent for a strong one design class. There are still some nice ones about, just check the history. In our S38 we used to sail around with a Starlight, out of sight behind us in not much over an hour. I have always regretted selling mine.
Sigma 400 was a nice boat and goes well but some had fairly silly circular saloon seating, otherwise they are highly prized so hard to find and tend to be expensive .
 
I don't know what they go for nowadays, but the She 36 would be top of my list for ability in the places you're thinking of going; personally I'd go for that over a modern interior.
 
AIDY said:
Moody s38
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Aidy,if you are looking at the Moody s38 then look at the Westerly Oceanlord. The cockpit for a centre cockpit boat is quite deep - I always felt with the Moody that I was perched on top.

Well laid out for cruising and comfortable and steerable in big swells. Very strong. And should be within budget given current market prices.
 
If you are thinking now what you might buy in a year or two year's time, then I will tell you what few others will, and that is simply that older boats are very difficult to sell and final transaction prices are often way below advertised prices.
You need to decide now what models you would be interested and start tracking those that are for sale ( almost irrespective of price), then in 18 months time you will know they have been for sale for a LONG time. Of course this is easier said than done; when a lot of boats were advertised in magazines it was possible to keep back copies and trace how long boats have been for sale, in the case of private sales by noting the phone numbers. Of course now that everything is on websites it's a bit more time consuming and requires you to trawl websites noting the details or simply copy webpages every three months.
Then in 18 months or two years you will know which ones have been for sale for at least that long. Start by offerring 40-50% of the asking price. You wont need to make many offers before you have what you want!
Best of Luck
 
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